Random Wax: 2026 Donruss NASCAR Blaster with Autograph

2026 Donruss:  Last race of the season is today, and NASCAR will crown the 2026 Champion.  Ryan Blaney is the 2023 NASCAR Champion.  Loudon the Lobster is the prize for winning the New Hampshire race.

Kyle Larson has all but sewn up his 3rd NASCAR Championship which he should win today.  He also won in 2021 and 2026.

There's an Optic in each blaster pack.  A couple of Orange Velocity Parallels here.  Kasey Kahne topped out at 4th in the standings in 2012 but was always a fan favorite.  Chris Buescher made the playoffs for the 2nd time this season.  He is currently 16th in the standings but did place 7th in 2023.

This design is reminiscent of the 2016 Donruss Football and 2016-2017 Donruss Basketball designs.  Thanks to Jeremy for pointing that out.

Spellbound has each of the letters from a driver's name.  I don't really get it but I'm sure some like it.

Bubba is a favorite of mine.  He's 13th to start the day but has a realistic shot at 10th place which would tie his 2023 career high.

I like Unleashed but I wish there was variety on the background art.  Josh Williams races full-time in the O'Reilly Series but hasn't really found any success there.  Kevin Harvick famously took over for Dale Earnhardt after he passed in 2001, and won 1 Championship in his career.  Brad Keselowski is the 2012 NASCAR Champion.  He's without a ride next year and still figuring out his next steps.

Team cards.  Team Penske has Austin Cindric,  Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano racing for them in Fords. 

My two Lime Green Parallels are #/199.

Lots of retired greats which is always fun to me.  Jeff Gordon (4X), Darrell Waltrip (3X), Kurt Busch (1X) and Richard Petty (7X) bring plenty of championship history with them.  That Petty is a Laser Parallel.

BREAKDOWN:

56 – Total Cards

13 – Retired Greats

8 – Retro

7 – Optic

7 - Rides

4 – Orange Velocity

2 – Unleashed

2 – Lime Green Parallel #/199

1 – Team Logos

1 - Spellbound

1 – Rated Rookie

1 – Laser Parallel

1 – Orange Velocity Base Optic Signature

Random Wax: 2018 Donruss NASCAR Blaster with Relic

2018 Donruss:   Rusty Wallace is my favorite all-time driver, and also a 1X Champion (1989).  He's 12th on the all-time wins list with 55 and was top 10 in the NASCAR standings 17X.  NASCAR is at Martinsville today in the playoff's next to last race, with the final Championship race next week.

Not a big fan of the '85 retro design but it is fine here.  We have 2 Name Variations with Dale Jr and Happy Harvick.  Tony Stewart is 3X NASCAR Champion while Kevin Harvick won 1 Championship.

We have multiple photos of drivers which is nice, and we also have a Name Variation for Brad Keselowski.  He recently said he is leaving the RFK racing team, which he is a co-owner of, after this season.  He is a 1X NASCAR Champion.

I really like these car cards.  Great looking photo of 2020 NASCAR Champion Chase Elliott's car.

I like the Race Kings cards in this set with the car and the driver.  Sadly, 2X Champion Kyle Busch passed away unexpectantly earlier this year from illness while still an active driver.

This base design is solid.

One of my favorite drivers, Zane Smith as a youngster on this Next in Line insert.  We also have a Racing Relic and Masters of the Track Xplosion Parallel #/99.

Joey Logano's classic Pennzoil look.  He's a 3X NASCAR champion.

Martin Truex Jr, the 2017 NASCAR Champion.  Rated Rookie William Byron who is in the playoffs this year.

And retired greats.  Bobby Labonte won the NASCAR Championship in 2000.  His brother Terry Labonte won 2 Championships.  Fun box of cards.  Can't wait for these final 2 races of this season.

BREAKDOWN:
60 – Total Cards
15 – Retro 1985
8 – Race Kings
6 - Cars
6 – Legends
5 – Nickname Variation
2 – Rated Rookie
1 - Classics
1 – Next in Line
1 – Racing Relics
1 – Master of the Track
1 – Xplosion Parallel #/99
1 – Red Foil Parallel #/299

Random Wax: 2023 Score Football Blaster

2023 Score:   A nice card of Hall of Famer Charles Woodson to start this post out. One of the all-time greats at corner, he was a 3X 1st Team All-Pro, 9X Pro Bowler, Defensive Player of the Year, and won a championship with the 2010 Green Bay Packers.  His 65 interceptions are tied for 5th all-time with Ken Riley.

I've always liked this design.  It really feels like the Chargers are missing out on some prime years of Justin Herbert's career.  They've won 10 or 11 games in three of his seasons but just can't seem to get over the hump and be a true contender.  They sit at 0-3 this year in what might already be a lost season for the Chargers.

Nice photo on this Nick Bosa Sack Attack insert.

Jahmyr Gibbs already has 3 Pro Bowl selections and has twice run for 1200 or more yards in a season.

That first card is a Lava Parallel #/565 while Tee Higgins shows up on a Gold Parallel.  We also get Zay Flowers on a Protential insert.

Huddle Up cards are fun.

Good looking cards and we get some good photography as well.  The bottom of these fronts always make me think of a scoreboard.

Fun Celebration card in the snow.

Big fan of these First Ballot cards.  The Hall of Fame logo is so sharp, and I really like the 2023 design.  And it doesn't get much better than The Sheriff.

Myles Garrett is banged up in his first season with the Rams but I expect he'll back to his dominant self once he returns.  Cooper Kupp has won two Super Bowls, with those same Rams and the Seattle Seahawks.

Great photo of Jalen Hurts on this celebration card.  Definitely a trend.

Love the All-Time greats in Score.  Ronde Barber is a 3X 1st Team All-Pro, member of the Hall of Fame and on the All-2000s Team.  47 interceptions for his career, which ironically ties him for 47th all-time.

Khalil Mack is in his 13th season and still with the Chargers.  Great photo.

Always fun cards and a great pull in this box.

BREAKDOWN:

132 – Total Cards

35 – RC

7 – Retired Greats

6 – Celebration

5 – Protential

4 – Gold Parallel

4 – 2003 Throwback Rookie

3 – Huddle Up

3 – Sack Attack

2 – First Ballot

1 – Lava Parallel #/565

Random Wax: 2024 Topps Stadium Club Blaster

Stadium Club 2024:   We like us some Stadium Club photos and it's hard not to like Jose Ramirez.  He is struggling this year but he's a 6X Silver Slugger and has a career batting average of .277 with 1700+ hits and 295 home runs.  And it's hard not to like this photo.

So many excellent photos and we get Austin Martin on a Red Parallel.  Love the Trident the Mariners use as part of celebrations.

Mike Yastrzemski laying out.

I think of Stadium Club as having an old school feel, so these inserts feel a bit out of place for me.  Still, there are some good looks here.  Here we have Chief Fantasy Professionals, Chrome Triumvirates (diecut) and Special Forces.

Sepia Parallel.

This is Steven Kwan's 5th season with the Guardians and in his career, and he already has 4 Gold Gloves and a career .280 batting average.

The backs are good.  Lots of color, a different photo and player info even if we don't get career stats.

Another of my 4 Chrome Parallels from the blaster.  Ozzie knows a thing or two about Gold Gloves with 13 in his Hall of Fame career.

Mariner greats.  Enough said.  Great box of cards and lots of fun.

BREAKDOWN:

40 – Total Cards

16 - RC

6 – Red Foil Parallels

4 – Chrome

3 – Retired Greats

1 - Triumvirates

1 – Sepia Parallel

1 – Chief Fantasy Parallels

2026 Donruss NASCAR Blaster with Relic

2026 NASCAR:  Kyle Busch, my favorite current driver, passed away unexpectedly this May.  The NASCAR playoffs start today, and Busch was no stranger to racing for the championship.  He won 2 NASCAR Championships (2015 and 2019), was ranked in the top 5, 7 times, and inside the top 10, 10 times.  I do like the Unleashed inserts.  First race in the 2026 Chase is Darlington, starting at 5 ET today.  And "The Chase" is the new branding for the NASCAR playoffs. 

The base design this season isn't bad. Not great but okay.  I say this every year, but I don't get why Panini doesn't add a tire, the driver's car number, a car graphic or something else to liven up the fronts. 

We do see a return of Rides, or car shots, this year which is great.  2025 Donruss NASCAR didn't include these cards, and it was a bummer.  Jeff Gordon is an all-time great with 4 Championships to his credit, and this Dupont paint scheme is synonymous with him as a driver.

You get 1 optic in each blaster pack for a total of 7.  Here you see two Orange Velocity Parallels along with a base optic card.  Retired great Carl Edwards did not win a title but was top 10 in the standings 8X in his 13 year career.

New this season is Team Logos cards.  This one isn't the most exciting looking logo going, but I like the addition of these cards.

I've seen this design before, but I can't remember the year to save my life.  After a rough start to his season, Joey Logano has raced back into the championship fight.  He's a 2X Champion and can't be ruled out.  He's seen here on a Lime Green Parallel #/199.

A couple of Rated Rookies and an Artist Proof #/25.

Toni Breidinger only raced a few truck races this season but this Laser Parallel Ride card is still a nice pull.  Not sure if she'll make her way back into a full-time ride but I'm pulling for her.  It's fun seeing the ladies doing better in the sport.

My Souvenir Swatches relic and Race Kings insert.  The Dale Jr. pull is great.  He's a NASCAR Hall of Famer with 26 career wins and has always been a fan favorite.  He's an announcer now and his Dirty Mo Media company provides plenty of great NASCAR content including his own weekly podcast which I really enjoy.  I always look forward to the Race Kings cards I like the design this year.  The car, or truck in this case, take on a prominent role on the card.  Layne Riggs was the champion in the Truck Series last season and deservedly gets his own Race Kings card.

Not a fan of Spellbound which are used to spell out a driver's name.  It doesn't work in a binder, so I don't get the point.  Carson Hocevar is only 23 and an excellent young driver in this year's Chase.  Aggressive on the track, many aren't fans, especially other drivers.  But he's a good personality for the sport.

This year's set is back up to 200 cards as opposed to the drop to 100 we saw in 2025.  We see drivers from across the three NASCAR top series - Cup, O'Reilly and Truck series.  Butterbean Queen is another young talent who has taken the sport by storm as much for his personality more than the driving we've seen so far.

Nice shot of Layne Riggs' truck.

We also get retired greats in this set which is so much fun.  All four of these drivers are in fire suits with their classic sponsors on them.  Rusty Wallace is my favorite NASCAR driver of all time, and he won 1 Championship in his career, finishing top 5 in the standings 7X.

BREAKDOWN:
56 – Total Cards
9 – Rides
9 – Retired Greats
7– Retro
7 – Optic
4 – Orange Velocity
2 – Rated Rookie
1 - Unleashed
1 – Team Logo
1 – Race Kings
1 - Spellbound
1 – Laser Parallel
1 – Artist Proof #/25
1 – Souvenir Swatches
1 – Lime Green Parallel #/199