What cartoon hot rodder first appeared in Hot Rod magazine in March 1948?

The cartoon hot rodder who first appeared in Hot Rod magazine in March 1948 was Stroker McGurk.

Created by cartoonist Tom Medley, Stroker appeared during Hot Rod’s earliest years, when the magazine was helping define postwar American hot-rodding culture. The character debuted in the publication’s third issue and became one of its signature features.

Stroker usually drove a 1929 Ford roadster and was portrayed as an inventive, speed-obsessed hot rodder. Medley’s cartoons sometimes anticipated real racing technology, including multiple-engine dragsters, traction bars, and parachutes. The feature continued in Hot Rod until 1955, with later revivals in the 1960s and appearances in Rod & Custom.

A common mix-up is confusing Stroker McGurk with Rat Fink, another famous hot-rod cartoon character. Rat Fink was created much later by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, while Stroker belongs to Hot Rod’s late-1940s pioneering period.