Auto Race

Auto Race, released by D. Gottlieb & Company in September 1956, is a single-player electro-mechanical game designed by Wayne Neyens with artwork by Roy Parker, produced in a run of 1,500 units. True to its auto racing theme, the objective is to hit center targets and rollovers to advance each of three cars, completing races that alternately light the gobble holes for Special; a ball into a lit gobble hole could award up to nine replays depending on how many races were completed.

The playfield carries two flippers, four pop bumpers, two passive bumpers, two slingshots, three standup targets, and two gobble holes, with a maximum displayed score of 7,990,000 points. The game also holds an interesting footnote in Gottlieb history: its backglass is silkscreened with the words 'Game Over' and the backbox insert even has a hole for a bulb, but no wires lead to it. Plans were clearly made for a Game Over Relay, yet that feature did not reach production until Royal Flush seven games later in 1957, so on Auto Race the flippers stay energized even after all balls have been played.

The backglass carries Gottlieb's famous slogan, 'Amusement Pinballs, as American as Baseball and Hot Dogs!', and with Parker art and a Neyens layout, Auto Race is a characteristic example of Gottlieb's mid-1950s craftsmanship.