Snake vs. Mongoose
If you are old enough to remember; it was a new level of excitement, a higher level of professionalism and marketing being taken to new heights. When Mattel decided to hook their HOT WHEELS line of toys to the drag pairing of Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme and Tom 'The Mongoose' McEwen, magic happened and history was made.
Today, it is widely considered that this sponsorship had a significant effect on the future of Drag Racing. Why? Well... simply because up to that point, major sponsorships in drag racing only came from automotive related products. HOT WHEELS, while automotive based toys, were not an automotive product. Today, it's not uncommon to see product sponsorship such as dog food on a drag car. Mattel's two year primary sponsorship of the 'Snake' and 'Mongoose' changed forever the way car owners would look for sponsorships.
In the newly published book Snake vs. Mongoose: How a Rivalry Changed Drag Racing Forever
If you're a tried and true drag racing fan of any kind, you know of Don Prudhomme and Tom McEwen. However, depending on your age, you may not know much if anything about the backside story of these two and their Mattel hookup. As for myself, I was fortunate enough to be there for all of this and many of my photos from that time are in this book. That being said...even for me, this is a very enlightening book.
If you don't know much about drag racing or if you're among the faithful followers of the sport, this is an interesting read on the transformation of drag racing through mainstream commercial sponsorships, along with other significant Drag Racing history. Read and Enjoy!
Snake vs. Mongoose: How a Rivalry Changed Drag Racing Forever
Copyright MMX Ed Justice, Jr.