The NASCAR Die-Cast Line is the NASCAR partnership series of 1:55 scale die-casts made by Mattel.
Few of them would coming back in 2025 with a new trackset.
History[]
In February 2021, Mattel announced they would be making a NASCAR Pixar Cars die-cast line, featuring animated versions of some of the most famous current NASCAR drivers. The car versions of those names were Chase Racelott, Carstin "Ace" Dillon, William Byrev, Ryan "Inside" Laney, GoGo Logano, Danny Swervez, Aric Almirolling, Bubba Wheelhouse and lastly, Rowdy Revvin' Busch. They would also be releasing new Lightning McQueen, Mater, Luigi, Guido, and Jackson Storm die-casts with NASCAR paintjobs. Later on, a five-pack was made, including The King, Junior Moon, Mario Andretti, and an exclusive NASCAR variant of Cruz Ramirez.
The official Pixar Cars YouTube channel uploaded an eight-minute episode of the channel's Talking Cars segment, interviewing and revealing the characters based on drivers Austin Dillon, William Byron, and Chase Elliott. Further content throughout the week invited creative director Jay Ward to the Disney Parks social handles, where he showcased the new Lightning McQueen die-cast and shared trivia about the Racing Academy ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Byron recorded a brief video for the Disney Music account, to promote an official Disney Pixar playlist. The week concluded on Sunday, February 14, the day of the Daytona 500. SportsCenter employee Ryan McGee wore a Goofy Mater-themed lapel pin during coverage.
The die-cast cars themselves were said to be launching at Wal-Mart stores between late February and early March. Each model features a "fresh coat of paint" and includes the new driver-inspired characters, as well as the franchise's "core characters" with "NASCAR-inspired designs". More additions were reported to become available "throughout the year". The second wave was released in approximately April 2021.
2022 had the final three releases of the NASCAR X Cars crossover line, with all-new NASCAR-styled wheels. This year also continued the Radiator Springs Endurance Racers and Welcome To Radiator Springs lines.
Unlike 2023, in 2024, the NASCAR sub-line returned with these features: Mattel announced a new set of six NASCAR-inspired Cars die-casts, plus a co-branded playset named “Lane Change Race Playset” modeled after Los Angeles Raceway from the first Cars film.
In September 2025, Mattel revealed the New die-cast of Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 2026.
2021[]
- Lightning McQueen
- Crew Chief Mater
- Pit Crew Luigi & Guido
- Jackson Storm
- Chase Racelott
- Ryan "Inside" Laney
- Danny Swervez
- William Byrev
- GoGo Logano
- Carstin "Ace" Dillon
- Aric Almirolling
- Through the Years 5-pack: Heyday Junior Moon, Strip Weathers aka "The King", Lightning McQueen, Dinoco Cruz Ramirez (Exclusive NASCAR variant), and Mario Andretti
2022[]
- Lightning McQueen (with new rims)
- Bubba Wheelhouse
- Rowdy Revvin' Busch
2023/2024[]
TBA...
Trivia[]
- On November 17, 2022, the official NASCAR on NBC Twitter account mentioned Lightning McQueen as a "Top-five NASCAR driver of all time" and dishonorably mentioned Chick Hicks in a follow up tweet.