The Racer is a wooden racing roller coaster at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, that opened with the park on April 29, 1972. Designed by legendary coaster architect John C. Allen and built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, it features two parallel tracks, Blue and Red, that let riders race side by side across an out-and-back layout carved into the park’s Coney Mall section.
Beyond its thrills, The Racer holds a special place in amusement park history: its runaway popularity is widely credited with helping spark the roller coaster renaissance of the 1970s after decades of industry decline. A 1973 appearance on The Brady Bunch cemented its pop-culture fame, and in 2007 the American Coaster Enthusiasts honored it with a Coaster Landmark Award.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Kings Island, Mason, Ohio
- Manufacturer: Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters
- Designer: John C. Allen
- Opened: April 29, 1972
- Height: About 88 feet
- Top speed: About 53 mph
- Length: About 3,415 feet per track
- Inversions: 0
The Ride Experience
Allen’s design split the two tracks apart into separate structures before the first turn, letting Blue and Red trains race independently while covering nearly identical distances, a departure from earlier side-by-side racing coasters. Each train drops about 82 feet at a 45-degree angle before working through a series of airtime-filled hills over a roughly two-minute ride.
From 1982 to 2008, the right-hand track was reversed to run backwards, making The Racer the first racing coaster in the world to operate that way, before Cedar Fair restored forward running on both sides. In 2021, The Gravity Group rebuilt about 500 feet of track from the first drop through the fourth airtime hill to smooth out the ride.
A Legacy Built on Nostalgia
The Racer is one of the few attractions still standing from Kings Island’s original 1972 opening day lineup, giving it a rare continuity with the park’s earliest history. Its success helped prove wooden coasters could still draw crowds, influencing later racing designs such as Racer 75 at Kings Dominion.
Today it remains a Coney Mall staple, prized by enthusiasts less for extreme stats and more for its historic pedigree, smooth airtime, and the simple joy of racing a friend down parallel wooden tracks.
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The Racer FAQs
Who designed The Racer at Kings Island?
John C. Allen designed The Racer, and it was built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters for the park’s opening in 1972.
How fast does The Racer go?
The Racer reaches a top speed of about 53 mph during its roughly two-minute ride.
Did The Racer’s tracks always run in the same direction?
No. From 1982 to 2008 the right track ran backwards, making it the first racing coaster in the world to do so, before it was switched back to forward running.
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Photo: Unknown / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.