Lightning Racer

Infobox roller coaster
name=Lightning Racer


caption=
location=Hersheypark
section=
type=Wood
type2=Racing
type3=Dueling
status=Open
opened=May 13, 2000
manufacturer= Great Coasters International
designer=
model=Twin
track=
lift=
height= 90
drop=
length= 3400
Total Length= 6800
speed= 51
inversions=
duration=1:20
angle=
capacity=
cost=
acceleration=
gforce=3.6
restriction=
rcdb_number= 597

Lighting Racer is a wooden roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA. Built by Great Coasters International in 2000, it is the first wooden racing and duelling roller coaster. The ride makes use of Millennium Flyer articulated trains for a smooth and comfortable ride. During the ride's first two years in operation, the park played recordings for the winning train, which sometimes included local celebrity voices. Bruce Bond had talked about his recordings publicly on his afternoon radio show.

Choosing Sides

While fans of the ride may have a particular side (Thunder/Green, or Lightning/Red) they enjoy more, both sides travel through the same elements, although at different times. However, the "Lightning" (red) train consistently wins most of the 'races'. Keep in mind that speed is affected not only by weight on the train, but by weather conditions (rain, temperature) and maintenance. If one track gets greased before the other, it will run faster. In this case, this probably means Lightning (red) gets greased before Thunder (Green)

Also, the lifts' speeds can be slightly different, which makes a huge difference.