luv my dayton
245 posts
Feb 25, 2013
5:45 PM
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Theres got to be many of you on here who raced their cars there or attended to see their friends race. Believe 1959-1962 would have been the years where I would have gone as most of the locals at that time were into working on cars and racing them. Back in those days if you saw a group of guys they were looking under a hood.Girlfriends and wives used this time to watch the races and visit with friends.Any one got some storys we'd enjoy?
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olds88
88 posts
Feb 25, 2013
6:16 PM
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Could probably write a book about those days.Still see some of the old timers at Geezer Gassers in august.Took Mr Bolsers neice on adate on a Sat.Not sure that was smart but thats the way priorites stacked up back then.My friend Bill Clark lived near you and had a sweet MG with chevy power i used to pull out to the track.Had a picture of Mighty Mouse on the doors.I believe your ex brother in law had a top gas rail that went big time.Iwas out of the loop by then and got the info second hand.
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Calhoun
106 posts
Feb 25, 2013
7:06 PM
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I grew up less than a mile from Kil Kare, lived there from 63 until I went away to college in 74. The noise was almost overwhelming, at times we'd have to go in doors just to hear one another. As kids on race nights we'd walk down the railroad track that ran almost parallel to the drag strip, only to be shooed away by Kil Kare security.
In the early 70s, a jet car exploded on the drag strip, the blast shook our windows. A neighbor who lived a hundred yards or so closer to the strip actually found jet engine debris in his yard.
Last Edited by Calhoun on Feb 25, 2013 7:08 PM
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cilla46
157 posts
Feb 26, 2013
7:03 AM
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My oldest brother was a regular at the drag strip for several years in early 60's.I believe he ran in the A gas class.He ran a 1948 Chevy and held the record for the 1/4 mile for a bit.This was probably in 1962.I never saw him race but remember well the hours he spent in the garage getting the car ready for Friday and Kil-Kare!I can picture him with his head under the hood talking about headers and intake and other mechanical stuff I didn't understand then or now!
The car was beautiful,28 coats of "Candy Apple Burgandy" so deep you could look into it like a mirror.
He sold the car in the mid 60's and the guy that bought it wrecked it!
I also remember going to a drag strip somewhere up north of Dayton in the 60's where anyone could run in the spectator races.My memory fails me when I try to think of the name of the place.
Last Edited by cilla46 on Jun 15, 2013 2:52 PM
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maxed out
393 posts
Feb 26, 2013
7:56 AM
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Calhoun...I could here the drag strip from our house also... I lived near the fairgrounds in Xenia... I used to go quite often...I remember that Bill Stepp was a regular there in his "Billy The Kid" pro stock. Also I saw Art Arfon's Green Monster jet car. It burnt down the back fence. Ault & James were regular racers also
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tlturbo
478 posts
Feb 26, 2013
8:23 AM
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I remember going there to watch just a few times in early to mid 60's. All I remember was the AFX altered wheelbase Hemi's that were the start of the Funny Cars. Cross ram dual quads with screens over them. I have NO idea that as much as I raced in the late 60's, early 70's and lived in Beavercreek, WHY I never raced there but went to Shelby Raceway up in Lockington near Piqua.
I can remember racing there ONE time about 1967 and getting stomped first run as it was my first time on a track and I had NO idea what I was doing. Thank goodness I learned quick. HA
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1987 Buick GN
87 Buick GN
Last Edited by tlturbo on May 08, 2015 1:20 PM
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joey m
41 posts
Feb 26, 2013
11:04 AM
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raced here almost every fri. night in 1965 with my 1965 chevy impala ss. in 1966 my friend leroy hensley bought a 1966 427 chevy biscayne. he decided to put it on the strip. we decided to balance and blue print the engine,wanted it to be legal for nationals. sent engine to arlen vanke in akron for tech work. we ran all of the local strips besides kil kare and were very successful. got beat in second round of nationals in A STOCK by 1965 pont 421 he was the 1965 A STOCK winner. great memories. i forgot to mention that i got drive the car the whole season. the name of the car was BAMM BAMM !!!!
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luv my dayton
247 posts
Feb 26, 2013
8:10 PM
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Not sure Olds88 how good he did as his parents were furious about the money going into it and the time he took off his real job, which he eventually ran out of money and lost his job. Never did much after that. He never drove and had a driver for him and can't remember the name of the guy.By the way,the man is now deceased and had lived in Fla for many years.
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olds88
89 posts
Feb 27, 2013
9:37 AM
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When i was working pre 2001 i used to see Butch every Monday at TI and some fri. night cruiseins.I believe Dale Roekner was his driver.Still see dave thomas around.Butch never changed in all the years i knew him. He lived next store to me from 1953-1963.Wild times.
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olds88
90 posts
Feb 27, 2013
9:54 AM
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Getting back on topic i just saw a picture on the kil kare web site of the new track being installed.Going to be nice concrete launch pad,cement walls down each side which are alot safer.Dont know if they were addressing the creek issue.They had already put in new staging areas and paved alot of service driveways.It will be a first class strip in southern Ohio.I hope it gets good support as new owner has put a good deal of money into the whole facility.
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olds88
108 posts
Jun 12, 2013
4:22 PM
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The Dayton area lost an icon Tues if your a motorhead or just a friend. George Chatterton passed away after a short illness. I chose the Kilkare blog as he was there at the start and would have been there for the reopening.LMD i hope you catch this post as we had talked about him not long ago.
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luv my dayton
303 posts
Jun 12, 2013
8:54 PM
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We are all getting up there and may go missing any time. George certainly was one of the originals and lived in his garage or at the track. Always working on a car and in spite of that his garage was immaculate from what I saw. Didn't know Dave Thomas still alive. As for Dale Roeckner, he and wife were the last of Butchs visitors when he was in nursing facility in florida .
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Jack S.
19 posts
Jun 13, 2013
2:55 PM
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This Brings back lots of memory's, If I remember right Dale Roecker Had a Buick, would hang out at the Hasty Tasty on Linden Ave, It was a hot Bed of racers,Dont remember but I think Dale changed the Rear tires on his car to smaller size for drag racing the 1/4 mile races, or went with really big tires to ran top end races. We would go out rt 35, race back from Xenia down the hill, Done lots of street racing Denny Ashworth and me Jack Spitler had 55 T=birds with superchargers on them they were very fast. Jack Holt or houl, Dick Vest, Larry Miller, we were all racers. Ran Kilkare and Dahio Drag Strips, will be adding more later If there are any responses to this post.
Last Edited by Jack S. on Jun 13, 2013 2:56 PM
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olds88
110 posts
Jun 13, 2013
4:26 PM
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Jack,you bring up a lot of racing history. Spent many nights on rt.35 from Grange Hall west toward dayton. Jim Jennings was a t-bird guy tuned by Jack H.Wes Cambell,Jim Clinton.Dale Thaxton, Jess Mayfield etc.all good street racers and not bad on the track. Where tou part of Brockmens and later of go-kart fame?
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joey m
65 posts
Jun 14, 2013
10:38 AM
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remember dahio very well names like JESSE PIET, JIM CLINTON, DAVE PICKREL & GEORGE MONTGOMERY to name a few.
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tlturbo
523 posts
Jun 14, 2013
12:47 PM
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Where was that ?
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supersix
136 posts
Jun 14, 2013
3:56 PM
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Dahio was at the corner of Lutheran Church Road and Old Dayton Road, about 5 miles west of Dayton. The airport and landing strip are still there and functioning.
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Nile
58 posts
Jun 14, 2013
9:11 PM
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I ran at Kil-Kare once with my '62 Oldsmobile against my parent's OK. They forbid me to drive there. I won the class and came home with the trophy. MAN......were they mad! My Dad was spitting mad! I believe Kil-Kare was in the news recently because of the noise. The neighbors took them to court about the noise. I think they were also hosting rock band concerts there too which is probably why the neighbors were so mad. I also saw Art Arfons run his Green Monster there.
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joey m
66 posts
Jun 17, 2013
8:58 AM
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olds88 I didnt think anybody would remember the south dayton strip. your going back to the fifties. my parents bought a huber home in "56" and iremember driving down lamme rd and seeing the hangars were being used for storage for the huber construction crews.
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olds88
112 posts
Jun 17, 2013
1:37 PM
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I always figured Col. Deeds had some relationship with the south Dayton airport as his house was a short hop away.There was a under ground bunker on the west side of deeds property that iwas told held a aircraft years ago.Maybe someone can enlighten us.
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Jack S.
20 posts
Jun 21, 2013
12:26 PM
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Olds88, Yes, But we just bought engine parts for our dragsters there, until I went out there one day, to pick up a new cam for our ford flathead, Jim Brockman
had just got a new GoKart in with twin 580 West Bends motors on it he asked me if i would like to ride it outside his shop.I did, Came back in asked how much. he told me about $169.00. told him to put it in my car. And yes I went on to GoKart Fame. In 1961 There was a Big Race, at Tipp City Ohio, Go Kart track,, 2 top places went to England @ Italy to Race. But before that in 1957 Denny Ashworth, Charley Peacock @ myself, Also had a Minibike store, called Dayton Mini Motors @ 739 S. Main we built a Minibike back in 1967 that had 2 WestBend 820s on it. I just sold it to a fellow from New Jersey last summer, on June 14,15 @ 16 2013 my Wife and me went to Windber, Pa. Where he won BEST OF SHOW, and we met for the first time. Boy, Is it fun go go back in time and relive the Past. olds88 drop me an email. tooljac@sbcglobal.net
Last Edited by Jack S. on Jun 21, 2013 12:39 PM
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Jack S.
21 posts
Jul 13, 2013
8:16 AM
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Olds88 Kilkare Speedway also Dayton Speedway.
Any one remember Dick Dunlevy Sr. Dick Freeman There were lots of others. I used to drive Dick
Dunlevy to Columbus Motor Speedway Back in 1957
he didn;t have a drivers license, I raced Dick Freeman's Goldenhawk Studebacker against My 57 T-bird at Dayton Speedway. I found lot of pictures of the old time racers on line. I will post the web site if anyone's interested
Olds88, drop me a line tooljac@sbcglobal.net Put Dayton History-Kilkare in subject line
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Syxpack
116 posts
Jul 13, 2013
7:47 PM
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Weren't they members of The Dayton Pleasure Car Club that used to race at Forest Park Speedway as well as Kilkare, DeGraft and The Dayton Speedway, etc.? My late husband and I were great friends of Don Bierley who raced with those fellows. I just gave my son a scrapbook that I used to keep of that club and the races during the late 1940's. We never missed a race during that time.
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olds88
115 posts
Jul 21, 2013
2:34 PM
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Jack,i remember all the above plus Harold smith,Jack Price,tommy smith and met Curtis Turner when he got suspended from NASCAR and came to Dayton and hung out with the whole gang.I went to the hidelburg bar on brown st. when harold bought it and had race movies every wednesday.I spent a day in Tipp City driving a go kart i loved it but some one in novice class came over my rear wheel. That was it for serious racing.Ended up on various parking lots a lot cheaper.That was around 59.I never met you but saw you at kilkare and read about your go kart success.I am old school and my extent of computer knowledge is limited.i will try to get ahold of you.
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Jack S.
22 posts
Jul 21, 2013
6:51 PM
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olds88
Just send me Email tooljac@sbcglobal.net or ask
Curt for my phone number. Its ok for Curt to give you my number
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Floridave
1 post
Aug 21, 2013
6:10 PM
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We just got back to Florida from spending last Saturday at Kil-Kare Dragway for the 5th Annual Gathering of the Geezers. The new owner has spent a lot to improve the facility and it really looks nice. The dragstrip now has a new concrete surface with walls instead of Armco barrier guardrails. It also has a catch net across the end of the track to stop cars (if need be) before they get to the river.
We raced an injected Big Block Chevy 23T altered there from 1977 to 1984 and won 3 consecutive track championships along the way. I sure miss those days as well as Dayton during its boom years.
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jfox68
78 posts
Aug 22, 2013
4:28 AM
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Floridave, I was at Kil-Kare on Saturday also. I knew a couple of the guys getting awards. Justin Goffinet's father and Dave Pleasant. There were a lot of nice cars there on Saturday.
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tlturbo
536 posts
Aug 22, 2013
1:24 PM
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Floridave - I remember it. It actually was around behind the lakes off of 441. My dad bought me a go kart with a West Bend 580 on it and I went there several times probably 62-63 era? I asked before about the name of it. I didn't like the track stuff so we ran it around the neighborhood out in Beavercreek. Usually took about 30-45 minutes for the cops to get called and show up. But we had routes between houses, and didn't have to follow the roads so we could always make it back into my garage and get the door down before they could get to that end of the neighborhood. Then we'd sit and watch them drive around looking for it.
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Floridave
4 posts
Aug 22, 2013
9:27 PM
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jfox68 - Ed Crowder called me last winter and asked if I could come up to be inducted into the K-K Hall of Fame so we headed up there and it sure was a great time. Got to see a lot of old friends including Jerry Goffinet of 'Tanker' fame. He ran out of Chuck Bogan's Valley Machine Service shop on North Dixie like we did and it was good to see him. Also, Paul Frost, Jerry Ault, Ohio George, Dick Massey, Bud Harbin, Butch Young, Dean Karns and a bunch of others. There were a lot of really nice cars there and it was good to revisit Kil-Kare where I spend all of my Saturdays 30-35 years ago. Jim Browder is still racing an old 212" WB front-engined dragster of mine in the fast bracket, though, and he had it there. It was known as "Ohio Silver" in the late 60s/early 70s and Bob Miller from Springfield ran it as a Top Fuel car.
I'd hoped the guys that now have my old 23T altered would be there with it but they weren't. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!
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jfox68
79 posts
Aug 23, 2013
4:33 AM
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Floridave, congratulations on your induction into the HOF. I watched the entire induction ceremony so I'm sure I saw your induction. I'm just not sure which one was you. I work with Justin Goffinet. He still races his Dad's "Tanker" car once in a while. He didn't run it this past weekend because he was rebuilding the engine and didn't get finished in time.
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goose richardson
1 post
Jul 27, 2014
10:03 PM
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Looking for anybody that ran at kilkare in late 60s &70s....my uncle raced there n has pump gas records there....im trying to find info bout his car etc.. his name is larry richardson he ran a white 55 chevy with a murial painted on hood & it was a convertable...any info will be great ....as im trying to build a tribute car to him ....he is reason im a drag racer today....if any pictures or anything u can facebook me ...my face book name is goose richardson
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goose richardson
2 posts
Jul 27, 2014
10:04 PM
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Looking for anybody that ran at kilkare in late 60s &70s....my uncle raced there n has pump gas records there....im trying to find info bout his car etc.. his name is larry richardson he ran a white 55 chevy with a murial painted on hood & it was a convertable...any info will be great ....as im trying to build a tribute car to him ....he is reason im a drag racer today....if any pictures or anything u can facebook me ...my face book name is goose richardson
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historybuff
201 posts
Jul 28, 2014
1:46 AM
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Just read this thread and enjoyed reading about KilKare. Grew up in Xenia but never was into racing. Went there a couple of times to see the races. My dad was into racing and went there a lot and also went to the Dayton Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. It might have been before most of the racers on here but I wonder if anyone remembers a guy from Xenia named "Dud Scott”? He was a friend of my Dad’s and he did race at Kilkare a few times. Long, Long time ago….
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historybuff
202 posts
Jul 28, 2014
7:39 AM
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I wonder how many out there saw and enjoyed the movie “Heart Like a Wheel”? Thought it belonged on this site for sure……..
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michael
1 post
Aug 04, 2014
1:20 PM
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I spent a lot of time at the strip. 1963/1964 raced Corvairs. They had their own class. Teamed up with Andy Anderson and we put together Bits & Pieces, 1952 MG with a 426 Max Wedge. My biggest problem was Fred Hurst in his A Gas 41 Willies. I knew a whole bunch of guys there and had a great year with the car. The MG would run on the National Record so most wins were easy. Andy built a 23T with a 6 cylinder 292 Ford running H Gas 65. I sold the car in the fall 1966 to Andy. He replaced the 426 with a 427 Big Block Chevy in 1967. In 67/68 NHRA did away with the Modified Sports Car Class. I picked up the 23T from Andy and resold it. I have looked over and over for the MG. Never found it and do not know what ever happened to Andy either. Now in our 70’s we are retired in SC and have three classis show cars.
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olds88
269 posts
Aug 05, 2014
5:42 PM
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Planning on going sat. forGeezers.Should be great turn out and two days is a hoot.Certain street classes allow riders which doesn't happen often.Nothing beats the sound of a old school gasser.Can I get an amen?
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tlturbo
620 posts
Aug 06, 2014
5:11 AM
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Got an 11.54 @ 119 out of the GN last Friday night in FL heat. Sure wish I was closer.
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1987 Buick GN
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hunt69
514 posts
Aug 06, 2014
6:15 AM
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Thanks for the info! I guess I qualify as a GEEZER. I think I'll put this on my schedule. Wish you were here tlturbo.
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Leonard
5 posts
Dec 28, 2014
1:03 PM
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Hello everyone. I really enjoy this site. I would like to thank everyone for sharing there memories. I have chatted with a few of you in the past. I am trying to track down some history on a former old drag car i bought in 1986. My question, Does any one recall seeing a red 1969 Camaro with a factory 427 engine and column shift automatic that had a mural painted on trunk lid race at Kil Kare in the 70s? This car was purchased new at Ray Bryant Chevrolet on Brown St. in Dayton in 1969. I assume it may have raced at that track since it was purchased in the area. I have documentation dating in the early 80s showing a previous owner with the last name of Frost. Any info would be appreciated. Once again, thank you and lets keep posting them old memories. We enjoy them.
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joey m
294 posts
Dec 29, 2014
8:44 AM
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His first name was Paul and I thought he ran Pontiac's. He raced quite a while in the Dayton area. I raced against him in 66.
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olds88
295 posts
Dec 29, 2014
4:36 PM
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At one time I think Frost had a bad Willys c gas.Had a national record in 61.He might be working with Pat Dakin on top fuel out off Wagner ford road.
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olds88
296 posts
Dec 29, 2014
4:40 PM
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Could anyone give us a update on status of the strip for 2015? Thought maybe some body might be going to the banquet and pick up some info.Heard just about every one was let go.
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Boatman55
8 posts
Mar 18, 2015
8:00 AM
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Sad to see the speedway will not be open for 2015. I started going there in 1971 and watched all of the drivers get old like me. It amazes me that several of the drivers are still racing. A lot of their children are now racing at Shady Bowl and Columbus. Hopefully they will find a way to pay a decent purse and get the Speedway open again.
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supersix
198 posts
Mar 18, 2015
10:13 AM
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Kil Kare speedway not opening in 2015? They have a tentative schedule posted online. The drag schedule is posted also.
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Boatman55
10 posts
Mar 19, 2015
7:31 AM
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I stand corrected. I can't log on to their site for some reason, but the last time I did the tentative schedule did not include a regular Friday night program. I hope they changed their minds.
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jack1971
98 posts
Mar 22, 2015
6:42 AM
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A friend of mine's brother used to race there a lot back in the 1960s.
His last name was Boggs and he had a 427 Corvette.
Somewhere on the car he had the logo, "427 Under Glass".
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Gary Spencer
1 post
May 08, 2015
6:32 AM
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Think I have Mike Boggs car. It is a 69 L88 vette roadster. I have pics at Kil Kare . Does anyone remember the car and is Mike still around? It ran 10`s. Would like some history if possible. Thanks...
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Gary Spencer
2 posts
May 10, 2015
8:35 AM
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Looking for info at kil-Kare dragway about Mike Boggs. I believe I have his 69 L88 corvette..Any help would be appreciated
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