American Thunder is a wooden roller coaster that opened June 20, 2008, at Six Flags St. Louis. The coaster was originally named after and themed to the famous motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel. It was renamed American Thunder for the 2011 season. To help promote the opening of the then-Evel Knievel Roller Coaster, Knievel's son, Robbie Knievel, jumped a Honda CR-500 motorcycle over 25 Dodge Chargers on July 3, 2008.As a result of the St. Louis Cardinals losing to the Chicago Cubs in the 2015 National League Division Series, Six Flags St. Louis lost a friendly wager with Six Flags Great America, resulting in the temporary name change of the roller coaster to Cubs Thunder.Ride experienceThis $7 Million GCI wooden roller coaster, which is identical to the Thunderbird at PowerPark, features an 80ft drop with a top speed of 48mi/h, going through a course of 2700ft of track. This ride features 16 hills and multiple high banked turns at up to 67° angles. The layout crosses over and under itself seventeen times. This ride also features two 24-passenger Millennium Flyer trains for better cornering.
