Racer at Kings Island
Race the other trainyour friends in the train across

Kings Island, Mason, Ohio

Racer

1900192519501975200020251972older than 417 of theother 445 coasters we cover
POV
Ride it: back row POV
Back row
50 years of coaster history
I had to wipe tears of joy off my face after every ride
What riders love
  • Racer is about one thing: supplying good air all the way through.
  • This ride seemed smooth and had nice floater air over its classically profiled hills.
  • The ahead-of-its-time airtime from modern profiled hills shows the brilliance of John C. Allen, and the offseason retracking work returned this ride to its rightful position as a classic jewel that led the coaster resurgence in the 1970s.
  • The racing aspect is beyond fun and adds a whole new level of immersion into the coaster… and you actually race which is the best part!
  • I felt my childhood nostalgia for Thunder Road at Carowinds rush back, and I had a big smile on my face the whole time.
  • Much sneering and trash talking is to be had against the other train!
  • Gravity Group killed it with the retrack on this one, particularly the red side which is almost shockingly smooth in 2026.
  • This is a really fun, old-style wooden coaster that focuses on smooth and gentle airtimes.
  • Butter. that's the entirety of my review.
Racer Watch Performance Should I ride it? Specifications Reviews Planning History

Watch POVs and more

The Racer Front Row POV 60fps HD Kings Island

youtube.com › Thrill POVs

The Racer 4K 60 FPS UHD Back Row POV 2022 | Wooden Racing Coaster Kings Island, OH

youtube.com › Coaster Habitat

The Racer Roller Coaster (POV) - 4K Cinematic Series Kings Island

youtube.com › Kings Island

The Racer at Kings Island (Off-Ride: Both Sides)

youtube.com › SpenCoaster

Retracked Racer Review & History | Kings Island Racing Coaster

youtube.com › Amusement Media

Racer at Kings Island Review Dueling Wooden Roller Coaster

youtube.com › Wabash Coasters

Kings Island Racer Nanocoaster Plus! *Timelapse and Review*

youtube.com › Coaster Universe

Racer at Kings Island

youtube.com › Kings Island

Going Retro: Kings Island bringing back original red, white & blue colors on Racer coaster

youtube.com › LOCAL 12

Behind the scenes of racer at kings island of 2022 at coasterstock of 2022

youtube.com › Jeff Hellmann

Racer Roller Coaster at Kings Island

youtube.com › Adventures with John

Performance

Vs. other coasters at Kings Island

Good air time off of the first hill, there was a little roughness here and there but overall a good ride and it is running good for its age.

Randy Ruble

It seems to me like the trackwork added a little extra umph to the airtime on the big hill in the middle and coming off the turnaround.

dare-to-fly

Racing between the two has been very unreliable on my visits but either way it’s a well-rounded woodie with very good floater airtime.

Bryan Bonafede

It has 1 nice floater hill but the rest of the ride is slow, forceless and even is rough at points.

Carter Eckhart

We go through 3 airtimeless hills in a row.

Incredible Coasters

I thought the Red Racer was great, it was extremely smooth and does have a nice view of Coney since you dont have to turn your neck anymore.

derek9312

The seats are also comfortable, with a non-restrictive restraint helping with the airtime that I talked about before, along with a squishy leather seat.

roller rider

Gravity Group killed it with the retrack on this one, particularly the red side which is almost shockingly smooth in 2026.

Bryan Bonafede

There is not a lot of a shake, the airtime is great and it’s pretty smooth for a wooden coaster!

Sam M.

I couldnt imagine doing the forwards that many times as it still has those rough spots, yet the backwards would probably make me extemely dizzy after about 5 rides.

DeLorean Rider

The Blue Racer gave me a headache because of the roughness whereas the Red Racer is as smooth as glass throughout.

welchce

It doesn’t have much intensity compared to the other two wood coasters at Kings Island but it was lots of fun and even a little airtime here and there.

David

This would be a great next step coaster for younger riders.

thomas stanley

Otherwise, for a classic woodie, it has some pretty good speed and pops of airtime.

Rollertoaster

Between the short waits and long ride time, I always feel satisfied with a ride on the Racer (Blue).

Reed Dutton

The capacity on it is incredible too, since they can fill two whole trains each time.

Max S.

...of the coaster is not really a big draw for me considering there aren’t many moments of interaction between the two tracks, it does help capacity, making the lines for this typically not very long.

I'm NotHere

The dispatches were lightning fast as well, keeping the lines moving.

roller rider

Unfortunately it seems to only run one train a lot.

Thunderbolt

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Specifications

88 ftHeight
287 Orion 230 Diamondback 167 Banshee 131 Invertigo 110 The Beast 88 Racer
82 ftFirst drop
300 Orion 215 Diamondback 150 Banshee 141 The Beast 98 MysticTimbers 82 Racer
53 mphTop speed
Orion91 Diamondback80 Banshee68 The Beast65 Flight of Fear54 Racer53 091 mph
45°Drop angle
85°Orion74°Diamondback53°MysticTimbers53°The Beast45°Racer45°Batdashed line: straight down, 90°
0Inversions

What riders say

Praised for

FunStrong airtimeSmooth rideShort waitsFloaty airtime

Criticised for

Rough or rattlyRider fit issues

I got some decent ejector near the start, but the whole course was really rough and this side seemed to lose more.

Ryan Armstrong, Captain Coaster review

There is a lot of a shake rising up into the turn around, but the airtime is solid!

Sam M., Captain Coaster review

Its dosent have more rattle then its opposite and there are better racers out there but overall good pacing and airtime’s here and there.

Isaiah White, Captain Coaster review

Still a good ride with great floater and fun races, but the bottoms of the hills are a jolt to the lower back.

Jackie ODoyle, Captain Coaster review

A nice wooden rumble but not a painful jerking about, it’s about as smooth as can been expected.

Stoan, review

It has 1 nice floater hill but the rest of the ride is slow, forceless and even is rough at points.

Carter Eckhart, Captain Coaster review

Photos

Racer at Kings Island
WillMcC, CC BY-SA 3.0
Racer at Kings Island
WillMcC, CC BY-SA 3.0
Racer roller coaster at Paramount's Kings Island
Chris Hagerman, CC BY-SA 3.0
Racer at Kings Island
DD Lover, CC0
Kings Island "Racer" wooden roller coaster, 1972
Alan Light, CC BY 2.0
Racer at Kings Island
WillMcC, CC BY-SA 3.0
Racer at Kings Island
Rcfreak339, CC BY-SA 3.0

7 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

History and awards

April 29, 1972Opened

Built by Philadelphia Toboggan, designed by John C. Allen.

$1.2 millionTo build

Golden Ticket Awards, top wood coaster: ranked in 2 polls, 2005 to 2007

46th2005, its first poll
45th2007, its best placing

Sources

Restraint types: Captain Coaster. History, incidents and awards: Wikipedia. Specifications and status: Coasterpedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Also read: Captain Coaster (converted to feet and mph). Rider sentiment and performance scores: rider reviews on Captain Coaster, kicentral.com, incrediblecoasters.com, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rollercoasterphilosophy/ (CC BY 2.0), WillMcC (CC BY-SA 3.0), Chris Hagerman (CC BY-SA 3.0), DD Lover (CC0), Alan Light (CC BY 2.0), Rcfreak339 (CC BY-SA 3.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): Reed Dutton, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I don't think people realize that the Racer is…”; I'm NotHere, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Racer is about one thing: supplying good air all…”; thomas stanley, rider review on Captain Coaster: “This ride seemed smooth and had nice floater air…”; Jackie ODoyle, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The ahead-of-its-time airtime from modern profiled hills shows the…”; Elijah Bacelieri, rider review on Captain Coaster: “It's a blast to have your friends in the…”; Zach S., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The racing aspect is beyond fun and adds a…”; MapleFlakes, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I felt my childhood nostalgia for Thunder Road at…”; Your Coaster Friend, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Much sneering and trash talking is to be had…”; Klabergian Empire, forum post on kicentral.com: “In my genuine opinion, Red racer is now BUTTER…”; Bryan Bonafede, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Gravity Group killed it with the retrack on this…”; Coaster Nut, rider review on Captain Coaster: “This is a really fun, old-style wooden coaster that…”; Taylor.B03, forum post on kicentral.com: “Butter. that's the entirety of my review.”; Skylar, rider review on Captain Coaster: “When you look down from the Eiffel Tower and…”; Brian Sheldon, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I literally laughed the entire time. I had to…”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: Coaster Habitat's back row POV, The Racer 4K 60 FPS UHD Back Row POV 2022 | Wooden Racing Coaster Kings Island, OH (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.