BURLINGTON, Ky. — Tight turns, breakaway finishes, launching toward the skies with reckless abandon. It’s all the excitement of traditional race cars at a fraction of their size.
At least that’s what Kevin Spanier thought. But there was no good place to watch or compete in remote controlled car racing nearby.
He asked the Boone County Parks Department if he could build an RC racetrack at England Idlewild Park.
“So many people come up here and do RC cars," Spanier said. "Now that (we've) kind of built up a following, we have a maintenance crew that comes out and helps do everything now.”
RC racing is a relatively new hobby for Spanier, which started when he got his 4-year-old son his own car in Sept. 2023.
After getting the county's approval, he put his own time and money into building the track, which was also supported by donations.
“We live 10 minutes away, and money’s nothing when (you've) got fun that the community can enjoy," he said. “It's incredible just to give back. What better way than to have something for the community? And all these kids finally have something to do when school’s out.”
Luke Smith is one of those kids. He said the most fun he’s had at the track is learning how to fix RC cars while practicing more.
The track has even started to draw in professionals to weekend races. Spanier said any notion this is only a kids' hobby has been left in the dust.
“One screw adjustment can change everything with handling, so (you've) got to dig deep to have all that knowledge so you can go faster,” he said. “One mistake can cost you five to 10 positions in a race because everyone’s so close to each other. There’s so much talent in the Cincinnati area that I never knew existed.”
With the track now in place, Spanier said RC racing has high potential to continue growing in Northern Kentucky.
The track, which is now part of Boone County’s parks budget, will also offer kids' classes.