These two men were the biggest thing in racing from 1965 to 1970. Don "the Snake" Prudhomme in his Barracuda facing off with Tom "the Mongoose" McEwen in his demon Duster. "Tom McEwen approached Mattel and negotiated a unique deal that moved drag racing from barnstorming to a multimillion dollar profession. Mattel became drag racing’s first sponsor outside of the automobile industry. The Mongoose & Snake rivalry rose to a new level on the drag circuit and Hot Wheels fans were treated to the 1970 Hot Wheels Mongoose & Snake Drag Race Set." This set came from Tom McEwen, the man that changed drag racing. There is a letter from him with a picture of him holding this set. The letter reads "This original Drag Race set was given to me by Mattel in 1969 when it was issued and has been sitting on a shelf in my garage since then and is dated 8-1-16 as well as witness signed. Tom died two years later in 2018. The set has never been opened . Colors are still bright and no major tears but there are some storage creases here and there. Comes with the signed and dated letter along with two newer carded Mongoose and Snake cars for display but they are not red lines.