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Taking the Track to Atlanta: The Adventures of MDG at the 21st Annual Collector’s Nationals by Christopher Kidder-Mostrom
After a one-year hiatus thanks to the pandemic, the Annual Hot Wheels Collector’s Nationals convention was back in 2021 for its 21st gathering. This year it was in Atlanta, Georgia over the weekend of April 711. The convention tickets sold out, which clearly showed that collectors and racers alike were ready to get back into the action. One racer in particular, Michael Mathis (known to the racing community as Michael’s Diecast Garage, or MDG for short) had big plans for the convention. He packed his bags (more on that in a minute) and boarded a Greyhound bus in Houston, Texas, carrying with him a special track that he hoped would bring special joy to the convention attendees. In a year when the convention’s traditional modified racing class was left off the official racing docket, MDG and the Brotherhood of Speed provided an unofficial way for long-time racers to still get their modified racing fix. Diecast Racing Report caught up with MDG after the fact to see how everything turned out at the convention’s official and unofficial activities. DRR: I’m going to assume this isn’t your first time attending the Nationals. How many times have you gone before? MDG: Atlanta was my third show. My first 6 | Diecast Racing Report
time was Dallas in 2018, the 50th anniversary of Hot Wheels. I had just started modified racing in 2018. I mainly went to race on the 40’ eight-lane track. It was only a three-hour drive from Houston. I met Don Boomershine and Jon Soffa that first Thursday night. In 2019, I drove to Chicago for my second event, which culminated in a little diecast tour that went through Indiana to Mr. Mom’s facility, down to Kansas to race at the Backroads raceway with Don Boomershine. DRR: What was different about this year? MDG: Other than the temperature checks and the face diapers, not a lot.
