There’s just something about hurtling around a race track hitting maximum speeds, and not knowing what crashes may await around the corner. Kids can’t experience it in real life, but the toy versions are no less of a thrill. Race Car tracks are ideal for playing on their own or with friends. Kids can drive around at a sensible pace pretending to be at the wheel or chase the adrenaline and be first across the finish line.
It may be difficult to pick the perfect track as no two kids are the same. To ensure you’re in the pole position of parenting, we’ve compiled this list of the 15 best race car tracks for kids in 2023. By taking recommendations from real people and disqualifying toys with fake reviews, this list covers a variety of budgets and different interests for your little drivers.
1. Long-Lasting Option: Waytoplay Highway, 24 Road Pieces
Founded in 2014, Waytoplay is a family business that was built on the back of a successful crowdfunding campaign around their incredible flexible, weatherproof racing track segments.
Waytoplay’s Highway is a fantastic flexible road set that comes with 25 road pieces, including different shapes (12 curves, 8 straights, 4 Intersections) that will give your kid the opportunity to build unique race tracks indoors and outdoors:
Each road segment is made in The Netherlands out of flexible PVC, and is 100% child-safe and washable:
What We Love:
❤️ The road segments are waterproof and washable
❤️ The track is perfectly smooth, so the cars run fast
❤️ You can expand your race track with other sets by Waytoplay
❤️ The material is of high quality and long-lasting
What We Don’t Love:
💔 The pieces have a hard time staying together when you build the track on top of an uneven surface
💔 Younger kids with little hands might find the segments challenging to fit together
2. Budget Option: Liberty Imports 168 Pieces Create a Road Super Snap Speedway
With this Speedway track, kids can enjoy building different tracks with various obstacles that can be used in the track build. The track is made from high-quality non-toxic ABS plastic material and is 100% safe for kids.
What We Love:
❤️ Comes with 168 pieces of track and accessories
❤️ Includes 1 battery-operated racing vehicle
What We Don’t Love:
💔 The included car takes 2 AA batteries, but they are not included
3. Carrera First Nintendo Mario Kart Slot Car Race Track
This is one of the best race car tracks for kids because it allows them to play with some of their favorite video game characters without being stuck to a screen. It includes two cars, each controlled by a mini-controller, allowing them to race against their friends.
What We Love:
❤️ Includes a Mario and Yoshi car
❤️ Easy to assemble and race
What We Don’t Love:
💔 You can’t choose which two Mario characters come with the track
4. Hot Wheels Dragstrip Champion
This is not a traditional race track. It is designed more like a dragstrip, providing quick and easy ways to determine wins between two Hot Wheels vehicles.
What We Love:
❤️ Side-by-side racing track with a Hot Wheel launcher
❤️ It helps to build a child’s motor skills
What We Don’t Love:
💔 This comes in three different sets that can be used together, but each one is sold separately
5. Monster Jam
This race car track is geared toward kids that like big monster trucks. It has a ramp freestyle will allow them to practice tricks with some of their favorite monster trucks. It is easy to set up a realistic type of ramp track.
What We Love:
❤️ You can perform endless stunts and tricks with this track.
❤️ It comes with a monster truck.
What We Don’t Love:
💔 You don’t get to choose which truck model comes with the track
6. Rug City Life
This carpet is designed to allow children to play with their favorite cars. It has different roads surrounded by beautiful neighborhood illustrations that will help promote creative play scenarios.
What We Love:
❤️ A medium-sized rug that can be placed on different flooring types
❤️ Made from thick quality material to make it comfortable and durable
What We Don’t Love:
💔 It doesn’t come with any car to play on the mat with
7. My First Racing Track: Police City Station Playset
This is an excellent race car track set designed like a police station. It has different features, like a gas station and a parking garage with an additional race track around the bottom.
What We Love:
❤️ Includes various accessories to bring the scene to life
❤️ It comes with 3 police vehicles and a helicopter
What We Don’t Love:
💔 It can be not easy to find extra cars to go with the track
8. PlayTape Black Road Tape
This is one of the best race car tracks for kids because this track comes on a roll-like tape and allows kids to place it however they want. Each roll contains 30 feet of road, which can easily be removed when they are tired of playing with it.
What We Love:
❤️ Includes 12 curves to allow the tracks to go in various directions
❤️ Easy to use
What We Don’t Love:
💔 It shouldn’t be used on hardwood flooring
9. Joysway Super 251 Car Racing Set
This race track has a digital proportional speed controller that helps users control the speed of the vehicles with two to four fixed speeds. It also uses a USB power system, making it easier to keep the track going.
What We Love:
❤️ Uses 3-inch-long cars
❤️ Includes two different controllers
What We Don’t Love:
💔 The race set is a little small and doesn’t come with a larger option
10. KKONES Dinosaur World Road Race
This race track set helps to combine a love for racing and dinosaurs. The track is made of flexible track pieces and comes with various accessories to help set the mood of a Dinosaur theme park track.
What We Love:
❤️ Comes with 273 pieces
❤️ Includes two dinosaur cars
What We Don’t Love:
💔 You can’t choose which eight dinosaurs come with the track
11. Ontel Magic Tracks RC
This set comes with interchangeable track pieces, which makes it excellent for kids that like to build unique race tracks. It uses LED cars that provide a flashy way for kids to race around the track.
What We Love:
❤️ It comes with 200 pieces of track
❤️ Includes 1 race car
What We Don’t Love:
💔 The track could use more directional pieces
12. Hot Wheels Corkscrew Crash Track
With this race track, kids can enjoy racing cars through a corkscrew race track. It has three high-speed boosters to amplify the top-speed thrill and three crash zones for a designated area of fun madness.
What We Love:
❤️ It can be connected to other Hot Wheels tracks
❤️ Most Hot Wheels cars can be used with this track
What We Don’t Love:
💔 This track requires 4 D batteries but only comes with demo batteries
13. REMOKING Rail Race
This track comes with various track pieces that allow kids to create unlimited combinations for them to enjoy, and its car feeder ramp gives the car momentum to keep them going.
What We Love:
❤️ It takes only 30 minutes to charge the car battery fully
❤️ Controllers only use regular AAA batteries
What We Don’t Love:
💔 The car battery will only last for 12 to 15 minutes at a time
14. Learning Resources Code & Go Robot
This race track is excellent for kids that like racing and are interested in basic programming. Kids can program their cars to move around the cool track and build STEM skills. Plus, it doesn’t use traditional cars for racing but an adorable, programmable mouse.
What We Love:
❤️ It has different program steps to let them experience various activities
❤️ It has several activity cards for kids to use
What We Don’t Love:
💔 It can be not easy to find replacement tracks for this set
15. KidKraft Mega Ramp Racing Set
This race track is designed to provide kids with different layers of racing fun. This track includes a helicopter pad, an elevator and a fun race drop to drop the cars down.
What We Love:
❤️ It comes with fun accessories
❤️ Allows kids to play with different types of vehicles all in one race track set
What We Don’t Love:
💔 It is hard to have a traditional race
The Skills Kids Can Develop Playing With Race Tracks
Race car tracks complement learning activities and contribute to overall development.
Some of the educational benefits include:
- Fine motor skills: Manipulating cars and assembling tracks develops hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
- Problem-solving and creativity: Designing different track layouts encourages problem-solving and fosters creativity.
- Spatial awareness: Arranging tracks enhances spatial awareness and geometric reasoning.
- Cause and effect: Observing how track configurations and car movements affect race outcomes builds an understanding of cause and effect.
- Patience and persistence: Constructing tracks teaches patience, overcoming challenges, and practicing perseverance.
- Social skills: Playing with others promotes social interaction, sharing, turn-taking, and cooperative play.
What You Need to Know Before You Choose a Race Track
When buying a race car track for kids, consider the following:
- Age appropriateness: Choose a track suitable for your child’s age and skill level.
- Track design: Look for varied layouts, lengths, curves, loops, jumps, and features like tunnels or bridges.
- Durability: Ensure the track is made from durable, non-toxic materials that fit securely and are easy to assemble.
- Safety: Check for rounded edges, smooth surfaces, and stability to prevent tipping.
- Car compatibility: Confirm if the track works with various toy cars or includes its vehicles.
- Storage and portability: Opt for easily disassembling tracks, store compactly, and come with storage options.
- Additional features: Consider extras like lap counters, speed controllers, or themed decorations based on your child’s interests.
- Reviews and recommendations: Seek feedback from other parents or trusted sources to gauge quality and satisfaction.
