9. The #2, Danica deux, and a pill that’s blue
OVERVIEW: Not too much success beyond the 1990’s in this set, although we do get a nice shot of Kevin Harvick’s car. Its worth noting that pretty much every pack seems to come with one “horizontal” card showing a car rather than a driver. This is the time to make a “I’d sure like to get Danica horizontal!” joke, so do so if you’d like, weirdos.
BACK OF THE CARD BONUS: Speaking of Danica, according to Clint Bowyer’s card-back “…Tony Stewart assembled an all-star cast in 2017, grouping Clint Bowyer with Kevin Harvick and Danica Patrick”. Um, right.
PICK OF THE PACK: We get a nice shot of Mark Martin in his second-most famous sponsor’s gear—why not Valvoline? I’m guessing someone at Donruss/Panini has the maturity of a 12-year-old by choosing Viagra colors.
FINAL RATING: 3 annoying commercials out of 10
10. Happy, sappy, and a legend who got “lappy”
OVERVIEW: A nice collection of talent here—even with two each of Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch, there’s some real star power in this pack. The only two outliers are Brandon Jones and Ned Jarrett—while Ned is no doubt a champion, holding the record for largest margin of victory in Nascar history, its odd that they chose what appears to be a wax figure of him for his picture.
BACK OF THE CARD BONUS: Brandon Jones gets the lame descriptor of “baby-faced”…hey writers—pretty much any young driver is going to look “baby-faced”. And we never get the opposite. I’d love to read at least once, “Matt Kenseth, whose face looked like the surface of the moon crossed with an old wallet you’d find at a Goodwill store…”
PICK OF THE PACK: Brad Keselowski gets in a shout-out to his hometown on the back of his Race Kings card. Here’s a point to ponder—if the “trophy” they give out at the end of the race is in no way a trophy (grandfather clock, live lobster, etc.), is it really a trophy?
FINAL RATING: 6 sponsors out of 10