Random Wax: 2019 Donruss NASCAR Blaster

2019 Donruss:  NASCAR unofficially starts tonight with their exhibition race in the Los Angeles coliseum.  This will be the first time since 2000 that Kevin Harvick won't be a driver.  He's retired and moved up to the booth this year after finishing his Hall of Fame career with one championship and 60 wins.  This is a Classic design.

The base set is one I like.  Fairly simple but I like the number and nod to '84 Donruss which I'm a big fan of.  Good photo of Harvick and Dale Jr. who was a retired great when this set was released.

I do like the car cards.  Especially when you get big photos like this one that really showcase the car.

Retro '86 design.  Not a favorite of mine but they are okay here.  A couple of retired greats with Stewart and Petty while we also get a nice card of current champion Ryan Blaney.

Some cards with a retro feel.  That Decades of Speed insert is pretty cool.  The Icons Mark Martin has an 80s vibe to me while the Retro Rated Rookie of NASCAR Champion Terry Labonte feels like a card from days past with the photo.

Not a favorite Race Kings design of mine.  Two-thirds of the card is just a nebulous background which is boring.  I'm okay with the full body art but we need something else that says Race Kings and not boring.

Another nice car view.

The Contenders design is a favorite of mine.  That Tony Stewart was my relic I pulled - 1986 Retro 1986 Retro Relic.

NASCAR Donruss has so many retired greats and that is so much fun.  These are three of the four optic cards I pulled which are parallels of the regular versions of these cards.

All top drivers in the sport.  Kyle Larson is my pop's favorite driver and Bubba is a favorite of mine who cracked the top 10 in the standings for the first time last year.

That Jeremy Clements is a Black Parallel #/199.  Chase is also a favorite driver of mine.  I think they do a really good job with the NASCAR cards.  Plenty of variety, retired greats, young drivers and stars of NASCAR.  Fun box.  

BREAKDOWN:

51 – Total Cards

20 – Retired Greats

14 – Retro ‘86

5 – Silver Parallel

5 – Nickname Variation

4 - Cars

4 – Optic

3 – Race Kings

3 - Optic Red Wave Parallels

2 – Contenders

2 – Retro Rated Rookie

1 – Icons

1 – Classics Set

1 – Action Packed

1 – 1986 Retro Relics

1 – Black Parallel #/199

Random Wax: 2019 Donruss NASCAR Blaster

 

2019 Donruss NASCAR:  Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Denny Hamlin will race for the 2020 NASCAR Championship this weekend in Phoenix.  The only way Elliott could make the final four in Phoenix was to win Sunday and he did just that in exciting fashion.  He's a fan favorite and a favorite of mine.  He won't be driving his Hooters paint scheme this weekend.  It's a shame because I really like it but he'll still look good in his NAPA scheme.  

Bubba is right there as a favorite of mine and played a big part in NASCAR's social justice movement this year.  He's the only black driver at NASCAR's highest level and did a great job handling all the attention that came his way.  Rusty Wallace is an all-time great and my favorite drive of all-time.  He is a NASCAR Hall of Fame member and I enjoy seeing legends included in the set.  

Each pack comes with Optic parallels.

The car photos work for me.  This is what we see on the track for 3-4 hours each week and is synonymous with the drivers.

I like that classics design.  I like the more traditional framed Race Kings designs as opposed to this full body take.  Bill Elliott is Chase Elliott's father and was voted as the most popular driver 16 years in his career.  Oh and he won the Championship in 1988.

Clint Bowyer is retiring this year and will move to the booth next year.  I really like him and he showed he has the chops for TV during the weeks NASCAR did virtual races and we were able to get more familiar with the drivers.  Richard Petty - The King, the iconic  hat and winner of 200 races, #1 all-time.

Probably the look Kevin Harvick will have all week after barely being eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday.  Plenty of variety and inserts to be found in these boxes.

This was a fun blaster I found at a random Wal-Mart.  I can't say no to these.  Each year I become a bigger fan and it's a way for me and my pop to connect.  He's 84 and been a fan forever.  I call him near the end of each race so we can experience it together. Can't wait for this weekend and to see who'll be crowned #1.

BREAKDOWN: 

51 – Total Cards

16 – Retired Greats

14 – Retro ‘86

5 – Silver Parallels

4 – Cars

4 – Optic

4 – Legends

4 – Nickname Variations

2 – Optic Illusion

2 – Race Kings

2 - Contenders

2 – Retro Rated Rookies

2 – Optic Red Wave Parallels

1 – Top Tier

1 – Classics Set

1 – Next In Line

1 – Action Packed

1 – ’86 Retro Relic

1 – Gold Parallel #/299

 

2019 Donruss Racing NASCAR Blaster with Relic

Been wanting to check out the 2019 Donruss NASCAR cards and finally got the chance. I really like these cards.  In the past this set wasn't always a hit with me but I love the variety this year.  I kicked this post off with this Kurt Busch Contenders card which I really like as opposed to a base, which are good too, but this take on Panini's Contenders brand really stood out to me.  Plenty of color while working in the driver and his car nicely.  They did miss an opportunity as the Section/Row/Seat is the same for every driver as opposed to how it is done in Panini's basketball and football Contenders offerings where it is specific info to each player.

The base cards have many different cards with this being the base design.  These pictured include a standard card, nickname variation, and legends card.  I like the design which we've seen across Panini sports this year and I think it works well with racing.

Here we have Classics, Race Kings and Originals inserts.  I like all three of these.  Classics is a nod to the football design by Panini and Originals is not one I've seen before but I like it.  The Race Kings cards are always a favorite of mine.  This year they went in a different direction with full body shots of drivers.  I'm good with it though I prefer the more traditional take a little more.  Rusty is my all-time favorite driver so I was happy to pull him.

A few of the Retro 1986 cards.  Not a favorite design of mine but I'm fine with them overall.  The Terry Labonte is a black parallel #/199.

The Next In Line cards showcase young drivers while the Retro Rated Rookie cards take a look back at drivers during their younger days.  I like that.  While this isn't the greatest Michael Waltrip photo he does get props for the hair.  The Austin Dillon is a nice Optic card that is one of four in the box. 

A couple of the car cards.  I always like photos of cars and these ring the bell.

Just a few more cards for grins.  Speaking of you don't see Kyle Busch smiling that often and that quasi smile might be as close as you get.  Past champions Richard Petty and Dale Jarrett look good in their way back photos.

Speaking of The King Richard Petty these are all pretty sweet cards. You can't go wrong with Petty who dominated the sport for so long.

My relic was this Ryan Newman Race Day Relics.  Nice design but wouldn't have minded a different driver.  Still I can't complain.  Again I really enjoyed this box in particular the variety that really made this a fun blaster.  I'll definitely look for more of these as I can.  Seems like there are plenty of drivers and inserts here still to chase and I'm up for it.  The boys are in Bristol tonight at 6:30 EST.

BREAKDOWN:

51 – Total Cards
13 – Retro 1986
11 – Retired Greats
5 – Silver Parallel
4 - Optic
3 – Cars
3 – Legends
3 – Retro Rated Rookie
2 – Race Kings
2 – Optic Red Wave Parallels
1 – Icons
1 – Originals
1 - Contenders
1 – Classics Set
1 – Next In Line
1 – Race Day Relics
1 – Decades of Speed
1 – Black Parallel #/199