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TV SERIES · 1968– · USA

Wacky Races

12 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

12 Interesting Facts About Wacky Races

Interesting Facts (9)

  1. #001

    The series was inspired by the film The Great Race (1965). Natalie Wood, who played Maggie DuBois, became Penelope Pitstop (she even wore the same pink racing outfit). Dick Dastardly was based on Jack Lemmon's character Professor Fate, and Dastardly's sidekick Muttley was generally based on Peter Falk's Max Meen.

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  2. #002

    The members of the Ant Hill Mob in Car #7 were Clyde (the leader), Ring-a-Ding, Willy, Rug-Bug Benny, Mac, Danny and Kurby.

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  3. #003

    On screen the racers always run from right to left, never in the opposite direction.

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  4. #004

    In the opening title sequence the cars are introduced in the following order: Car #9 - Peter Perfect in the Turbo Terrific; Car #10 - Rufus Ruffcut and Sawtooth in the Buzzwagon; Car #6 - Sergeant Blast and Private Meekley in the Army Surplus Special; Car #7 - The Ant Hill Mob in the Bulletproof Bomb; Car #3 - Professor Pat Pending in the Convert-a-Car; Car #5 - Penelope Pitstop in the Compact Pussycat; Car #1 - The Slag Brothers (Rock and Gravel) in the Bouldermobile; Car #2 - The Gruesome Twosome (Big Gruesome and Little Gruesome) in the Creepy Coupe; Car #4 - Red Max in the Crimson Haybaler; Car #8 - Luke and Blubber Bear in the Arkansas Chugabug; Car #00 - Dick Dastardly and Muttley in the Mean Machine.

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  5. #005

    The series was initially conceived by Heatter-Quigley Productions as a game show in which contestants would bet on various characters and whoever's character crossed the line first would win the game. However, Fred Silverman, who was head of CBS daytime at the time, decided the concept would work better as a Saturday-morning cartoon than as a game show.

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  6. #006

    In the Spanish and Latin dubs, Dick Dastardly was renamed Pierre Nodoyuna and given a French accent. The surname is a spelling-based abbreviation of 'no doy una', which translates as 'never get it'.

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  7. #007

    The Ant Hill Mob is based on the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), specifically that version rather than other versions of the same fairy tale.

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  8. #008

    French director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet paid tribute to the series in Wacky Races (2013), a short commercial promoting the Peugeot 208. In the ad, Peugeot becomes part of a live-action Wacky Races, and all the cars were showcased.

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  9. #009

    In the Spanish and Latin dubs, the names of the characters and their cars were changed significantly: Car #1 - Hermanos Macana (Piedro and Roco) in the Rocomóvil; Car #2 - Los Tenebrosos in the Espantomóvil; Car #3 - Profesor Locovich in the convertible; Car #4 - Barón Hans Fritz in the Stuka Racuda; Car #5 - Penélope Glamour in the Compact Pussycat; Car #6 - Sargento and Soldado in the Super Chatarra Especial; Car #7 - the Mob and Pandilleros in the Antigualla Blindada; Car #8 - Lucas and Oso Miedoso in the Alambique Veloz; Car #9 - Pedro Bello in the Superheterodino; Car #10 - Brutus and Listus in the Troncosvagen; Car #00 - Pierre Nodoyuna and Patán in the Super Perraris.

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Production Story (2)

  1. #010

    Although the popular theory for why the series was cancelled cites excessive violence, this was not true. The real reason for the cancellation was that the producers realized they could make more money by selling the series into syndication. Instead of a single network airing the series and paying for it, multiple independent networks could buy it, which would increase revenue. This was also an opportunity for Hanna-Barbera to gain more attention, since once a series completed one season they could immediately start another new series and eventually flood the market with more shows. As a result, Hanna-Barbera would prepare only one season of a show to fulfill the original channel buyer's contract, air it for one season, cancel it, sell it, and move on.

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  2. #011

    Season 1 was successful, but the series was cancelled after one season.

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Deeper Meaning (1)

  1. #012

    The race cars' license plates read HB followed by the car's number (Dick Dastardly's was 'HB00'), with HB standing for Hanna-Barbera.

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

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