Kenny Brightbill

Kenny Brightbill (Born January 20, 1948), nicknamed the "Shillington Slingshot" and "Mr. Excitement" is a former NASCAR and professional dirt modified driver from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. He has won 441 career professional races and is a member of the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, the NYSSCA Hall of fame, the Eastern Motorsports Press Association Hall of fame, the Reading Fairgrounds Speedway Historical Society Home of Champions Hall of fame the North East Dirt Modified Hall of Fame, the YCRC Hall of fame, and is also the all time wins leader of Reading Fairground Speedway with 135 career wins. Brightbill has won many of the most noted races for dirt track modifieds in the Northeastern United States, most notabaly 1988 Syracuse Miller High Life 300.

Brightbill was born inReading Pennsylvania, the son of Helen Irene (Long) and Elmer Samuel Brightbill. He began his racing career in 1967 at the age of 19, at that time the local speedway had the minimum racing age of 21 years old. Kenny could not wait 2 more years to get on the track so he told the race officials he was in fact 21. In honor of his stretch of the truth he choose to make his race number (#19) to honor his real age at the time of 19.

Although Kenny scored over 441 wins at 41 different tracks all over the world, Kenny Brightbill's major notoriety stems from his popularity and dominance at Reading Fairgrounds Speedway. From his first Reading victory April 17, 1970 through June 24, 1979, 2nd to last race at the Fairgrounds, Brightbill won 135 times. In that nine year period, there were 480 feature races. Brightbill’s Reading record: 135 wins, 303 top-five finishes, 352 top-tens, and four championships earned Brightbill a large amount of fans in and around Berks County. Additionally he won the Eastern States 200 in 1980, Super DIRT Week Syracuse 200 in 1988, 4 track championships and 43 wins at East Windsor Race Track, 37 wins at Susquehanna Speedway, 30 victories and 2 titles at Bridgeport Speedway, 29 wins at New Egypt Speedway, 8 wins at Grandview Speedway and the 1978 championship at Flemington. Kenny also gave dirt late model racing a try, registering 13 victories.

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