2011 Johnny Lightning 1969 Chevy Impala SS White Lightning

While on a family vacation to the Phoenix area over the holidays, I checked out a little place called Cubbiehole Collectibles. Tucked inside the Postal Plus More in a strip mall off 19th Ave. and Northern, the store is a classic example of collecting as a sideline business. The proprietor answers questions about his inventory of diecast vehicles while simultaneously helping customers with their shipping needs. The store is fairly well organized (I spent most of my time in the Chevrolet section) and offers an array of brands from Hot Wheels and Matchbox to Johnny Lightning, M2 Machines, Greenlight and more. There are either “more than 15,000” or “more than 25,000” items, depending which page of the website you refer to.

I could have spent a lot more time combing through the pegs full of packaged cars and cases of loose items if my patient family wasn’t waiting on me. Also, I would suggest going in with a specific want list to help from becoming distracted or even overwhelmed by the far-ranging collection.

For my part, I zeroed in on this white Johnny Lightning 1969 Impala SS. Information that I’m finding online tells me that the rare (2% of the production run) White Lightning version of Release 13 has a white engine and chassis. This is the only White Lightning I have in my collection of quite a few JLs.

53717MP | 2011 Editions R13 | 1969 Chevy Impala SS | white with white top, base and interior (White Lightning)

I also picked up a loose orange Hot Wheels Corvette Stingray from 1980. I already had one of these, but you can never have too many Stingrays.

1996 Johnny Lightning Indianapolis 500 Champions Collection 1969 Mario Andretti Brawner Hawk and 1969 Chevy Camaro Pace Car

Back in 1996, Johnny Lightning came out with the Indianapolis 500 Champions Collection. These were two-car packs that featured the Indy 500 winning car and the pace car from the same year. I was never able to find the 1969 Mario Andretti version (a Brawner Hawk) with the Camaro pace car in the stores, but I eventually found this one on eBay.

Johnny Lightning | 1996 Indianapolis 500 Champions Collection 1969 Mario Andretti Brawner Hawk, 1969 Chevy Camaro pace car | 1:64

I became a pretty big fan of Indy racing when I lived in Phoenix in the late 80s. I worked for a company that did the concessions at Phoenix International Raceway and I was given infield passes for all the races. Those were pretty big days in Indy racing. I remember in 1985 when Al Unser cracked the 160 mph mark at PIR. And in 1987, Roberto Guerrero won the fastest Indy car race in track history by averaging over 138 mph over the course of the 200-mile contest. I would carry around my Minolta camera with a big zoom lens on it and people would assume I had a press pass to get into the pits as well. So I got some decent shots of some of the cars and drivers. One of my favorites is this shot of Michael and Mario Andretti talking to a reporter before the Circle K Fiesta Bowl 200 in 1986.

And here’s a shot I got of both of them on the track. Michael won the race and Mario took third.