Kings Dominion announces Intimidator 305

James Whitmore said:
Would the NASCAR/Earnhardt theme be better served at Carowinds, especially considering that the NASCAR Hall of Fame is due to open May 11, 2010 in Charlotte?

The Richmond International Raceway is only 20 miles away. Virginia also has Martinsville Speedway. They're also very close to Bristol Motor Speedway in TN, and Dover International Speedway in DE isn't that far of a drive from VA. Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin are from VA too. I would say NASCAR in VA is pretty popular.

Forgot about Ricky Rudd. He holds the record for most consecutive starts in NASCAR racing, and was named the 2006 "Virginian of the Year" and inducted into the 2007 "Virginia Hall of Fame."

I think it is funny that many on this board think that Nickelodeon is good for the parks, but don't like the NASCAR theme of this ride. IMO this was a great coup for CF.

I wonder if CF will be sponsoring a cup car for 2010. It would make some since to me. Imagine the press that they will get from this with the NASCAR fans. There is an entire cable channel dedicated to racing not to mention ESPN, ABC, FOX & TNT covering races. These guys will eat it up.

As to the ride itself, I think it is great. There are no gimmicks just height, speed & hopefully some crazy air.

Very true, BDesvignes. I didn't mean to say that KD or Virginia is a 'bad' choice. I'm just suggesting that Carowinds/Charlotte might be slightly better. I think this can be a good conversation. I'm a NSCAR fan (Go 24!) as well as a coaster geek.

Also... hopefully the park can get some NASCAR personalities to ride when the racing series comes to town in May and Sept of 2010 (assuming the schedule stays the same) and maybe get some free TV time out of it.

I think its actually funny that there are complaints about the pictured restraints, given that Dale Earnhardt didn't wear the restraint (Hans device) that might have saved him because it was uncomfortable.

That would be cool if they got drivers to come to the park for the race weekends. I would definitly drive down for that especially if Montoya showed up.

Are They gonna do a "kiddie version as well? You know I-305 "Junior!"

OTSR suck, no matter what way you look at it. IMO, they do not belong on a rollercoaster. Bracing yourself from headbanging isn't fun, blocked views, etc.

One of my favorite steel coasters, Storm Runner, I even have to watch for head chops/banging.

It's soo cool that older rides (boomerangs, Premier launches) are switching to non-shoulder bar restraints.

Let's hope that there isn't a typo, and the pics are wrong with this one. I agree with the ho-hums about the lack of trees and color scheme, but that's CF, it's their ride I guess. I would pick silver for the struckture, like Millenium Force.

Good thing is, it will bring in alot of people, people love these 'big rides'.

IF I'M GOING TO COMPLAIN, I gotta come up with some good things to say too! The lift structure is cool - look at the span of track!

Hopman, the drop can go down at a 3 degree angle in honor of Earnhardt's number =).

The media event was pretty cool though..

I think the highlight was our illustrious Lt. Governor, who slipped during his speech and said "Paramount's Kings Dominion", to which he got a wave of "ohhhhhhhhhhhh's"

Oh that and Earnhardt's daughter is quite pleasant to the eye ;)

Oh god a Dale Jr. ride would be bring all the retards out of the woodwork. There's nothing worse than a Jr. fan. In order to make a Jr. ride they would have to make a ride similar to the Intimidator and get everyone excited. Then it would need to disapoint everyone and be a terrible ride haha.

I'd like to get confirmation on the restraints. Robb at TPR is acting like a certain Austrian named Adolf about it, so nobody can discuss it there, and there's been a bunch of stuff circulating and I don't know what to believe.

You notice how JR always blames everybody and everything BUT himself? the dude can't drive half as good as his daddy!

Real racecars are covered with sponsors, and I wonder how they'll incorperate that.

We know one train will be the black & silver sceem, but would the other be the blue & yellow layout like his old Wrangler-sponsored car?

Austin, the tribute isn't in the drop angle, but in the height: 3 hundred (or so) feet.

The text on the web site says quite clearly:
"VEHICLES: Four passenger open design trains with overhead lap bars but no over-the-shoulder harnesses"

Right next to that text is this image showing the shoulder bars.

And Image #3 in the photo gallery clearly shows a 32-passenger train.

Personally, I think the photos and the description are both wrong. I think there will be a couple of 8-car or 9-car trains, using overhead lap bars as seen on the Holiday World ride. And I still think the overhead lap bar is a good design. :)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Btw.. If anyone is interested, here are some photos I took from the event:

Intimidator Media Event

..and I dont know how Earnhardt's daughter got in a few photos.. Weird.. :)

I do like the coaster dynamics model, though I dont believe the train is accurate based on the website.

Wow! She is teh hott!!!11!!11!

I'm surprised how well this is being received. My initial reaction to the layout was not so positive, as I was expecting a much more hilly layout. I am warming up to it as it does look to be an improvement over Millennium Force's layout, but I still think they could have done a much better job. I really hate to see all that wasted momentum at the end with the high climb onto the steep magnetic brake run, ala Storm Runner. They could have at least thrown it a few more bunny hops and zig zags to burn off the momentum. The ride is probably going to be pushing 50mph at that point.

Here's hoping it turns out to be a lot more fun than it looks (to me). If the lapbar-only restraints turn out to be true, that will be a HUGE boost for it. That could be the new best steel coaster lapbar out there.

^Millennium Force is still pushing 60 when it hits the brakes

Everyone keeps bringing up NASCAR, but I don't see any mention of it on the official site (power is out, viewing on iPhone). I think CF would be too cheap to pay for that license, but apparently Earnhardt has a lower price. Yes, by extension, one could argue there is a NASCAR theme, but they're not paying for it.

I do find it interesting that they have a Chevy logo on the hood of the train. Surely they had to pay GM for that.