There was one of those sets in my grandmother’s house at least until the late 80s.
If it was there afterwards, the set probably didn’t survive the tornado a few years ago. I haven’t thought about it until now.
Wish I knew about HO slot car drag racing back then. I do recall one kid who had a black 55 Chevy HO that burned rubber! Well, with a tiny drop of oil on the track the rear slicks did spin and create smoke!