1/64 Diecast Update: Week of 7/20

This week sees perhaps the most diverse spread of 1/64s in quite a while. From some really exciting raced diecast, to some truly cool cars representing the sports most popular drivers and brands, Lionel Racing brings a huge variety. There are also a couple of special diecast preorders that are meant to capture part of Nascar's rich history. We have all of the details as well as our usual analysis in this week's edition of the Diecast Update. For the full details and to find links to each of these interesting products, read more here...

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Raced Versions: (Sonoma)

It’s a certain kind of special when you can so dominantly win in the Cup series the way SVG has been able to on the road courses over the past few weeks. He’s forcing Lionel to begin working on another raced version of his number 88 Trackhouse Chevy, this time in the colors of primary sponsor, Red Bull. SVG has truly disrupted the Cup playoff standings.

Is it appropriate to refer to Connor Zilisch as Shane van Gisbergen’s protégé? Zilisch seems to be cut from the same cloth as SVG on road courses, but he’s comparatively more dominant on ovals too. SVG seems to be the only guy who can keep up with and beat the bright young star. Zilisch continues to build his resume in the Xfinity series with another win at Sonoma. This is the fifth career for Zilisch, and the fourth on the 2025 season. 

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Standard Versions (Cup)

Chevy:
Engaging with local schools and universities has become commonplace as the Nascar tour travels around the country. At the Chicago street course, DePaul University, a private school based in Chicago, would partner with Spire Motorsports. The DePaul Chevy would be quick at Chicago earning a front row starting spot. Even with promising speed, McDowell would only be able to muster a 32nd place finish due to a broken throttle cable. 

Chase Elliott and Hendrick motorsports brought the Napa Gold Filters Chevy to Chicago. Chicago has never been a particularly great track for Elliott, and that trend continued with a 16th place finish. Although, that finish came with a 39th place starting position which is notable as well. Elliott ran the Gold Filters livery once last year at Sonoma. I don't expect we'll see this livery again in 2025, but it did get a bit of an upgrade compared to last year's version. 

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Toyota:
There were two new Toyota liveries announced in 1/64 scale this week. The first is a brand new partner for both Joe Gibbs Racing, and for Nascar. Bob's Discount Furniture will be the primary sponsor for Denny Hamlin for the first time at Iowa Speedway on August 3rd. The agreement is a multi year deal, so it remains to be seen how many races the Bob's Camry will get. On a side note, I was able to attend the unveiling ceremony last week, for more on that, click here. 

23XL also brought the 'shattered backboard' paint scheme to Chicago for Tyler Reddick. This is now another livery in a long line of Jordan brand related liveries that Reddick has piloted over the last few years. I think orange and black always look good on a race car, it's just a fact. This car looks good but will likely be hard to replicate well in 1/64 scale. 

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Standard Versions (Xfinity)

It seems that many different companies want to get on board the SVG Express. While Shane van Gisbergen is fully sponsored for 2025 at the Cup level, he apparently is in high demand because he’s also been able to run multiple Xfinity races with different primary sponsors each time. At Sonoma, SVG just missed out on the weekend sweep finishing just behind JRM teammate Connor Zilisch in the number 9 Quad Lock Chevy. This is apparently the only race for Quad Lock in 2025.

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Special Cars

As the Wood Brother's continue to celebrate their tenure in Nascar, another special car has been announced. This fantasy livery celebration of the many WBR wins features a combination of livery designs from many of their most historic and recognizable wins. I have to say, this isn't my favorite, and it sort of feels like a frankencar to me. I'm a big WBR fan, but I think I'd prefer to order the special anniversary set before I ordered this. You can find the description and the link to that set, here.

It's customary every year for Lionel Racing to produce a 1/64 scale car in recognition and celebration of the incoming Nascar Hall of Fame class. This year's version will be on the Toyota Camry casting and looks to feature either silver or grey wheels. The Nascar HOF logo is present. The car is number 26 to honor the class of 2026. This will be a nice collectors item for any HOF collector or presumably, anyone who is fortunate enough to attend the annual ceremony. I've found these cars from past years at the HOF gift shop and have one or two myself. 

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Notes:
This week offered another spectacular selection of preorders that cover virtually every layer of the sport. Not only does NASCAR's most popular driver have representation, but does Nascar's current most oldest and debatably most accomplished driver. There are special and historic liveries, as well as some of the coolest in the sport with both Red Bull and the Jordan brand finding preorder options. There's something in this bunch for everyone, and I'll be grabbing a couple from this group myself. That's it for now and we'll have just one more edition of the Diecast Update for July. See you back here next week!

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