Thunder Road was named and originally themed after the 1958 movie, Thunder Road. NASCAR celebrities Bobby Allison and David Pearson, along with major newspapers from around the country, were at Carowinds for the grand opening. Thunder Road was originally painted red, white, and blue. Two moonshine stills were originally placed at the entrance but have since been removed. The ride originally featured trains from the Jetstream, a roller coaster at Chicago's defunct Riverview Park. For use on Thunder Road, the trains were themed to resemble a Sheriff's car and an Outlaw's car to fit the coaster's original theme. The Riverview trains were retired in 1980 and replaced with new, higher-capacity Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters trains. Thunder Road's trains all faced forward until one side was reversed in 1995 to run backwards. During the 1995-96 off season, the air conditioners and decorative memorabilia in the waiting area were removed. In 2008, all trains were turned to face forward once again. Portions of the track were also refurbished in 2008 and 2009. In May 2015, Carowinds announced that they would be closing Thunder Road permanently on July 26, 2015, to make room for future expansion. The roller coaster was demolished in August 2015.
Ride layout
Thunder Road featured a doubled layout with twin trains that ran simultaneously, each on one of the two separate, mirrored tracks. As the trains left the station, they embarked on a gentle downward turn in opposite directions that went out under the brake run. Both tracks met back up to ascend the chain lift hill. As the trains climbed side-by-side, riders passed five sequential signs posted between the two tracks that together read: "Grit your teeth / Bear the load / Enjoy your ride / On Thunder Road / Burma-Shave." The trains "raced" down the initial drop of and over several medium-sized air-time hills before entering the turnaround section of the track farthest from the station. There the tracks diverged outward, and each train circled back independently toward the station, traveling across more small air-time hills and into the final tunnel-covered hill. Exiting the tunnel, the tracks converged again at last as they reached the final brake run back into the station.
Incidents
On April 5, 1999, a train collided with another, leaving seven people injured. Sensors on the ride were then replaced, opening the ride again.
