Drag race at Kuhnle Motorsports Park to benefit Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
Sep. 19—Kuhnle Motorsports Park will be hosting the18th annual University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital Race this weekend.
The race is scheduled for Sept. 24 with the gates opening at 9 a.m. and the event getting underway at 10. The park is located at 8233 Sidley Road in Thompson Township.
In addition to jet-powered and top dragsters, pro modifieds, exhibition cars and other bracket drag cars, Bob Motz's jet semi truck, which goes more than 200 miles per hour, will also be featured during the event.
"This has always been a big event for us, but since Kim Kuhnle from Kuhnle Trucking purchased the property, there's been a ton of improvements," said Jim Curtis, the drag strip's manager for more than 20 years.
Admission will be $20 for adults and $10 for ages 6-12; all the proceeds will go to Rainbow Babies and Children's in Cleveland. Spectators also will be able to participate in a basket auction and 50-50 raffle.
Curtis predicts there will be at least 10,000 people and more than 200 cars in attendance. Over the years, more than $150,000 has been given to the hospital.
"One of my employees had a child who had issues when she was born and she went through Rainbow Babies," Curtis said. "When my son was born, he was 2 pounds and 11 ounces, and he had heart surgery when he was 2 days old. I thought what better way to give back somehow.
"In the beginning, we started out with an 8-foot table. Now, we have 10 to 12 tables full of stuff. A lot of the racers bring things to raffle off."
Last December, Kuhnle purchased what was once the Thompson Drag Raceway. Since then, aluminum grandstand seating for more than 5,000 and new asphalt have been installed. The pit area has been moved from one side of the track to the other, a new spectator entrance has been built, and all new LED lighting has been added.
"We've ordered a lot of things we haven't gotten in yet," Curtis said. "We ordered buildings for new concession stands. We put a new entrance gate in, three new buildings — it hasn't stopped. We've been working on the property since January through the snow, the cold, the rain and the heat of the summer. People who have seen it before want to see what it looks like now."
Among the racers participating in the event is Mike Charlton, an Eastlake resident who has two grandchildren who were born premature. Rainbow Babies and Children's was instrumental in helping them, he said.
Charlton has raced in this event a number of times, and he enjoys meeting people in attendance. His jet bike will be making an exhibition run this year.
Charlton said his father inspired him to get into drag racing.
"The speed, when you're going down the track — it's like nirvana," he said. "It's wonderful."
Curtis said many spectators come up to him to tell them their stories.
"I'm open ears," he said. "Since Kuhnle purchased the property, he wanted to make this one of our premier events, so hopefully it'll draw a big crowd."
