Soapbox derby fever’s in town in Springfield, but Nelson isn’t playing fair after he wrecks Bart’s soapbox (which Homer poorly built because he starts trying to get into Bart’s business as recommended by the National Fatherhood Institute) and Martin ends up in no condition to race.

This escalates when Bart finds himself in a conflict between Homer and Martin after Martin suffers injuries from a race.

The Honor Roller (Martin’s vehicle) would be used as Bart’s primary vehicle in level 2 in Simpsons Hit and Run (one of the only good Simpsons games although Simpsons Road Rage and the Simpsons game from 2007 are both great too, then of course there’s the arcade game from 1991 which unfortunately is no longer available on the Xbox marketplace.)

References to the chariot race from Ben-Hur are made during the races – very same inspiration for the pod race in Phantom Menace.

This continues the running gag of Homer’s poor craftsman skills, which was evident in season 2. The joke would resurface in Bart the Lover later in this season.

Had this taken place in Quahog, Nelson would have been disqualified. Immediately.

Bill Cosby isn’t exactly the best choice for getting parenting advice from a book.

I don’t miss video rental stores. Renting games sometimes gave you the incorrect game and there was one time I rented a tape and it was unplayable. Lastly ex-rental tapes were a nightmare to clean. They always had these obnoxious “void” stickers on them that you had to clean off.