Washington State Fair Announces Coaster's New Name

The judges never imagined that they would weigh the pros and cons of more 1,650 names in the “Name the Coaster” contest at the Washington State Fair. 

Finally, the new name has been selected, and the looping inversion coaster will officially be known as Rainier Rush when the gates open at the Washington State Fair, Sept. 6-22, 2013.

Two people coined the name, Rainier Rush and are grand prize winners: Karen Chapman of Puyallup and Melissa Hollenbeck-Barovic of Edgewood. 

As winners, each will receive two season gate passes to the 2013 Washington State Fair, plus two vouchers valid for 240 ride tickets for rides of their choice, a $269 value. They will also go down in history for creating the name of this first-ever inversion coaster at the Fair.

Two runners-up were also selected, as they used the same name concept, but spelled Rainier another way. Trevor Lind of Maple Valley and Jesse Fabeck of Spanaway will each receive two season passes to the Washington State Fair this year.

This is the only model of this ride in the United States. It will take riders over 60 feet in the air before catapulting downhill around wild loops, along wavy tracks and bendy curves. Rainier Rush offers smooth coaster action, in spite of its +5.8 gravity force. That gravity force is more than the +5 gravity force formula one racing car drivers face during heavy braking.

The rename contest kicked off at the Washington State Spring Fair this past April. The coaster’s name at its previous venue was Typhoon, which doesn’t represent a name appropriate for the Washington State Fair. Here’s a quick snapshot of the ride: 

Quick Snapshot:

Name: Rainier Rush

Introduced in Puyallup: September 2013

Dimensions: 180.4 feet x 66 feet

Height: 62.3 feet

Track length: 1,772 feet

Maximum speed: 50 m.p.h.

Maximum G-Force: +5.8 G

Trains: 3

Cars: 3 per train

Total seats: 36 riders

Track capacity: 2 trains run simultaneously on the track