CHARLOTTEó Carowinds will name the fastest roller coaster in the Southeast “The Intimidator” after NASCAR driver and Kannapolis native Dale Earnhardt.
The amusement park will open the $23 million ride next spring. Standing 23 stories tall, the roller coaster will send guests plunging down a 211-foot first drop in excess of 75 miles per hour.
The Intimidator will be the longest, largest roller coaster in the Southeast, Carowinds vice president and general manager Bart Kinzel said.
The 10-acre attraction will include a themed midway, complete with Victory Lane and a video tribute to Earnhardt’s racing accomplishments. Earnhardt died during the 2001 Daytona 500.
The roller coaster will feature seven steep drops ó one for each of Earnhardt’s NASCAR championships ó and finish through a diving spiral. The ride will last for more than three minutes and is designed to replicate the speed and intensity of a NASCAR race.
The trains on the Intimidator will mirror Earnhardt’s 1998 RCR No. 3 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. They will feature open-air, stadium-style seating with a simple T-bar restraint that removes the riders’ feeling of protection.
The roller coaster will dwarf Afterburn, its closest neighbor in the park, standing at 144 feet.
It’s the largest single capital investment in Carowinds 37-year history.