Opening a Sealed Box of 2019 Donruss Racing Cards PACK 3

Recently I got a sealed box of 2019 Donruss Racing Cards—24 packs, 8 cards per pack.  Join me as I go through the entire case, pack-by-pack, to see what awaited me. (Click any picture to enlarge)

PACK 3 of 24: Jimmie Double, Buescher’s Stubble, and Trivia Trouble

OVERVIEW: In a near repeat of the last pack, we get a big focus on the drivers of today less a single Dale Jarrett cards, this time showing him in his later years with RYR.  Meanwhile, the plus-side to having a ton of variants and different cards is that its darn-near impossible to get duplicates in the same pack, as seen here by two different Jimmie Johnson cards.

SPECIAL SPECIAL: Most of the cards that feature the car (instead of the driver) are printed longways to show the most of the paint scheme possible.  However, then the back of the card is printed right-side up.  Why is that?

IN FOCUS: Here we gets the first of one my favorite sub-sets, a semi-throwback to the cards of yesteryear.  As seemingly all old cards used to, we get a piece of trivia.  And to answer the question, Donruss, no, I did NOT know that Austin Dillon lives in a converted barn.

SPOTLIGHT: This year’s main parallel has cards with a design that throws back to Donruss’s 1987 baseball cards.  No earthly idea why they chose that year for 2019, unless someone at the company really, really liked the look of Jose Canseco’s Rated Rookie card.

SCORE: 4 Twitter feuds out of 10

Richard Petty and Kyle Busch: Compare and Contrast

Lately there’s been a lot of comparisons between Richard Petty, holder of a record 200 Nascar Cup wins, and Kyle Busch, due to pass that number in all three of Nascar’s national touring series. Here now is a look at the ways The King and Rowdy are alike—and how they’re also quite different. 

Compare: Both drivers come from racing families. 

Contrast: Maurice Petty never testified that an ex-lover was plotting to kill him. 

Compare: Petty (STP) & Busch (M&M’s) both have long-term sponsorship relationships. 

Contrast: STP never demanded to be taken off the car after Richard Petty wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr under caution. 

Compare: Both Richard and Kyle have hundreds of unique trophies. 

Contrast: Hey, remember that time Richard Petty smashed one of his Martinsville grandfather clocks in victory lane? Yeah, me neither. 

Compare: Both drivers have had to beat some of the biggest stars in Cup Series history.

Contrast: Richard Petty never had to beat such Truck Series luminaries as Norm Benning, Jennifer Jo Cobb, or Timmy Hill. 

Compare: Both of them have become icons of their longtime manufacturers—Petty for Mopar, Busch for Toyota. 

Contrast: Dodge never put out anything as ugly as the current Supra (ok, ok, maybe the Aspen). 

Compare: Both have operated race teams—Petty Enterprises and Kyle Busch Motorsports. 

Contrast: Petty Enterprises was more or less a completely independent team. KBM, meanwhile, functions as a developmental organization for one of the top teams in the sport—Hendrick Motorsports. 

Spade Racing Picks: Uncle Max vs. Mystery Picker—Auto Club (California)

This is pitifuI.

A thousand peopIe...freezing their butts off, waiting to worship a rat.

What a hype.

They used to puII the hog out, and they used to eat it—you're hypocrites! AII of you!

You got a probIem, Larry?  Untie your tongue.  Come here and taIk.

Am I upsetting you...princess?

You want a prediction about the weather? You're asking the wrong PhiI.

I'II give you a winter prediction.

It's going to be coId.

It's going to be gray.

And it's going to Iast you for the rest of your Iife.

CUP SERIES Auto Club 400: Mystery Picker picks Ryan Newman.  Favorite (1 win): Kyle Busch—once again the eyes of the nation have turned here…  Next Favorite: Martin Truex Jr.—to this…TINY TOWN IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA…  Dark Horse: Daniel Suarez—Blah Blah BLAH Blah BLAH Blah BLAH!!!

XFINITY SERIES (3 wins) PAG 300: Kyle Busch—There is NO WAY this winter is EVER going to end…

Opening a Sealed Box of 2019 Donruss Racing Cards PACK 2

Recently I got a sealed box of 2019 Donruss Racing Cards—24 packs, 8 cards per pack.  Join me as I go through the entire case, pack-by-pack, to see what awaited me. (Click any picture to enlarge)

PACK 2 OF 24: DJ, Brad K, and Carl’s Gone Away

OVERVIEW: This pack focuses almost exclusively on the now, with the exception of Dale Jarrett’s one-year sojourn in the 28 car (for some reason).  Also, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gets the “number on the hat because we don’t have a sponsor this weekend” treatment.

SPECIAL SPECIAL: Dale Jr. gets the LEGENDS treatment this time, while the back of the card talks about how rookies drive on guts.  Speaking of which, after going through this entire set, I have a gut feeling that Donruss couldn’t get the license to produce Dale Sr. cards.

IN FOCUS: Joey Logano gets a throwback with the “Action Packed” sub-series, one of many many MANY sub-series, special collections, and parallel cards in this set.  Because when people stop buying your product because its overproduced, just produce more to make up the difference!

SPOTLIGHT: Ross Chastain gets the regular “OPTIC” treatment in a manner that makes it look like he’s a spirit or apparition.  He looks like he’s not even there—much like Ganassi’s DCSolar sponsorship, come to think of it.

SCORE: 5 victory lane hats out of 10

Nascar to Run Midweek “House Show Races”

In an attempt to drum up interest in the sport in smaller markets, Nascar announced today that they will begin running untelevised “House Show Races” midweek starting later this season. 

“We’ve been working in bigger media markets for years—Los Angeles, Detroit, Dover—but we rarely get the chance to run in front of smaller, more-intimate audiences”, Nascar spokesman Scott Tronson said in a prepared statement. “With our new so-called House Show Races we’ll be able to show mid-sized markets what Nascar is really all about.”

Taking a page from pro-wrestling, the House Show Races will not be televised, giving incentive to those in the area to attend the race. 

“We can save a lot of money by not having to prepare the facilities for broadcast”, Tronson explained. “Besides, our media partners FS1 and NBCSN said their midweek schedules are already filled with auto auctions and sports gambling shows.”

To those who will get the chance to see Nascar in this new format, you can expect a different “show” than what you normally see on TV. 

“Of course not every driver will be able to participate in every race, and they’ll be non-points events”, Tronson’s statement read. “However, we plan to introduce a new Intercontinental Points Leader championship for our drivers to chase—just wait till you see Michael McDowell and Daniel Hemric beating and banging for the lead at Gateway!”

When reached for comment, acting Nascar Leader Jim France declined comment. 

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Spade Racing Picks: Uncle Max vs. Mystery Picker—Phoenix

D.J. #1: Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today.

D.J. #2: It's coooold out there every day. What is this, Miami Beach?

D.J. #1: Not hardly. And you know, you can expect hazardous travel later today with that, you know, that, uh, that blizzard thing.

D.J. #2: [mockingly] That blizzard - thing. That blizzard - thing. Oh, well, here's the report! The National Weather Service is calling for a "big blizzard thing!"

D.J. #1: Yessss, they are. But you know, there's another reason why today is especially exciting.

D.J. #2: Especially cold!

D.J. #1: Especially cold, okay, but the big question on everybody's lips...

D.J. #2: On their chapped lips...

D.J. #1: On their chapped lips, right: Do ya think Phil is gonna come out and see his shadow?

D.J. #2: Punxsutawney Phil!

D.J. #1: That's right, woodchuck-chuckers - it's...

D.J. #1, D.J. #2: [in unison] GROUNDHOG DAY!

CUP SERIES TicketGuardian 500: Mystery Picker picks Ryan Preece.  Favorite: Kyle Busch—And put yourrrrr little hand in miiiiine…  Next Favorite: Kevin Harvick—there ain’t no river or mountain, we can’t cliiiiiimb…  Dark Horse: Ryan Newman—Babe.  I got you babe.  I got you babe.

XFINITY SERIES (2 wins) Arizona 200: Kyle Busch—Well, it’s Groundhog Day…again…

Opening a Sealed Box of 2019 Donruss Racing Cards PACK 1

Recently I got a sealed box of 2019 Donruss Racing Cards—24 packs, 8 cards per pack.  Join me as I go through the entire case, pack-by-pack, to see what awaited me. (Click any picture to enlarge)

PACK 1 OF 24: Patrick, Reddick, and a Petty Hat-Trick

OVERVIEW: We kick things off with a pretty good combo of drivers—even if we get 2 less cards per pack than last year *grumble*.  A few current stars, some legends, and even a few rising stars as well.  And Danica.

SPECIAL SPECIAL: Dale Jr. gets the ICONS treatment, rendered in “Yo! MTV Raps” font for some reason.

IN FOCUS: So the issue with making physical trading cards is the long lead time to get them designed, copy-written, proofed, printed, finished, sealed, packaged, and distributed.  That’s how you wind up with cards for Danica Patrick, someone who raced a grand total of one race last year.  Yeah, she ran in the Indy 500 as well, but I don’t think all seven IndyCar fans will mind all that much.

SPOTLIGHT: Donruss heavily hyped its “OPTIC” line of reflective cards this year—included in that line are these “Illusion” cards like the one here for Kevin Harvick.  While I guess “Illusion” is a good description for how the card looks, its kind of a bad idea to have a picture of a driver with a word like “Illusion” in front of him—might as well just have it say “Phoney”, “Fake”, or “Dillon Brother”.

SCORE: 7 tapered spacers out of 10