The Hess truck's back for the holidays -- and it's a drag racer.

A flatbed truck hauls a dragster in the 2016 edition of the traditional Hess toy, Trenton-based Hess Toy Truck announced Tuesday.

Spokesman Justin Mayer says the drag racer, now on sale at hesstoytruck.com, is equipped with LED headlights and is 40 percent larger than the stock car the company came out with in 2011.

"The truck itself is very sleek-looking with lots of chrome accents," Mayer says. There are also sound effects, like a hydraulic lift tone.

Another feature: the drag racer can pop a wheelie. That's a detail Mayer says is "something we've never done before." The car uses a weight system to perform the trick, which Mayer says will be on display in the first Hess truck commercials this weekend.

The trucks cost $31.99 -- a price hike of $1 from last year -- and come with free batteries and standard shipping.

While you'd now be hard pressed to find a Hess station, Hess trucks were a part of the oil and gas giant's business from almost the very start. Leon Hess overhauled his father's Asbury Park oil delivery service to create the beginnings of the Hess empire, opening the company's first gas station in Oakhurst in 1960. Hess sold its first toy truck, a gas tanker with an oil funnel accessory, in 1964.

In the decades since, the line of toys has expanded to include firetrucks and spaceships as well as companion vehicles such as helicopters, motorcycles and ladder trucks. Families and collectors have faithfully followed the holiday toy release each year.

In 2014, Hess sold sold its gas stations to Marathon Petroleum. That was the last year shoppers could buy the trucks at gas stations. In 2015, the trucks were available for purchase online but also sold at select mall kiosks in New Jersey.

Speedway, the company whose stations replaced the Hess locations, began selling its own "collector truck" in 2015.

This year, Hess truck sales will be limited to the company website, hesstoytruck.com.

"We've always wanted to keep the tradition going for the fans," Mayer says. "It's in our DNA as a company." He says the trucks saw their fastest sellout in history in the 2015 season, with all purchases made by Dec. 8.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.