RICHMOND, Ky. (LEX 18) — Dirt racing in Kentucky isn’t just for the horses. The state has plenty of local dirt tracks that host a variety of divisions and classes on Saturday nights throughout the year. Just two years ago, however, the super stock class of dirt racing in Kentucky was headed for trouble.
“There's not a whole lot of tracks left that would run us in all honesty,” said Greg Miller, who owns a super stock car. “The ones that do got 6 or 7 cars a night sometimes and run you for $400.”
“They were about to fold. I mean this class was going down,” said Allen Tilley, who has a background in working all around the racetrack. “I go way back. I've worked for different tracks, helping in the pits. I've done it all at the racetracks.”
Low car count and small payouts left a bleak outlook for super stock racing. That all changed in 2024 when Tilley made the decision to revive the KDRA Super Stock Series.
According to Miller, he “started getting some messages” from Tilley saying, “don't sell your car, or if you're building one, don't stop.”
Tilley shared he had a lot of people who supported him from the beginning. They knew his passion, he said, and knew we "was going to do it right."
At first, Tilley made calls to racetracks and sponsors, but in a matter of time, he was the one getting the calls from the other parties. After a full season in 2024, the KDRA Super Stock Series is in its second full year. On Saturday, Sept. 27, at Richmond Raceway in Madison County, the car count was at 22 and the payout was much improved.
“Allen and this series offers us a chance,” said Miller. “The minimum race we run for is $1500 to win. Back here in two weeks, there's a $3000 to win, so it's good money to be able to run these cars for that.”
Tilley has decades of experience in the racing world. After all, he was born into it, and he has plenty of stories to tell.
“My dad had a coupe, I mean the 32 Ford, that's what they were racing back then,” Tilley said.
“Me and my sister were standing close to the track and a tire flew off of my dad's car and we were both running from it and it knocked my sister down,” he added with a laugh. His sister was okay.
Among his stories, Tilley says he wasn’t much of a driver.
“I drove a car one time. That was the end of my career as a race car driver.”
But Tilley’s greatest racing story – one of recovery – started two years before he considered his role in the super stock division. This story took place in August 2021.
“They were just what they call rolling in the track, getting the surface ready for racing,” Tilley began. “There were 2 cars. I was standing on the edge of the track where I always stood, and these two cars got together.”
“I heard it happening. The car was coming at me. I was trying to get away from it, but there was just, it's such a freak thing the way it happened. It pinned me against that wall.”
After the collision, the car backed away and Tilley fell to the ground.
“I was reaching for the wall trying to stand up,” he recalled. “I was telling everybody there, I said, ‘If I can just stand up I'm going to be okay.’ Of course my legs were behind me. I mean they were bowed completely around behind me.
That day, Tilley lost his legs, and he nearly lost his life. Even through the twists and turns – which includes five surgeries and rehab at Cardinal Hill – Tilley couldn’t stay away from the racing world.
“I went through a little phase there for about a month or two after it happened and I was like, ‘Why did I ever even do this?’” Tilley shared.
But then he began thinking about super stocks in Kentucky.
“I went to my wife with the idea. I said ‘what would you think if I started my own series,’” Tilley shared. “She looked at me and shook her head, and she didn't say anything for a while. Then she looked at me and she said, ‘This is what you want to do, I'm behind you 100%.”
The KDRA Super Stock Series made its debut at Richmond Raceway last year – the same place the series raced last weekend.
“You know he threw the green flag from the infield at their very first race here,” said Bill Lupinos, track owner.
On Saturday night, Tilley made another statement: standing again at a race track for the first time since that August night.
“I've seen so many people give up. But I've never given up and I will never give up. I've got too much to live for,” Tilley said.
“If I can help somebody else have the same attitude I have, the same want to keep going. If I can do that for somebody, that, that's made me whole.”
Tilley and the KDRA Super Stock Series has just a few races left in their 2025 season. The super stocks are heading to Lewis County this weekend to race at Mudlick Valley Raceway. You can follow KDRA here.
