10-4 Magazine September 2023

Truck Show Report: By Frank Strohmyer In the past there were only two places that held Quebec style uphill, side by side, semi-truck drag racing. Now there is a third – Kuhnle Motorsports Park in Thompson, OH. In January 2022, Kuhnle Brothers of Newbury, OH bought Thompson Raceway Park. This raceway has been a dragstrip mecca in central and northern Ohio for over 65 years. Often referred to as simply “Thompson” by many, my dad took me there a few times when I was little, but I hadn’t been back there since. Over the past six months, Kuhnle Brothers has invested a lot of money and time in the raceway, which is now called Kuhnle Motorsports Park. Investments in the track have been made to include new LED lighting, an increased pit area with lots of pavement, and a new uphill drag racing track. They are also building a truck pulling track, which should be ready this October (2023). Wanting Quebec style uphill, side by side, semi-truck drag racing events which included both loaded and bobtail classes, Kim Kuhnle scheduled their inaugural event, called Unc’s Semi Stampede, on June 30 to July 2, 2023. The name “Unc” is in honor of Kim Taylor Kuhnle, known as “Unc” by family and friends. Obviously, the public wants more events like this, because it was reported that over 6,000 people were in the stands to watch the races. The first day of the event (June 30) was practice day. Gates opened at 6:00 AM and practice runs started at 10:00 AM. The weather was ideal for the event, with temps in the low 80s, and partly sunny and hazy, mostly due to the smoke from nearby Canadian wildfires. This first day saw non-stop action which lasted all day. During this time, we were all learning who was who, and who to pay attention to when the racing began. All told, there were 74 entries that were from Canada, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Missouri. The longest race entry came from San Antonio, TX, which was Rick Hernandez and his 2001 Pete 379. Roger Kral, a veteran driver at Kuhnle Brothers (who celebrated 50 years of driving with Kuhnle back in November 2021), took a few laps down the track, as did many of the other Kuhnle drivers. As the day ended, a bunch of Canadian entries showed up (they came together in one big group). On the second day of the event (July 1) racing started at 9:00 AM, and there was plenty of action throughout 32 10-4 Magazine / September 2023 UNC'S SEMI STAMPEDE