The Racer

On this classic out-and-back wooden roller coaster, riders on the Blue Racer vs. Red Racer race side-by-side along twin tracks to determine the winner. The Racer – really its twin racers – has been the focal point of the Coney Mall sector of the park since Kings Island opened in 1972, and with good reason. The Racer is credited with re-igniting the wooden roller coaster building boom in the 1970’s, thus beginning the second golden age of the roller coaster. In addition to being considered an important part of the roller coaster renaissance of the 1970’s, the Racer was the first roller coaster built structurally on the ground with prefabricated sections lifted into position and bolted and was one of the largest roller coasters ever built at the time. It was the site of several world-record riding attempts and is notable for its appearance in the “Cincinnati Kids” episode of The Brady Bunch, filmed at the park in 1973. The Racer has given more than 104 million rides since its debut in 1972, far and away the most in Kings Island’s history. Its record year was 1976 when a park single-season attraction record 3,681,338 rides were given.