The design of the ride was based on Rebel Yell (now Racer 75), a wooden racing coaster at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia.

On August 27, 2015, Carowinds announced that the Boomerang Bay waterpark would be expanded and renamed Carolina Harbor.

The expansion would include a new roller coaster and renovation to increase ride capacity, provide a new dynamite live entertainment package and help with the food quality.

[4] NASCAR celebrities Bobby Allison and David Pearson, along with major newspapers from around the country, were at Carowinds for the grand opening.

[1] The ride originally featured trains from the Jetstream, a roller coaster at Chicago's defunct Riverview Park.

[9][6] Severely negative backlash followed the announcement and a group had signed 2,400 signatures that doubled the immediate goal to save the ride.

[14] Plus, the station of Copperhead Strike contains a Centurion Motor Oil mural that pays tribute to Thunder Road and White Lightnin'.

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.

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.

"[16] The trains "raced" down the initial drop of 88 feet (27 m) and over several medium-sized air-time hills before entering the turnaround section of the track farthest from the station.

[6] On July 25, 1979, a malfunction brought a coaster train to a sudden halt when the wheels became slightly dislodged.