Designed by Tomohiro Nishikado, the gameplay involves the player using the attached steering wheel to maneuver a car alongside a fast vertical scrolling road.

[3] Two-player versions followed with Midway's Wheels II and Taito's Speed Race Twin.

The Speed Race DX and Wheels versions were also among the top three highest-grossing arcade games of 1976 in Japan and the United States, respectively, while Speed Race DX was Japan's highest-grossing arcade video game of 1977.

The game ends when the time limit runs out, though the timer can be extended by earning a certain number of points.

[7] Following the release of Atari's Gran Trak 10 earlier in 1974, Taito employee Tomohiro Nishikado decided to develop his own racing video game the same year; he did not enjoy Gran Trak 10, due to its twisting tracks and complex controls.

[12] In October, RePlay listed Wheels as the third-highest-grossing arcade video game of 1976 in the United States, below Sea Wolf and Gun Fight (both manufactured by Midway).

[15] Speed Race spawned numerous updates, variations and sequels released by Taito and Midway in arcades.

[3] In Japan, Super Speed Race was among the top ten highest-earning arcade video games of 1977.

[18] Titus Software's Automobili Lamborghini (1997) for the Nintendo 64 was later re-branded Super Speed Race 64 for its Japanese release, which was published by Taito in May 1998.