Dragzine

Image credit: Snake & Mongoose Movie on Facebook

American motorsports has created a great many legendary characters, from early heroes like “Fireball” to more contemporary racers like John Force or Jeff Gordon. Many a great rivalry has erupted from on-track antics between competitors, resulting in some equally-legendary feuds, fights, and battles for the checkered flag. But there is one story that stands above the rest.

Part marketing scheme by Mattel, part genuine battle for glory, the contest of will and speed between Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen is one for the ages. Or, as it turns out, for the silver screen. It has been announced that “Snake & Mongoose”, a film about this real-life rivalry, has just entered post-production. That means it should be hitting theaters within the next year.

One blog post could not do justice to the epic battle between Prudhomme and McEwen, who were on-track rivals, but off-track were incredibly close friends. It was an unlikely rivalry, one pushed into the limelight by Mattel via its brand new “Hot Wheels” brand of toy cars. From the 1960′s through the 1970′s, the Snake and the Mongoose were among the best known racers in the world, and their awesome showdowns always drew large crowds.

With movies like The Fast & The Furious tarnishing the idea of drag racing for an entire generation, Snake & Mongoose could reignite a passion for vintage automobiles that is seriously lacking in today’s youth. At the very least, an epic sports rivalry is finally getting its due on the big screen.

And as an added bonus, Prudhomme was even on hand to give some advice on how to present the movie, which should add a whole ‘nother level of authenticity to the film. We can’t wait to see it, whenever it finally comes out.