A blueprint of Cecil's turtle shell is shown at one point in the cartoon. In the bottom right-hand corner of the blueprint the name Sasanoff is visible. This is a reference to Robert Clampett's layout artist Michael Sasanoff.
A small amount of stock footage from Tortoise Beats Hare is used for the opening sequence.
The dialog between Bugs (in his old-timer disguise) and Cecil is drawn heavily from catch phrases used in the radio program, Fibber McGee and Molly. (Example: "That ain't the way I heered it, Johnny!")
The newspaper announcing the race is an altered version of the Chicago Sunday Tribune's front page for November 1, 1942, with the main headline changed to "Hare Races Tortoise Today" and pictures of Cecil and Bugs inserted. The smaller headlines are from the actual newspaper, except for one of the secondary headlines which reads "Adolph Hitler Commits Suicide".