The Racer to get another massive round of retracking for 2024

[BoddaH1994]

Presumably Gravity Group is at it again!

https://themeparksbydon.com/kings-islands-racer-undergoing-extensive-track-work/

Quote

This month, Kings Island’s iconic wooden roller coaster, The Racer, has begun undergoing extensive track work, with approximately 1,000 feet of track on the north side being replaced. This ambitious project involves the use of engineered precut wood track from The Gravity Group, the masterminds behind recent updates on The Beast and previous enhancements to The Racer.

Pic added by @IndyGuy4KI.

 

[MaestroJr]

Nice to see The Racer getting love again, hope they continue to give love to old rides. 

[disco2000]

Not if we adopt the Six Flags method of taking care of woodies.  This may be the last one for awhile....

[Orion742]

13 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Presumably Gravity Group is at it again!

https://themeparksbydon.com/kings-islands-racer-undergoing-extensive-track-work/

Called it in my 2024 wishlist thread. Glad to finally have two completely smooth sides next year! I just hope they paint it red white and blue otherwise that is going to look really weird.

[IndyGuy4KI]

I sure hope they fix that spot at the bottom of the drop before the turn abound on the red side. That is the only real rough spot on red side now.  

[Tr0y]

12 hours ago, disco2000 said:

Not if we adopt the Six Flags method of taking care of woodies.  This may be the last one for awhile....

A future with more Titan track?

[mikejenkins1]

On 11/20/2023 at 9:16 AM, IndyGuy4KI said:

I sure hope they fix that spot at the bottom of the drop before the turn abound on the red side. That is the only real rough spot on red side now.  

I agree and emailed Gravity Group about that as well....

[PKIDelirium]

That part was built by park crews with traditional track, so fixing it would be simpler. Just need to make sure a fix there gets repainted properly.

[Jeorby Nanpa]

On 11/20/2023 at 9:16 AM, IndyGuy4KI said:

I sure hope they fix that spot at the bottom of the drop before the turn abound on the red side. That is the only real rough spot on red side now.  

Ouch!  All the guys know about that "rough spot"  I brace against the restraint full-blast.

[johnjniehaus]

I personally find the airtime on the blue side to be slightly stronger than the red after the re-tracking so while it's a minor complaint, hopefully the airtime can stay just as good after the blue side is finished. I do agree with everyone else that painting it critical to keep the color scheme in tact. I also agree that the red side has that one spot that everyone knows about and it should be addressed at some point. I'm not sure why they stopped the retrack before that bump but you can visibly see that they re tracked a few additional feet on the blue side going up that hill to the turn while on the red side, the new wood ended right at the bottom of the drop - therefore when you come up the other side you hit that jolt that leaves you thinking "what the heck!"

[BoddaH1994]

Speaking of The Racer…

Why was the Backward Racer turned around? Find out once and for all on the latest Tower Topics.

[KIghostguy]

The latest issue of Amusement Today has confirmed that Gravity Group is doing the work: https://amusementtoday.com/issues/2024/202401/assets/downloads/AT-JAN-2024i.pdf

[johnjniehaus]

Anyone have any updates on The Racer re-tracking project? All I ever hear about is Camp Snoopy...

[silver2005]

^That might be too high a bar honestly for the current PR regime. 

[BoddaH1994]

3 hours ago, silver2005 said:

^That might be too high a bar honestly for the current PR regime. 

I can ask Don to write a blog about it so they can come out with the same content 48 hours later if that helps...

[silver2005]

9 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I can ask Don to write a blog about it so they can come out with the same content 48 hours later if that helps...

I feel at this rate with enough Don blog pre-empting of KI PR to respond that we could get KI enthusiasts/KIC members to pick The Vortex replacement.

[Jeorby Nanpa]

On 11/20/2023 at 9:16 AM, IndyGuy4KI said:

I sure hope they fix that spot at the bottom of the drop before the turn abound on the red side. That is the only real rough spot on red side now.  

Maybe you can read between the lines. But as a guy... this bump is particularly hurtful in the most vulnerable spot.

If that little divot in the track was fixed I wouldn't have to stand up against the bar strongly as possible.

[mikejenkins1]

I have the same comment and posted before

[super7]

Racer seems to be racing much better this year than recent years.     The faster lift hill on red is offset by the slower turnaround on red.    The trains are staying together until the finish.