Diecast Update: Week of 6/1

Lionel Racing brought several interesting diecast pre-orders to the market this week. Like last week, a number of special paint schemes were produced thanks to special races like the Coke 600, and the Allstar race. In the 1/64 scale this week there were three new Ford Mustangs announced, and four Chevy's, three of which are from Trackhouse racing. No new Toyotas this week, but there are a few other notable 1/64 scale pre-order announcements to go over. You can find the pre-order links attached to the photos below. For the whole list, read on...

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Raced Versions:

The two main events from the Charlotte races last week have lead to a pair of top-tier Chevy drivers earning raced versions. Ross Chastain won the Coke 600 after a late race rally. This was a historic win because Chastain raced his way from a last place starting position after having to turn to a backup car following a crash in practice. This was Chastain's fifth win on his career, his first at Charlotte, and the ninth Cup win for Trackhouse racing. 

William Byron also found victory lane on Saturday, May 24th marking his fifth Xfinity series win, and his first at Charlotte, Byron's home track. This is interestingly only the second win for the HMS number 17 team since the car returned to the series in 2022.

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Standard Versions:

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Ford: 
Three different Mustangs from three different teams, representing three different drivers were announced this week. The most interesting of the bunch to me is the Michael Waltrip throwback that Josh Berry and the Wood Brothers brought to North Wilkesboro last week for the All-Star race. This is the 7th 1/64 for Berry this year including the raced win from Vegas. FRM cars are rare, so the Rural King is cool too.

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Chevrolet:
Trackhouse fans are going to have to do some thinking this week. Three new liveries, one for each of their full time teams were announced. Shane van Gisbergen who has primary raced this year with support from Red Bull and WeatherTeach will also see several races supported by SafteyCulture, this is the third preorder for SVG, but likely will not challenge the popularity of the 1/64 RedBull car. Daniel Suarez will have sponsorship from Telcel during the international race in Mexico City. This is the third preorder for Suarez this year, and I'll be ordering a copy of this one for sure.

The last two Chevy's from this week are a pair of Nashville specific paint schemes. The 1 car will wear a Busch Light country music special during the Nashville night race. And the Raptor 'High Heat' livery returns in 2025 for Hendrick Motorsports. Byron had 'High Heat' on the car twice in 2024, I imagine the same will be true in 2025.  

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LMSC:

The LMSC 1/64 casting gets representation this week just one time. Wyatt Miller will have this raced version available for pre-order. This probably belongs in the 'raced' section, but because of the different casting it will stay here. This is an official JRM Chevy, and if produced will likely be marketed under the JRM brand. With the very basic design it will be interesting to see if this meets MOQ.

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Special Sets:
​There were a number of special multicar packs that were announced in the month of May. You can read more about them here. The last set of the month that Lionel is offering is this special two car pack celebrating Napa's 100th anniversary. The set will feature the unique golden liveries that Chase Elliott and Daniel Hemeric raced at Texas in the Spring 0f 2025. I have high confidence that this set till be produced regardless of MOQ.

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Notes:
There's a lot to love in this week's pre-order selections. I think the Ross Chastain raced version, the Wood Brothers throwback, the Gragson Rural King, and the Suarez Telcel are the best of the bunch. I'll probably end up ordering at least three of the four. Hopefully this overview was helpful to you, and we'll see you back here next week.