Rick was born in Lehighton on August 26th 1959. His father, Richard, was instrumental in starting his racing career. At the age of 4, He started racing Twin-Engine Go-Karts at Baer Memorial Track on route 443 in Lehighton. His first win was August 23, 1964. He traveled the East coast with his father racing and doing exhibition runs at tracks in PA, MD, DE and other locations. He was a major influence in Rick's racing career. He spent hours writing letters and responding to track officials so that Rick could compete with other kids in local and Regional Races. Rick was the youngest Go-Kart racer in the Country. He was interviewed by ABC's Wide World of Sports for a feature story about being the youngest Kart racer. They had a Camera man riding in a Kart behind him while he was doing laps. All Rick can remember about the story was, his father telling him to "Slow down, the Camera man can not keep up with you"…..

In 1966, the town of Lehighton Celebrated it's Centenial with a Go-Kart race thru town, Rick was unable to race because his father could not secure the proper insurance for him to race because of his age. Rick was able to make an exhibition run, which was only ½ second off the track record. At this point in his life he was already going as fast as some 16 & 17 year old kids he was competing against. At a track in Berwick Pa., Rick hit 91 MPH when he was only 12 or 13.

Sadly, in 1976, Rick's Father Richard passed away. he was 16 at the time and this hit him hard. He was the driving force in promoting the Kart races that Rick competed in. He spent as much time promoting Rick's racing as he did defending his decision to have Rick racing. Some people thought that he was solely into it for his own reasons, but Rick has letters defending his position of one that nurtured a great relationship with a young boy and his father. Rick feels that if his father was alive today, he would be racing NASCAR or World of Outlaws. Today, he is the reason Rick has the drive that he does.

During the year of Rick's fathers death, Rick was wrestling for Lehighton High School District. He made it to the District 11 Wrestling Championship which was held only a few days after his fathers' death. That day, with hundreds of Lehighton fans watching, Rick stepped on to the mats twice and won both matches. After receiving the Gold Medal, he tore it from his neck and pointed it to Heaven for his father to see.

At this point in his life, With the driving force behind his racing gone, Rick decided to take some time off from Racing. It would only be another year until Rick would be running Late model cars at Evergreen Speedway. In 1978 Rick purchased a 1956 Chevy Late Model from Doug Hoffman. This car was formerly driven by Allen Frey at Dorney Park. After Rick was done with this car, it was towed to the infield and he got $62.50 for scrap metal.

In 1987 he purchased a car co-owned with John Kock. Rick drove this car at Mahoning Valley in the Sportsman class. The car, a Maroon and White #74, was built in 1983 and was a former D/A Modified car that was changed over to compete in the Sportsman class. On Friday night Rick drove this car on the dirt course at Big Diamond and won the Feature, then came to Mahoning Valley Speedway, converted the car to run on Asphalt and finished 2nd in the Feature. Rick kept this schedule up for weeks, even taking the car to Nazareth on a Sunday and starting 23rd and finishing 12th.

Rick had 7 heat wins and 2 feature wins in 1987 at Mahoning Valley Speedway. His one Feature win was taken away after officials deemed his last lap pass being "too aggressive". This was the first year back in operation for the Mahoning Valley Speedway. The race in which Rick's victory was taken away was a "Dash for Cash" run and Rick had won all three segments of the race. He won the Heat race the Feature race and the Dash for Cash run.

In 1992, Rick decided to take some time off to start a family, buy a house and settle down. Today his children Ricky (13) and Kayla (12) are his two biggest fans, and can be seen at the Track every Saturday night cheering for their dad.

After close to 10 years off from racing, Rick got the bug to drive again. Rick decided to come back to Mahoning Valley and race. This decision was made by the untimely death of his, long time, Favorite driver Dale Earnhardt on Feb 18, 2001. Rick felt that life is too short, not to be doing something you love to do.

Rick purchased a modified car formerly owned by Benny Sherif. Kirks Kollision is the sole sponsor of the #4x Modified Chevy Cavalier. Rick has owned and managed Kirks Kollision for 24 years, since the passing of his father. Rick's return to racing was a successful one. On June 2nd 2001, Rick won his Heat race and then the 25 lap feature race. This was his first win since September 26th 1987.

2002 is shaping up to be a good year for Rick. Check out the Weekly Results Page and Current Standings Page to get all of the up to date info on this race season. Rick is currently looking for financial sponsors for his #4x modified car. He feels with a little support, he can make some things happen for this year and the years to come.

Thanks for reading the History of Rick Kirkendall, and next time you are at the track remember to route for "The Fightin Lehighton" Rick Kirkendall………..