Diecast 64 Magazine January 2018 | Page 28

Bottom line, if you want to race, you come Redline Derby Racing.

Just guessing, what percent of your collection would you say is Hot Wheels. Do you collect or have interest in other brands?

My collection is 99% Hot Wheels. A few favorite Matchbox castings here and there, but that's it. Hot Wheels have always just been my "go to" for cars, and when I started racing cars, as far as cheap, mainline cars go, Hot Wheels are the fastest overall. And I guess thinking about it, economically speaking, I just wanted to go with one brand rather than try to find, collect and race several at the same time. All those $1 cars add up, you know!

What are three of your favorite Hot Wheels castings?

The Dixie Challenger will always be a favorite because it was an early memory. Another is the Dodge Challenger Hot Rod Matchbox casting...I remember my grandma bought it for me, I loved it. And while I don't recall any specific castings, per se, I loved the Hot Wheels Crack-Ups cars that would show damage when you ran them into other cars. It was a very cool gimmick that worked very well...they should bring those back.

Tell us a little about Redline Derby.

Redline Derby Racing is the web site and community I manage that is devoted to diecast racing. While I think it's near impossible to not be a collector and a racer, the goal of Redline Derby is to always be about racing...the speed, the tracks, the competition. There are hundreds of web sites that talk about collecting cars and post reviews about them, and since I personally don't focus on chasing rare cars or anything like that, racing seemed like something unique and much more interesting to me. I like to think that Redline Derby is a great place where people can learn and get into diecast racing when they maybe didn't consider it to be a real thing. Especially if you're on the "older" side of Hot Wheels, it gives you an excuse to buy and play with the cars you love.

The Redline Derby web site is more or less a message board for racing fans to talk about the hobby, share photos and have other fun...but over the more recent years, we've become one of the top places to go for mail-in tournaments. No matter your skill level, you can come to the site and find a tournament, then mail-in your cars and race against people from all around the country. But no matter how much online or offline racing is brokered through the web site, the message board is the true heart and soul of Redline Derby racing. Come for the racing, stay for the camaraderie.

Bottom line, if you want to race, you come Redline Derby Racing.