The Blue Racer was a spin-off from Tijuana Toads when his first short, "Hiss & Hers", bowed in July 1972. However, unlike the Toads, the Racer never appeared on television, although a snake that bore a resemblance to him appeared in a 1978 Pink Panther short that did air on TV.
While Bob Holt had voiced the Racer in his first appearance, 1971's "A Snake in the Gracias", Larry D. Mann takes over beginning with "Hiss & Hers". Here, the Racer is a henpecked husband with three kids, but still runs afoul of a Japanese beetle (Tom Holland, not to be confused with the current "Spider-Man" star, though Wikipedia certainly is), who also appeared in "Gracias".
What they were looking to do at DePatie-Freleng was clone the successful Daffy Duck series of shorts with Speedy Gonzales, although Racer, while another speedster, isn't quite as clever.
Part of the reason these shorts aren't airing anywhere these days is because of the stereotyped voice given to the beetle, who does sound like Holland's mimicing Dick Tracy's old aide, Joe Jitsu.
17 shorts were produced between 1972-4, after which DFE replaced the Racer with the Dogfather, whom we'll meet another day.
Rating: B-.
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