Joel Magee earned his nickname “Toy Scout,” by buying and selling toys, with a specialty in Hot Wheels. His biggest toy, however, is his hobby stock.
“I see my [full-size] cars as giant full-size collectibles, Magee, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, said. “As long as I can keep them in one piece, they’ll always be worth something.”
Magee’s reputation as a toy collector extends to the TV screen. Rick Harrison and Chumlee call on him for toy values on History’s “Pawn Stars.” Magee shared his expertise on History’s “Modern Marvels.” On MeTV’s “Collector’s Call,” he tried to make a Hot Wheels trade for $250,000. In the near future, you can find Magee on the Prime’s “Up for Auction.” The series will show highlights of Magee on track.
“When I’m traveling to races, I’m working on eBay typing and categorizing Hot Wheels,” said Magee. “I don’t rest. When I’m not racing, I’m buying, selling, and trading toys.”
Magee took an extended hiatus from racing. Back in the day, he won the NASCAR Charger track championship five times at Interstate Speedway in South Dakota. He hung up the helmet 20 years ago.
“I gave up racing, moved to Florida, and traveled the country in search of collectible toys,” Magee said. “When I visited South Dakota five years ago, I got a lot of ribbing. Friends said I couldn’t compete with today’s drivers in today’s modern hobby stocks.”
Never to back down from a challenge, Joel Magee bought a 2019 Terminator hobby stock and went racing in the Midwest. Since then, he’s won five more track championships and an IMCA South Dakota state championship. Magee added a 2025 Jet Racing hobby stock to his garage this year. He doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, either. Magee qualified his way into the Big Dance at the IMCA Super Nationals at Boone Speedway, and finished 15th.
“I’ve traded a lot of toys, and will be trading more to keep on racing,” said Magee. “I made it from Hot Wheels to the Big Dance at 64 years old. The people who ribbed me are just shaking their heads.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
