Hobbies And Interests
Beginnings
The 1968 Hot Strip Track Pack was one of the original Hot Wheels racetracks. It came with 10 pieces of flexible orange track and five track connectors that also could be used with the basic red jump ramp accessory pack. Players pushed the cars around the track by hand, or employed the power of gravity by attaching the starting point of the track to a table or chair.
Adding The Electric Motor
The Supercharger set was the first Hot Wheels racetrack to include an electric motor. The motor was connected to foam-covered wheels that spun quickly, propelling cars around a loop of track. Introduced in 1969, it came with a lap counter, speedometer and an optional Supercharger two-way track curve accessory set.
Sizzlers And The Fat Track
The Sizzler cars, with tiny rechargeable batteries and individual electric motors, debuted in the early 1970s. Although they could run on the standard orange Hot Wheels Track, Mattel created special Sizzler track sets with loops, figure-eights and multilevel spirals. In 1972, the first racetrack sets designed to allow passing action were unveiled. Three lanes wide with banked curves, the Fat Track Racetrack series included the California 500 and the Scramble Start.
Growing Popularity
In 1970, Mattel introduced the Mongoose &Snake Drag Race Set, featuring replicas of real-life drag racers Don Prudhomme and Tom McEwen's Funny Cars. Designed so that cars could race side by side, the track was extremely popular and marked the beginning of a long partnership between Hot Wheels and the drag racing industry. It also continues to be one of the most valuable racetracks for collectors, with prices reaching as high as $8,000 for the complete set.
Significance
The "World's Longest Hot Wheels Track" was built in 1999 in Trinity, North Carolina, as part of the Kyle Petty Hot Wheel Racing Charity Ride Across America fund-raising activities. Parts were collected from all over the country and fashioned into a massive orange racetrack, measuring 2,863 feet in length and spelling out the word "Hot Wheels." The track pieces, autographed by celebrities and race car drivers, were later auctioned on eBay, with proceeds benefiting various children's charities.
Advanced Technology
In 2008, the Hot Wheels Color Shifter series arrived on the market. Using new thermal paint technology, Mattel produced cars that changed color with warm and cold water. This created new opportunities for racetrack sets that had water spray blasters, or ramp jumps that ended submerged in water. For example, the Hot Wheels Color Shifters Stunt 'N Dunk action set lets players launch cars through a plastic ring of fire and into a dunk tank.