NASCAR is the largest spectator sport in the United States, the number of fans visiting events is greater than that of any other sport. Starting from humble beginnings, NASCAR finally started to take off in the mid-1980s when corporate America 'discovered' that here was a good way to get some relatively cheap air time. At that time, ESPN had a contract to broadcast most of the 30 race series with ABC and CBS televising the rest.  The number of viewers grew steadily until today in excess of 20 million people watch each event, your editor amongst them.

Gone are the days of low-buck teams and small operations. When I first started watching these races back in the late 1970s, one only saw highlights. It was the introduction of the 'race cam' where the audience could ride along with the driver as well as flag to flag coverage that got NASCAR on the roll. 

Other than the great competition and sound of thundering engines, it is the flashy and garish paint schemes that are carried by these cars that get the attention of many viewers and fans. Each year teams come up with some pretty incredible schemes and there are a myriad of special schemes for some of the bigger races like Daytona or Indianapolis, where multi-million dollar purses are the norm.

Undoubtedly, long time readers are wondering what in the world I am doing with a snap kit; and a car at that!!  This was the result of an auction winning at the Memphis invitational back in early April of this year. The price was right and it looked like an interesting kit. It is also an example of the latest trend in car kits; pre-painted bodies. In this case, the one-piece kit body is molded in this bright green with much of the paint detail already on the car. Frankly it looks pretty good. The car is also well cleaned up with only very faint mold seams on it and a nice coat of gloss clear over it. The other markings are stickers that look ok and will properly cover the rest of the body with the usual hoard of sponsor decals. Prominently missing are the Winston and Busch markings as we know that seeing them on a car will cause little Billy and Jane to become cigarette smoking alcoholics!

Other than the bright green body, the rest of the parts are in shades of grey and black, ostensibly to negate the need to do any painting. Good thing, as there are no painting instructions of any kind in the kit instructions. There are nice metal axles and sufficient screws to allow things to stay together. The rest of the parts are simplified to ease construction. Even the tires already have the Goodyear logos painted on them. Now this is something I would like to see on all race car kits!

The instruction sheet is basically a series of 14 steps. Each is a nice computer generated illustration showing the sequence of part placement in each step. The most parts put together in one step is 4, so as not to strain little Billy's ability to think. Frankly, when I was 8 years old, the recommended lowest age given on the box, I was already into the joys of glue and decals. Anyway, the rest of the parts are flash free with minimal mold seams. It looks like any competent assembler should be able to get this kit together in about an hour, even with bathroom breaks. 

Looks like a winner and it is perfect for the 'I want it NOW' modeler who has absolutely no modeling skills. I'll let you know how it turns out. :)  

Review copy courtesy of me and my wallet! 

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