CLAY CITY, Ky. (LEX 18) — With all of the natural beauty of Powell County, you might not expect the sights, sounds, and smells of a racing venue. However, the Kentucky Dragway in Clay City is the biggest facility and biggest venue in Powell County, and it has its own rich history.
“It’s one of the oldest drag strips in the nation,” said Carrie Sipple, one of the owners. “It dates all the way back to 1963.”
The dragway has a history of Sipple family ownership. Aaron Sipple, Carrie’s husband, said it started with his dad back in 1991.
“He was able to acquire the race track under a lease for ten years with four other gentlemen,” Aaron said. “After about a year it was just him. He bought the other four gentlemen out. It was him until 2001."
“In 2019 my husband Aaron and I took back over. This is our sixth year now,” Carrie said. She also shared just how much the dragway has meant to her life and her family.
“Both Aaron and I worked here as teenagers, and part of our love story and meeting and getting married really goes back to this track. So many people have those same kind of stories.”
The Sipples have three boys as well who have been active racing at the track. Carrie said, “it’s just a really long family heritage of being here and being a part of drag racing.”
The Kentucky Dragway hosted its 54th Ken-Mor Bluegrass Nationals Oct. 11-13. The Ken-Mor, which stands for Kentucky-Morehead, started in 1970 and has a rich history. It’s even been called the Super Bowl of Kentucky drag racing.
“With the racers, if you win the Ken-Mor, it’s like winning Indy,” Aaron said. “You’ve won the biggest race of the season pretty much in Kentucky.”
Carrie added, “this is a tradition that dates far back for the community. It’s a big piece of it.”
The tradition brings in younger racers, like Kayden Kratzer, who races a junior dragster.
“How fast do you go in the 1/8th mile in your junior dragster?” Aaron asked. “About 80 [mph],” Kratzer responded.
Veterans like Doug Moles from Tennessee have been coming to the Kentucky Dragway for much longer.
“When I was a kid, I ran around with a bunch of old men, and they’d take me with them to drive,” Moles shared, describing how he got into drag racing. “I’ve been coming up here for the last 15-20 years and I like it a lot. I used to drive a truck a lot, got a lot of friends up here in Kentucky.”
Another racer, Mike Whitlock, said, “a lot of these people that are here came when they were kids. Now they’re real old, and they’re just here watching, and they got their kids here.”
Whitlock lives in Lexington, and racing is just a hobby for him. He owns Whitlock’s All Seasons Roofing & Repairs, but he enjoys the feeling he gets sitting inside the cockpit of his race car.
“It’s awesome,” Whitlock said. “Feels like you’re getting body slammed by Brock Lesnar. It’s a great feeling.”
Moles has a different aspect of the racing that he enjoys the best: “When you get the cash. If you can get some cash, man. It takes money to do this. You’ve got to get that money if you can.”
Racing for the money, for the feeling, or for friends and family, the Kentucky Dragway is a community gateway into Powell County.
“We love to introduce people and bring them into this area and Powell County because Powell County has so much more to offer than what people realize just even outside of the gorge.”
The Kentucky Dragway has one more event left on its calendar, and it’s a celebration of all of the racing off season holidays. The HalloThanksMas event begins this Friday, Oct. 25 and lasts until Sunday, Oct. 27.
You can find more information on Facebook, or you can visit the Kentucky Dragway website here.
