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Hot Wheels Tracks and Matchbox Crashes: My Toy Car Obsession

By Andy Lee

Before iPads and PlayStation, toy cars delivered my biggest childhood thrills. I still remember the shag carpeting tracks imprinted on my knees from hours building looping orange plastic courses across the living room. Zooming those tiny vehicles into impossible airborne flips mere milliseconds before catastrophic fender-bender collisions. Matchbox heaven!

My parents hated stepping on stray cars still jammed wheel-well deep into that plush 70’s shag carpet hours after I grew bored. Matchbox collection spilling from under bed storage bins years after adventures ended. Even once I upgraded my mobility independence to a dirt bike, I always kept a toy car pocket wingman ready for adventures. Mom insisted checking pockets before church or post office trips after one too many soldiers, hot rods and beast-wheeled off-roaders discovered mid-load in the washing machine. What can I say, I took preparedness for driveway gravel rallies seriously!

I probably bought out the die cast aisle at least twice over until finally getting a ten speed Huffy to freedom. Who cared if off-brand cars fell apart quicker when you could stage epic jump stunt attempts off plywood backyard ramps? Equal odds of chipped teeth or broken ankle playing Evel Knievel as any vehicle surviving that heart-stopping preteen hubris. But hours passed tinkering instead of texting.

While today’s hyper-real video game graphics dwarf my old toy car pursuits, those analog afternoons stretching imagination over molded metal and plastic wheels hold rich nostalgia. Dreaming Nascar triumph surrounding by familiar neighborhoods rather than virtual tracks worldwide. Preparing adventure right there within worn shag carpets lined in skid marks rather than online leaderboards.

Stay fast, keep racing! 🏎🏁