13. More Proof, a TV goof, and Kyle’s doof
OVERVIEW: Things stay mostly in the here and now as we get a good mixture of up-and-comers, current stars (punctuated by a smiley Kyle Busch), and recent retirees. Alex Bowman appears in Press Proof form, which is to say shinier than in his other cards. Also note the lack of a horizontal “car card” in this pack.
BACK OF THE CARD BONUS: In the future its probably best not to associate as “race king” with NEARLY winning a pole at Atlanta.
PICK OF THE PACK: Michael Waltrip appears in a card celebrating his final Cup Series race. Say, do you think he had to request to have “2-Time Daytona 500 Champion” embroidered on his firesuit, or did Simpson just do it automatically?
FINAL RATING: 3 roll bars out of 10
14. Larson, Dale’s son, and a Young Gun
OVERVIEW: This is an…odd selection. While its nice to have the reigning Cup champion at the center of it all, the rest are a grab bag of random drivers (less Kyle Larson). Cole Custer gets the “Rated Rookie” treatment, and Kenny Wallace appears to be wearing a bootleg Nascar hat.
BACK OF THE CARD BONUS: A surprising miss by Donruss/Panini on the Dale Jr. card, referencing his seventh place starting and finishing position at Dover. The place has a casino, guys—7! Casino! Lucky!
PICK OF THE PACK: Hey, photographers—when your subject is developing “landing strips” in his scalp, do NOT take his picture to emphasize the fact that he’s starting to lose his hair. I speak from experience on this one.
FINAL RATING: 1 playoff race out of 10