In Oahu, Hawaii for a screening of our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary with MOONEYES Hawaii, I finally struck gold and discovered a Hot Wheels MOONEYES/Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car as part of a HW Drag Strip Collection at Don Don Donki, a mammoth store from Japan. It was there in plain sight like a gold nugget in the dirt. I even found multiple ones. MOONEYES has been collaborating with Hot Wheels for a long time, creating many collectible die cast cars. I especially love the ones that are based on real MOONEYES cars. This one is modeled after the MOONEYES/Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car with the iconic MOONEYES yellow and black livery. MOONEYES has been sponsoring Jim Dunn Racing for more than 30 years. This long friendship started when talented driver Kenji Okazaki needed to bring in a sponsor to join the team and partnered with Shige Suganuma, the owner of MOONEYES. As a result, Okazaki would become the first non-North American driver to win a NHRA Pro title.
In making our “Craft of Speed” MOONEYES Documentary, we had the incredible honor of filming legendary Jim Dunn and his racing team. “Big” Jim Dunn, as he’s known, and his gracious family are esteemed ambassadors of the sport. In fact, he was inducted into the Lions Hall of Fame in 2023 and recognized with a NHRA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024. He stars in his own documentary, “Funny Car Summer” (1974), which follows him during the heyday of drag racing. What is most inspiring is that he’s now 90 years old and still doing what he loves—a recurrent theme in our film. Needless to say, this Hot Wheels MOONEYES/Jim Dunn Racing Funny Car is special, but you need to know how to recognize gold when you see it.
To buy tickets to our screening with MOONEYES Hawaii at the Bob Bosley Museum as part of MOONEYES Hawaii Ohana Weekend, presented by NAPA Hawaii, on Sunday, 8/24/2025:
craftofspeed.eventive.org
To buy tickets to our screening with Namsayin at Griot’s Garage in Tacoma, Washington on Saturday, 8/30/2025:
craftofspeed.eventive.org