We went into the archives to dig up more details of that long tradition.
Early days
Kil-Kare Raceway started in 1951 with a 1/5-mile dirt track built by the Marshall brothers, Whitey, Del and Windy, from Alpha.
The track is located at 1166 Dayton-Xenia Road, about three miles from downtown Xenia.
The original track was made of dirt. Dust from the very first race in 1951 was so bad that the brothers were convinced to shut down for the year and pave the track.
The 1952 season is considered the first of racing at Kil-Kare. New bleachers were erected for the season.
That season started when more than 30 hot-rods participated in Opening Day festivities. Racing was planned for every Sunday throughout the summer, with additional racing on Wednesday nights later in the summer.
In those days, drivers raced in 1939-40 Ford Coupes.
During that first full season, the track was seeing 3,000 fans a week and racers enjoyed a guaranteed $1,000 purse.
Sixty cars showed up for opening weekend in April 1953. Considerable work had been done on the grounds in preparation for the season. Included were new guard rails, a new road leading to the track, changes to the parking area and another resurfacing of the fifth-mile oval.
The track was rebuilt into a 3/8 mile, D-shaped oval configuration in 1955.
In 1989, Kil-Kare Speedway became a sanctioned track of NASCAR and remailed so for 21 years.
The dragway
The quarter-mile dragstrip opened in 1959, which made Kil-Kare a premier facility for both stock car and drag racing.
In 1975, a star-studded field, headed by at least 13 national winners, converged on Kil-Kare Dragway for the NHRA National Open. It marked the first time in Kil-Kare history that a national meet was held there.
The dragstrip underwent a major renovation after the 2012 season that included safety upgrades and construction of the quarter mile entirely out of concrete.
Credit: Courtesy of Kil-Kare Dragway
Credit: Courtesy of Kil-Kare Dragway
Most dragstrip surfaces were made out of asphalt or a combination of concrete and asphalt, making Kil-Kare’s renovated concrete strip a popular draw for local and regional racing enthusiasts.
A better way to slow down
In 1960, Dayton driver and car builder Larry Miller owned the fastest dragster in town. It weighed 1,400 pounds and was powered by a 500 horsepower Oldsmobile supercharged engine.
Miller, who was reaching speeds in access of 150 mph, was the first in the area to use a parachute to help stop his dragster at the end of the runway.
Credit: Skip Peterson
Credit: Skip Peterson
“We’ve installed a chute,” he told the Dayton Daily News at the time. “It’s a seven-footer which I can release after completing my run.”
Miller and his assistant, Bob Erfman, had traveled out west over the winter to buy a new frame and saw the parachute system being used on the west coast. The men decided it would make a great addition to their dragster.
Hard times
In 2005, a 67-year-old driver was ejected from a bus during a Friday night race and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The track was made safer for drivers in 1972, after Dayton native Dave Stockslager died in a fiery crash. After that race, fuel cells became mandatory.
Kil-Kare’s oval track closed in October 2014 with track officials citing low car counts and dwindling crowds. The track also ended its association with the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series for late models.
Restart your engines
After more than two years sitting idle for area racers, the roar returned to Kil-Kare Raceway in 2017.
The Gem City Auto Racing group — comprised primarily of racers, car owners and business owners — sanctioned Sunday racing at Kil-Kare with late models, modifieds, street stocks and compact divisions.
Credit: Skip Peterson
Credit: Skip Peterson
In 2017, the track also hosted the Sports Car Club of America, the Midwest Drift Union, Corvette Troy and the Rusty Wallace Driving Experience.
It was announced that Kil-Kare would be switching sanctioning bodies from the NHRA to the IHRA in 2023. The IHRA purchased the facilities this month.
Notable past owners
In 1958, the Marshall Brothers sold the facility to Columbus United Stock Car Incorporated.
Richard and Barbara Chrysler took over ownership the speedway in 1974.
Dave Coterel Jr., who also owns Buckminn’s D&D Harley-Davidson in Xenia, purchased the track from the Chrysler family in 2012.
Big name drivers
A.J. Foyt, a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, won his first USAC midget race in 1957 at Kil-Kare.
Former NASCAR Winston Cup driver Ryan Newman also won his first midget race at the track.
Darrell Waltrip, at the time a three-time Winston Cup Champion, raced at the speedway in 1979. The track was repaved just for the occasion.
“I didn’t believe this place when we flew over it coming in,” said Waltrip. “It looks like a square track from the air. I think this is the weirdest track I’ve ever been on. There must be nine turns out there.
“I was raised on tracks like this. I like to do this type of racing because it gets me back to the grass roots.”
Waltrip took time out of his NASCAR schedule for a 75-lap late model race, finishing second to Dick Dunlevy Jr. of New Carlisle.
“That guy that won did a super job. Once he got out front he was tough to catch,” said Waltrip after the race.
“Him and his wife presented me the trophy,” Dunlevy said. “He was a real good sport about it.”
Recent improvements
The association said recent improvements have included an all-concrete racing surface with concrete walls, Accutime timing system, bigger staging lanes, restroom facilities, concession stands and more.
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