The History of Racer 75

Kings Dominion's oldest thrill ride is also one of its simplest pleasures: two wooden trains racing side by side to the finish. It opened with the park in 1975 as Rebel Yell, and it is still running today as Racer 75.

Opening day, 1975

Designed by the legendary John C. Allen and built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, Rebel Yell cost about $1.5 million and opened on the park's first day, May 3, 1975. Its name came from a brand of bourbon. The layout is a mirror image of itself, two tracks that stay side by side almost the whole way, so the race is genuine and the finish is close. For years one side even ran its trains backward, a version locals nicknamed "Yell Rebel."

The birth of a coaster club, and a new name

Rebel Yell holds a small place in roller coaster history. In 1977 it hosted a marathon ride-a-thon to promote the film Rollercoaster, and out of that gathering grew the American Coaster Enthusiasts, the national club known as ACE. In 2018 the park renamed the ride Racer 75, a nod to its 1975 opening, to its racing design, and to ACE itself, hidden in the middle of the name. The wooden track is still maintained the old-fashioned way, replaced board for board rather than converted to steel.

Sister coasters

Racer 75 is part of a family of John C. Allen wooden racers. Its closest relatives are The Racer at sister park Kings Island, which opened in 1972 and inspired it, and the former Thunder Road at Carowinds, which raced from 1976 until it closed in 2015. Fittingly, Racer 75 was built alongside another Allen woodie at Kings Dominion, the little Woodstock Express, and the two carry consecutive builder's numbers.

One thing to know

The national roller coaster club, American Coaster Enthusiasts, traces its founding to a 1977 ride-a-thon held on this coaster.

Racer 75 is one chapter in the fifty-year history of Kings Dominion.

Racer 75 at a glance