2020 Donruss Racing: Working from home means I don't get to a Target so I don't get to find these in the wild. NASCAR was the first sport to return and it really has been fun. It now has to compete with the other sports but I'll still tune in each week. This box came from Blowout Cards. The last NASCAR hobby box I picked up was in 2017. I felt that box was a bit repetitive and boring. This box didn't have those problems. There was plenty of variety, good designs and fun cards. This Hailie Deegan was the best card in the box. #/99 this green parallel can pay for 2/3 the cost of a hobby box. She is extremely popular and there's hope she can someday star at the Cup level.
The base design is good for me. There are 75 cards that look like this. The photos are good shots of the drivers. Nothing too special but fit the bill.
Retired greats are a big part of this set. With the list of active drivers being small adding these guys is needed and fun. NASCAR trading cards weren't a thing back in the day so many of these guys would never had been on a card had it not been for the Panini Donruss sets.
The base set is 200 cards but 125 of those are parts of subsets. These Retro 1987 cards are a design I like. I can't say it was my favorite back in the day but I like it here.
More retired greats included.
Each design also has photos of the driver's cars. As this is what you see 95% of the time on race day this is how fans identify with drivers and they are great inclusions. Some of the NASCAR sets included "action shots" of pit stops which is a good idea and would have been nice to see here.
There are plenty of parallels to be had in the set and it felt like I pulled a ton. These are part of the 25 or so I pulled. There is also one Optic in each pack.
Bubba Wallace and Chase Elliott are both favorite drivers of mine so these two relics were great pulls for me. Gray Gaulding is a young driver who really hasn't done much but there's still time for him to do something.
Terry Labonte and Jeff Burton are two retired greats whom I'm a fan of. Terry is a former champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer. Another Hailie Deegan card which is a good thing nowadays.
I like both of these inserts as we get to see the cars again. I think the Aero Package is my favorite.
I'm a Contenders brand guy so I really like that insert and the Top Tier is a nice insert too. Pulling Danica is always fun. The Elite Series insert is OK but seems a bit bland.
I love the "Kings" cards across the Donruss sports brands and Race Kings is no different. Bubba Wallace was a great pull for me. The Retro Series gives us a look at drivers from their past. I like that and like the 80's Miami Vice vibe. I enjoyed the heck out of this box. Tons of variety and good designs really made this a win. We'll finish it all off with The King Richard Petty.
BREAKDOWN:
192 – Total Cards
12 – Silver Parallel10 Race Kings
5 – Rated Rookie
5 – Red Parallel #/299
3 - Classics
3 – Top Tier
3 – Elite Series
3 – Retro Series
3 – Contenders
3 – Aero Packages
3 – Blue Parallel #/199
2 – New Age
2 - Dominators
2 – Action Packed
2 – Green Parallel #/99
2 – Holographic Parallel #/199
1 – Signature Series
1 – Race Day Relic
1 - Retro 1987 Relic
1 – Pink Parallel #/25
1 – Purple Parallel #/49
-24 – Total Optic-
7 – Retro 1987
3 – Illusions
2 – Race Kings
1 – Rated Rookie
Cool Bubba Wallace relic. Didn't know who he was until earlier in the year, but that's a pretty cool piece of history. As for the 1987 design, I feel like it's perfect for racing. It always made me think of a tire skidmark.
ReplyDeleteAgree. The border design is a great nod to tires.
DeleteThanks for the hobby box review! I did 4 or 5 blasters of this set, love all the parallels.
ReplyDeleteI really like the amount and variety of the parallels. Helps make this a fun box. Let me know if there are any cards you are looking for.
DeleteI don't do much with racing cards, but these look nice. Rusty Wallace lived a neighborhood over from me as a kid. Funny guy, terrible driveway basketball player.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great story. It's fun hearing antidotes like that.
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