Speed Racer is an 18-year-old whose life and love has always been automobile racing. His parents--Pops and Mom--run the independent Racer Motors, in which his brother Spritle and his pet monkey Chim Chim, his mechanic Sparky, and his girlfriend Trixie are also involved. As a child, Speed idolized his record-setting older brother, Rex Racer. When Rex and Pops had a falling out, Rex ran away to race for other companies and gained a reputation for being a dirty racer and disgraced his family. Rex was apparently killed while racing in the Casa Cristo 5000 (AKA The Crucible) a deadly cross-country rallying. Now embarking on his own career, Speed is quickly sweeping the racing world with his skill behind the wheel of his brother's Mach 5 and his own T-180 car, the Mach 6, although he is primarily interested in the art of the race and the well-being of his family.