I remember the first year Hot Wheels and the track came out. They couldn’t keep up with demand. The cars were $1.00. You really took care of the cars to avoid scratching the paint. Some kids oiled the wheels which tended to crack the wheels. It was like Pinewood Derby. Some cars ran better on some track configurations than others. Always enjoyed testing them and thinking about owning real one when I got older.
Sometime later they encouraged kids to crash them into one another. I never understood that.
I never got into the Hot Wheels track much. I preferred pushing the cars around in various scenarios I made up. Also liked to display the cars. Same with Matchbox cars and trucks. Had some police, fire and ambulance vehicles. Used to recreate some of the things I saw in my neighborhood growing up.