Ron Howard initially turned this part down. He only reconsidered because he was offered a chance to direct another car-chase film for the Roger Corman Unit if it was successful. That film eventually evolved into Grand Theft Auto (1977).
The movie took 4 weeks to shoot. Ron Howard did all of his scenes in 10 days. A body double drove the car for the rest of the filming.
The Puckerbush Union High School that plays at the race course was actually the local band from El Duarte High School. The Puckerbush H.S. motto on the side of the drum is "High Forever" because a Falcon is the El Duarte mascot.
Everything Chinese in the movie starts with the name 'Chow': Chow Fongs Family Cafe, Chow Fop's Fresh Fruit, and Attorney Chow Lick, who represents Mr. Chow Lang in his suit against 'the miscreant' Chow Fong (possibly the owner of the Cafe).
Director Charles B. Griffith came up with the title when the crew was shooting the car chase at the sand dunes. The crew got covered with sand and dirt, and Griffith turned to Roger Corman and said, "We ought to call this picture 'Eat My Dust'.'' The film's working title was 'The Car', but it was changed to avoid confusion with The Car (1977), which was being filmed at the same time.