All cars are not made equally. That’s an understatement when it comes to Hot Wheels derby racing. Often the same model car isn’t even made the same between castings. But then again, that’s the fun…to find the fastest car. But opening races up to all cars can actually limit searching and collecting other fast cars.
Looking for the fast cars
1970 Dodge Charger Daytona
I’m not a collector that strives to find every Hot Wheels car made each year. I usually only buy the cars I like, the ones I want to look at and play with. We all have our favorite types of cars to collect and my favorite style is the classic American muscle cars (pre-1980). But as I’ve been going deeper and deeper into the world of racing, I’ve found my shopping habits have changed. No longer am I only looking for cars that I think look good, now I’m eyeing cars that “look fast.” They might be as ugly as sin but they’ll fly down the track.
Because I’m one that likes to see cool cars in races and winner’s circles, I’m suggesting that for your next derby you try racing by class and model of car. Not only will this extend the racing sessions, but it will give people more to look for when car shopping. You can’t just look for the one “fastest car,” now you’re looking for the fastest car of a certain type.
Some examples
Based on my own collection, I propose the following as some example classes for racing:
- American cars, pre-1980 (muscle cars, Fords, Chevy, Model T, etc.)
- American cars, post-1980
- Imports & exotics, non-American (Ferrari, Nissan, VW, Audi, etc.)
- Fantasy cars (all non-real world cars)
- All-American (American only, any year)
These groupings are the model of the car, not the Hot Wheels release of the car. So the 1970 Demon casting is NOT a pre-1980 American car, it is a Fantasy car. I also consider a Fantasy car any vehicle that is not named (as stamped) after a real world car. But this can probably be a per-car case, like the 1977 Letter Getter is obviously a real world car, a mail truck, but it’s not named or based on any specific real world car.
Create your own classes for more fun
Those five classes are very basic and they could be boiled down even more. Only Ferraris, or only Fords. Just Fords pre-1980. You could even get stupid and race by color. Or mix-and-match…only American cars pre-1980 that are red! I admit, that’s a bit ridiculous but it would take searching for (or making) that fast car to the next level. As a race organizer, you could really have some fun coming up with race classes. You could have more races even if they’re within smaller race groups.
How about an all-Ferrari race?
Racing by model will not only lead to more car shopping and collecting for racing, but I think it lends itself to creating more expert racers. I may not know a thing about how well Ferraris race because I’m not a fan of collecting them, but I may know a ton about how classic Chevys race. Plus, it doesn’t take long for any racer to know what cars will run well and not run well, which may prohibit them racing in general…might as well make people as comfortable as possible.
Something for everyone
And lets face it, some models will never beat other models. What chance does a 69 Mustang have against a Fantasy car that has been made for racing and tracks? One was built within the constraints of trying to duplicate a real car, the other has no limits whatsoever. Plus I just think it would be cool to have an all-muscle car race…and an all-Ferrari race…or whatever other else.
It all goes back to tailoring racing for the individual collector and customizer…especially if they’re casual collectors.
