This is the first episode where Joe, and along with Gus, are absent (together; see last Goof).
Also, while Bump Bumperman does appear, he is only off-screen and just a voice-over during the opening race. This is probably the only time this happens.
This is the first episode to begin with a Monster Dome race.
This is the first episode where Gabby wears her tracksuit, as well as the first appearance of her ATV.
This is the first episode where Blaze has to get the lost item before Crusher does.
This is also the first episode where Blaze and Crusher fight over an item.
This is the first time a character other than Crusher cries/sobs. In this case, it's Starla when the latter notices she lost her piston.
It reveals that Blaze has a tickle spot on his front fender.
This is the first time AJ requests the viewer to help activate Blazing Speed instead of Blaze.
Blaze and AJ's attempts to stop the bigfoot robot were:
Go upstairs (failed)
Put trash cans in his way (failed)
Drive across a wet road (succeeded)
While Crusher and Pickle are in the former’s pit, various inventions and blueprints can be seen on the walls and shelves behind him - the bigfoot robot and the giant pineapple blaster from later in the same episode, the mechanical mudslinger from Blaze of Glory, and the slippery banana launcher from the next episode, Tool Duel. A chalkboard also contains a diagram of the chomping shark bot from that said episode.
The bigfoot robot Crusher makes to stop Blaze is the first instance that causes a near-death experience; had Blaze and AJ not stop the robot, they would’ve been stomped to death.
In Blaze’s pit, the magnet he used in Blaze of Glory can be seen on a shelf, along with the anemometer and miniature turbine from Epic Sail.
Crusher and Pickle are seen outside of the Monster Dome for the very first time.
This episode marks the earliest time Blazing Speed is used. It is used during the race in the opening scene.
This is the first episode to follow the usual standard episode format, meaning it lasts over the usual 30-minute length.
Despite not being debuting until two years later, this episode could possibly take place after the Race Car Adventures miniseries. Because in Race to Eagle Rock, Crusher doesn't know what a pineapple is, but he does here.
This is actually the first episode where this distinction occurs.
This is the only episode where the title card has no shiny highlights. Or it could be a goof/error (see below).
This is the first episode where a transformation request has the phrase "To make..." at the beginning.
This was the first episode to be uploaded to the show's own official YouTube channel, which is March 13, 2020, and one day after the airing of The Mechanic Team!.
This is the first time Crusher doesn't begin sobbing or complaining after he loses.
Allusions[]
The term "driving force" refers to what has the power to make things happen: a driving force behind something. The explosion in stock market wealth has been an important driving force behind consumer spending. Trade is the driving force for sustained economic prosperity.
The opening verse of Force has a melody similar to Someday by Rob Thomas.
Goofs[]
There is something odd that seems way off, and is inaccurate to the entire lore. When Starla's ("V-shaped") engine is shown, there is only six pistons and not eight pistons like monster trucks in real-life, so it can be assumed that she may have a 6-cylinder (V6) engine.
Despite that, the trucks actually have V8 sound effects.
This may be because the animators wanted to save time animating the pistons moving.
Twice in the episode, Blaze's horn sound is different; before Gabby calls, it is in normal pitch, but when he leaves the canyon and returns to the Monster Dome, it is low-pitched.
The low-pitched version of the horn sound is used for the Super Stunts Blaze toy.
When Crusher gets covered in pineapples and leaves, a pineapple sticks to the front edge of his hood, but in the next shot, it's in the middle of the hood. Also when Pickle cleans him off, one pineapple remains on the far edge of his hood, then the camera cuts to Pickle, but when the view zooms out, the pineapple is gone.
When the camera spins around to Blaze's rear during the "knocking pineapples" scenario, the pineapples that almost hit him are gone.
During the scene when Blaze and Crusher fight over the piston, Pickle is not seen next to Crusher in the first problem. He reappears later on.
The mud on Blaze's fender was not shown when he crossed the finish line or before that, though it's possible that he got splattered with such off-screen. It also changes its appearance in each shot.
When AJ says "Now let's hurry and get that piston," the catchlights on Blaze's eyes are positioned the wrong way but return to normal later when he hooks up to the piston.
As said above, if you look closely at the title card, there are no shine bevels.
When Starla is approaching the Monster Machines, Darington and Zeg are standing next to each other, but in the next shot, they're far apart. They're together again in the shot after that.
When Crusher says, "See ya later, slowpokes!", his tires are spinning the wrong way and slow down for a moment.
Also, the problem is, if Crusher did get the piston anyways, given his idiocy, overconfidence and general technological disabilities, he would've likely broken his own engine too instead of upgrading it while trying to install an extra piston.
Moreover, he can't place another piston, because all his six pistons are already in.
When Starla first appears as she slinks over to the others, Blaze’s right eye (viewer’s left) is drawn incorrectly. Also, during that, the catchlights on AJ's eyes are positioned independently from each other but return back to normal when Stripes says "Poor Starla."
The piston is unusually large when floating in the mud, but shrinks to its proper size when AJ grabs it.
In the first shot of the wet road, there is nothing out of order. In the next shots, a fire hydrant can be seen spraying the street.
When Zeg and Darington come to hug each other, Zeg's tires don't spin.
