Kennywood's Racer is a roller coaster of historic significance and the world's oldest racing roller coaster. It was the sixth and final coaster created for Kennywood by designer John A. Miller, replacing the park's older Miller-designed Aerial Racer coaster. Construction of the $75,000 ride was supervised by Andrew M. Brown and Kennywood's Charles J. Mach. Opening on April 17, 1927, Racer was the most expensive element of Kennywood's largest expansion project at the time and for several decades afterward. As one of only three single-track racing coasters remaining in the world today, it features a layout in which riders boarding trains on one side return to the station on the other. After climbing to a height of 72 feet, 8 inches, riders experience turns and mildly twisting drops, including a 43-foot, 6-inch maximum plunge. The approximate 2,250 feet of track on each side, along with the rivalry between trains, helped make Racer one of the longest running and uniquely popular rides in the world. Although its loading station was modified several times over the years, its 1927 facade was restored to its original appearance in 1990.
