There was definitely something interesting happening in 1969. There was Woodstock, there was Flower Power, there was social upheaval, and there was this weird ass Hot Wheels cartoon featuring fuel dragsters on television. Now we know that Mattel and the Hot Wheels brand got deeply involved in drag racing through the famed “Snake and Mongoose” deal which rocketed those men to superhero status among the country’s youth. This cartoon was one episode of a weekly series apparently and it does not sound like either ‘Goose or Snake were called and consulted regarding the dialog which fills the show.
We mean to say that we’re not sure many drivers of top fuel cars were heading back to the pits being nervous about their car “flooding out” as it went down the track. There’s also the matter of the “portable dynamometer” which the team wants to buy so they could effectively dyno their car at the track and tune it before it runs. Seems legit, right?
As much as we’re poking some good natured fun here, it is a nostalgically cool watch. Why? The animation is pretty basic, the scenes are funny, and the whole thing just reeks of the late 1960s car culture in the country. It was smart business for Hot Wheels to actively promote what they were selling. Kid sees a dragster cartoon Saturday morning, kid begs parents to get him the dragster Hot Wheels car on Sunday at the store. The math here is really simple and it still goes on today…anyone with kids knows this.
We’re not going to wreck the plot here, you need to see that for yourselves. This is too much fun!
That was a long was drag strip. I watched this cartoon every Saturday morning.
One of my favorites back then. I was crazy for any shows with wheels and this one fit the bill and I went nuts over. Watching this clip now and I just realized Dexter’s voice is done by Casey Kasem!!
1970. As indicated by the RoadRunners. There was also a Super Stock and possibly a Funny Car one.
I measured about 19 second ET!
Wow man! What are ya tryin’ to do, blow my mind?