1/64 Diecast update: Week of 6/15

It was a relatively quiet week in the world of 1/64 scale Nascar diecast. Fifteen races into the Cup season and Denny Hamlin has won his third race of the year. The Craftsman Truck series ran the support race this past weekend, and this week Nascar will bring the cup series to Mexico City for the first time in the modern era. Lionel seems to be caught up for the most part in the post-tariff economy of 2025, so just a couple of standard liveries were announced, and a single Xfinity paint scheme was offered. For an update on the week, read on...

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Raced Versions:

Denny Hamlin has seen his career go to some new places over the past few years. Now as the most senior full time driver in the Cup series, he has more fans, and more haters than ever before. No matter your opinion, it's not every day we get to see a driver hit career win number 57 on the all-time list. It's an impressive stat regardless. A 1/64 scale raced version will be offered to remember this milestone, and the third victory of the season for Hamlin. At this time, there is no 1/64 win for Stewart Friesen.

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Standard Versions (Cup):

Chevy:
​Just a couple of Chevy's this week. Trackhouse sponsor, Wendy's first brought the psychedelic looking Wendy's Frosty paint scheme to life with Daniel Suarez back at Talladega in April. The same design is back in June with Ross Chastain for the race in Mexico. It remains to be seen if the Wendy's Frosty livery will return in 2025 on either race car. This is a top three livery for Chastain this year in my opinion. This isn't better than the Tootsies livery however. I have this one ranked second overall.

​The other Chevy this week is a specially designed, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta livery. Chase Elliott is well known for his charitable work and recognition of kids and their families who are in dire need of support, and NAPA partners with Chase each year to select a design created by a special patient. By my count, this will be the fifth consecutive year of the initiative, and the car looks great! These cars almost always make it into production. Good on HMS, and Chase Elliott, and Napa. 

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Ford:
There were two Mustangs announced this week. One representative each from RFK, and Rick Ware Racing are now available for preorder. The first is a very good looking Fastenal Body Guard livery for Chris Buescher that will be on track for the race in Mexico. The Body Guard branding will be shown across the car, and a special orange and black design will celebrate this historic race by showcasing Mexican culture through art and design.

The other offering for Ford, is another (!) Cody Ware special scheme that will also be run during the race in Mexico City. Arrowhead Brass, a long-time partner of RWR will be featured on a really nice looking gold, white, and green Mustang. This is the second 1/64 being offered for Ware on the season. I've seen a recent sample from Lionel showing a Corey Lajoie model which features the gold rims. I didn't love what I was seeing in 1/24 scale, but the 1/64 scale wheels look good! If this car reaches MOQ, look for those specially designed rims forthcoming. 

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Standard Versions (Xfinity):

Toyota:
That leaves just one Camry to be discussed this week. William Sawalich is certainly a more 'under the radar' up-and-comer in the Xfinity series. He hasn't had a strong campaign to this point, and he's currently sitting 23rd in the points. But this is the third Camry collectors can pre-order for Sawalich this season. Starkey hearing technologies is a big supporter of the 18 year old driver from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. They'll be on the car for multiple 2025 events. 

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Notes:
While this was a calmer week of announcements with less quantity, the quality is certainly very good. Several, if not each of these cars has a good reason to be sent into production, but that will of course greatly depend on how each one does in the pre-order window. The highlights for me this week have to be the Mustangs, and I'll pre-order both. I also think that the Ross Chastain Wendy's Frosty Chevy looks really cool, and I'll probably be preordering that one as well. The most historically important car has to be the Denny Hamlin raced version of his Michigan win. Next week's edition will be headlined by both race winning cars from the Mexico City race. As I'm putting this together I can see both are already available for pre-order. That's it for now, and we'll see you back here next week for the Diecast Update, happy collecting!