Kil-Kare Speedway has a new owner

An August 2017 race at Kil-Kare. FILE

An August 2017 race at Kil-Kare. FILE

Kil-Kare Speedway, the Xenia Twp. raceway that has attracted stock and drag racing enthusiasts since 1951, has a new owner.

The International Hot Rod Association announced recently that its purchase of Kil-Kare is final. No terms were given.

“There’s a long tradition of racing at the venue 13 miles east of Dayton,” the association said.

The oval was first opened as a one-fifth-mile dirt track in 1951. A year later it was paved and reconfigured to a three-eighths-mile oval.

The quarter-mile dragway opened in 1959, which made Kil-Kare “a premier facility for both stock car and drag racing,” the association said.

The 1166 Dayton-Xenia Road site has been home to quarter midgets, drifting and even some big names in the sport. “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, Shirley Muldowney, “TV Tommy” Ivo and Bob Glidden have made passes down the drag strip, the new owner noted. On the oval, A.J. Foyt scored a Midget win at Kil-Kare in 1957.

The dragway was rebuilt with concrete in 2013, making it a popular venue for drag racing in the region.

Aerial view of Kil-Kare Speedway in Xenia looking west from the dragstrip starting gate.   TY GREENLEES / STAFF

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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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