Lots of things going on in one set, though it makes the box art a tad messy.

Colors and concept remind me a lot of that Dragon Boat Race set from a few years back

Wow! One of the first sets I ever got. (used) I think a kid named Simon got it for my birthday in 11 or 12. I had lots of my moms 80s Space stuff, the City seaplane, and some Creator sets, so this was definitely one of the first. And I never actually knew the name. (no box) Turns out its a silly one: Someone at Lego knew it involved drag racing, but couldnt decide on whether to call it a race or a rally, and chose both. Did no one involved with the naming of this set know about rallying? Maybe the heli can rally? Either way, a really great set that I had a lot of fun with. Looking back at it now, I love the chrome bowls being used as carburetors, but Im not so sure about the usefulness of a multi directional christmas tree. That would be a dangerous race!

*Tongue pop*

@CarolinaOnMyMind said: "I don’t know much about drag racing, but is it usually done high up in the Himalayas?"

... yes.

I think health and safety might have something to say about those two racing by while that poor dude in the middle is still setting up

@Mr__Thrawn : Think I liked the use the goblets as water/foam sprayers on the oooooold Airport Fire Truck ( 6440 )...anywho...

Seeing a set like this make ya' think about far something like 'Speed Champions' has come, or even 'City': even in the latter, vehicles a lot look more "thought out"...although TLG also has a lot more parts to choose from since back then too:).

I so want Lego series "Reporters Without Borders".

Was this designed by RuPaul?

I grew up in a place where this sort of race was common: the cars are practically rockets, fastest time to the quarter mile in a straight line, and big loud engines. This accurately captures it, and it was a fantastic set.

They're waiting for the green light.

@Binnekamp said:
"Was this a regional exclusive? Perhaps a store exclusive in the US?

Also, another 90s set with black red and yellow. There was a persevering tendency for that colour combination (particularly with red and yellow stripes). Beside 6568 it's also in sets 1687, 6679, 6563, 6357, 6526, 6551, 6337, 2769, 6436, and possibly 1611, 2554, 6639. There was even a possible homage to it in the city line with 60183
There are more, but these were just some I could find right now.

Some of these sets are just suspicous, as if it's an organized crime faction like blacktron. Gator Landing, Midnight Transport and Dark Shark (an alternate title refers to it as a smuggler craft) could all be the same shady operation, with ties to racing.

Although some if not most are possibly just a result of pattern recognition and lego's limited colour palette, it's still interesting to see it pop up so many times. And the amount of sets with those particular stripes is interestingly specific.

It's fun to see these as the 'bad guys' of Town. The colour scheme is better than the stale red and black of City criminals anyway.

There used to be a bricklist compiling these, but unfortunately it's gone..."

We need @ElephantKnight to confirm :)

I'm quite surprised something this decent was released in that dark period of juniorization.

@Mr__Thrawn said:
"Really clever use of goblets"
Don't drink and drive!
(or you might burn your hands....)

Goblets for exhausts, snowplow blades for spoilers... Does anyone else feel like they built these cars with whatever parts they could find?

I appreciate how the yellow/green vehicle driver has turned his head to look at the other one as the race begins, as if to communicate how confident he is to have gotten the jump on him for the win.

I recently watched a video of what might be the slowest dragster race ever. Both cars blew their engines within a fraction of a second of leaving the start line, and basically just coasted with inertia to the finish.

@phi13:
That’s my fault. The (a) symbol caused S(a)H to be treated as a username, so it added a space after the “S”, and converted the rest to hypertext that would try to direct you to user “H”. After several requests for @Huw to code in an exception, he did that instead because it was easier.

@Binnekamp said:
"Was this a regional exclusive? Perhaps a store exclusive in the US?

Also, another 90s set with black red and yellow. There was a persevering tendency for that colour combination (particularly with red and yellow stripes). Beside 6568 it's also in sets 1687, 6679, 6563, 6357, 6526, 6551, 6337, 2769, 6436, and possibly 1611, 2554, 6639. There was even a possible homage to it in the city line with 60183
There are more, but these were just some I could find right now.

Some of these sets are just suspicous, as if it's an organized crime faction like blacktron. Gator Landing, Midnight Transport and Dark Shark (an alternate title refers to it as a smuggler craft) could all be the same shady operation, with ties to racing.

Although some if not most are possibly just a result of pattern recognition and lego's limited colour palette, it's still interesting to see it pop up so many times. And the amount of sets with those particular stripes is interestingly specific.

It's fun to see these as the 'bad guys' of Town. The colour scheme is better than the stale red and black of City criminals anyway.

There used to be a bricklist compiling these, but unfortunately it's gone..."

I see the red touching yellow stripes as partially reminiscent of their Shell days. The other part being just eye-catching primary colo(u)rs.

@eMJee83 said:
" @Binnekamp said:
"Some of these sets are just suspicous, as if it's an organized crime faction like blacktron. Gator Landing, Midnight Transport and Dark Shark (an alternate title refers to it as a smuggler craft) could all be the same shady operation, with ties to racing.

Although some if not most are possibly just a result of pattern recognition and lego's limited colour palette, it's still interesting to see it pop up so many times. And the amount of sets with those particular stripes is interestingly specific.

It's fun to see these as the 'bad guys' of Town. The colour scheme is better than the stale red and black of City criminals anyway."

Wow... thanks for a trip down memory lane. When I was a kid in the early 90ies, I'd play for hours with my 6679 as a smuggling craft, supported by 6357's chopper, and 6540 and 4021 (and other police sets) to catch the baddies! Remember using 6066 as a hide-out for the smugglers! Aaah simpler times. Thanks!"

Me too! The Dark Shark 6679 was my supervillain's racing boat, and the Midnight Transport 1687 was a shady private courier that assisted him! I didn't have 6540, but I did have 6353 to chase him. And I had 6375 Trans Air Carrier for honest citizens to send legitimate packages.

@ElephantKnight: I wasn't convinced until you got to the black visors. I think you might be onto something there...

Hey what happened to my earlier comment?

I just not have hit the button. Anyway, this is my favorite helicopter design. It goes all the way back to the 80s. It’s simple and elegant, and it bugs me to no end that those curved bar pieces were replaced by that ugly single skid piece.

@CarolinaOnMyMind:
@ElephantKnight:
So, the dragsters are Redtron and Greentron, proving that this is in Canada, not the Himalayas, and the helicopter is TVtron (aka Panatronic)?

@PurpleDave
Yeah, I could see those mountains being the Rockies. There are plenty of helicopters out near Jasper & Banff, but I’ve never seen any drag racers. Maybe I just go to the wrong National Parks.

@CarolinaOnMyMind said:
" @PurpleDave
Yeah, I could see those mountains being the Rockies. There are plenty of helicopters out near Jasper & Banff, but I’ve never seen any drag racers. Maybe I just go to the wrong National Parks. "

I've never seen any out there either. Must be on the BC side.

A two car race! This is rare for Lego; most of their racecars sold alone, with no available competition.