Auto World’s newest 4-Gear release (#25 SC356) harkens back to the early 1970’s when drag racers had the nicknames that fans knew almost better than their actual names. These nicknames were major draws at the gate and if you were around back then, even the radio commercials from the local track called out the upcoming grudge match between the great racers like Jungle Jim, The Snake, The Isrraeli Rocket or The Mongoose. The latest funny car release from Auto World has three of these great racers and their nitro burning rides. Let’s head down to the paddock and see these great cars.
SC356 #1 – 1970 Plymouth Cuda – Don “The Snake” Prodhomme
The Snake’s Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car has a very interesting history. As seen in this series, the car is in the 1970 livery. A Buttera-chassis with late Hemi power, it racked up some of the highest win totals of any funny car. Later in 1973, Prudhomme ordered one of Buttera’s “lay-down chassis” Vega Funny Cars, but was unimpressed with the performance. He quickly pulled the Barracuda out of retirement and applied the US Army sponsors to the old ride and got back to his winning ways. The Barracuda ran a best 6.23 seconds at Englishtown, NJ before it’s final retirement.* You can check out more details about Wildlife Racing from the Auto World Snake vs. Mongoose race set article here: https://speedincslotcars.com/?page_id=345. This is the same livery as seen in the race set and gives you chance to get one of these in your stable.
SC356 #2 – 1970 Plymouth Duster – Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen
The Mongoose’s weapon of choice was a Buttera-chassis, late Chrysler Hemi-powered Plymouth Duster. Although the Snake was more often victorious in their legendary battles, one of McEwen’s biggest wins was at the last drag race at Lions Drag Strip in 1972 .* You can check out more details about Wildlife Racing from the Auto World Snake vs. Mongoose race set article here: https://speedincslotcars.com/?page_id=345. This is the same livery as seen in the race set and gives you chance to get one of these in your stable.
SC356 #3 – 1971 Dodge Challenger – Ramchargers – Leroy “The Israeli Rocket” Goldstein
The factory Dodge Boys were anxious to show what their 426 Max Wedge and later the 426 Hemi could do on the quarter mile. They got their feet wet with Super Stocks forming the Ramchargers and then jumped on the Top Fuel bandwagon throughout the 1960’s. When the Funny Car craze hit fulll blast, the Ramcharger engineers were ready with the Challenger. Leroy Goldstein shifted from Top Fuel to Funnies and piloted the Mopar monster to became one of the dominant performers. He recorded the sport’s first six second funny car run at 6.99 seconds. Known as the “Israeli Rocket”, Leroy was running in the 210 MPH range when most drivers were cruising well at 190 MPH. He was one of the first drivers to top 220 MPH in a funny car. **
Here’s the packaging for the 4 Gear Release #25 (SC356) Legends of the Quarter Mile.
And here’s a couple of additional views of these great cars.
References:
*Some information gathered from: Diggers, Funnies, Gassers & Altereds: Drag Racing’s Golden Age By Bob McClurg
**Leroy Goldstein Obituary, Draglist.com
http://www.draglist.com/Pictures/POD%20Apr%202002/POD-042502.htm