Random Wax: 2021 Donruss NASCAR Hobby Box (Part Deux)

2021 Donruss NASCAR:  We'll kick off my second look at my 2021 Hobby Box with former champion and current driver/owner Brad Keselowski.  Winners at New Hampshire Motor Speedway receive a lobster amongst other accolades.

This take on the '88 Donruss Baseball design is one I like.  I was late to being a fan of Kurt Busch but I am.  Unfortunately, a concussion ended his season and career late in the regular season in 2022.  He' along with Kevin Harvick are former champions.  Kurt has totaled 34 wins while Harvick has 60.  NASCAR is racing in Vegas today.  

One of my two relics from the box.  This is a Retro 88 relic.

Zane Smith drives in the truck series and is my favorite at that level.  He won the Truck Series Championship in 2022 and will drive some in the Xfinity series this year.  He also drove at Daytona two weeks ago in the Cup race placing a respectable 13th in only his second career race at the sport's top level. 

The paint schemes and sponsors are as much a part of the sport as anything.  Nice design on this Kevin Harvick car.  The flames, black paint scheme and the classic pony on the front give it a good look.

I always enjoy Race Kings.  This design is a bit blah but I've seen worse.  Chase Elliot and Bubba are two of my favorite drivers.  

These Action Packed inserts are nice.  This one is a parallel but I can't remember which one.

Dale Jr. is fun and his Dirty Mo Media does a great job covering the sport.  His TV show and podcast are great listens.  Plenty greats of the sport and others in the know are guests and Jr. as a former driver with really good insights.  Retired greats are part of what makes the set fun.

My favorite all-time driver Rusty Wallace with that Miller Lite logo he is so famous for in one of the Optic inserts.

Another great insert.  I really like these colors and design.

Parallel inserts include NASCAR Classics, Elite Series and Contenders.  I also pulled a redemption card for a Jimmie Johnson autograph.  I sold the redemption on eBay.  I enjoy 2021 Donruss NASCAR and it was fun looking back at more cards from the hobby box.  We'll end it with another Rusty Wallace.  I like that Retro Series design and Rusty with another of the sponsors he was known for.

BREAKDOWN:

192 – Total Cards

61 – Retro 1988

24 – Optic

20 – Race Kings

17 – Retired Greats

14 – Silver Parallel

10 – Rated Rookie

8 – Car Cards

5 – Retro Series

4 – NASCAR Classics

4 – Red Parallel #/299

3 - Contenders

3 – Dominators

3 – Aero Package

3 – Action Packed

3 – Blue Parallel #/199

2 – Elite Series

2 – Green Parallel #/99

1 – Retro 1988 Relic

1 – Purple Parallel #/49

1 – Holographic Parallel #/199

1 – Race Day Relic Black Parallel #/10

1 – Timeless Treasures Signatures Holo Gold #/25 (Redemption)

Random Wax: 2021 Donruss NASCAR

2021 Donruss NASCAR:  The round of eight in the NASCAR playoffs starts today.  Hailie Deegan isn't in the playoffs or at the Cup level even.  But she will start her first Xfinity race after racing exclusively in the truck series the last two seasons.  She still hasn't finished in the top 20 but Deegan is only 20 years old and is extremely popular.  This is a Retro 88 design card.

Denny is 7th in standings so he has some work to do as he chases his first championship.

Well none of these three are in the playoffs as Bowyer has retired, Truex didn't make the playoffs and Bowman has already been eliminated.  The throwback and base designs work for me here.  I like the inclusion of the driver's car number.

Chase is one of my guys and I love this Contenders card of his.  He's also a favorite to win it all this year out of the remaining eight drivers.  Christopher Bell won last week's race in Charlotte to make the next round of the playoffs.  For him it was a "win and get in or lose and you're out" scenario and he came through.  These Race Kings aren't bad but a bit bland.

Brad Keselowski is still racing but also a team owner.

I like the Retro Series cards.  Colors work well.  Terry Labonte is a former champ and good pull.  Another Deegan in a silver parallel.

I like the color on the Aero Package inserts as well.  Harvick made the playoffs but was eliminated in the first round.  Love the mask on John Hunter Nemechek.  Fun pack of cards.  I enjoy opening NASCAR cards and these are no different.  Plenty of variety help make them fun. Hoping for good vibes for Chase this weekend.

BREAKDOWN

30 – Total Cards

3 – Carolina Blue Parallels

3 - Optic

2 – Race Kings

2 – Aero Package 

1 - Car

1 - Contenders

1 – Retro Series

1 – Rated Rookie

1 – Silver Parallel

1 – Action Packed

Random Wax: 2021 Donruss NASCAR

2021 Donruss NASCAR: Pop and I are headed to the truck race today just outside St. Louis.  Excited to get to enjoy our first race in a few years.  Tomorrow we'll get to see the Cup race.  We'll kick off this pack with Bubba Wallace who had success in the truck series ranking third in 2014.  The races this weekend are at World Wide Technology Raceway, which by chance, are sponsors on Bubba's race suit in this photo.

Donruss has done a really good job with this set the last few years.  Plenty of variety with the base cards and inserts and having a nice mix of retired greats.  Zane Smith is my favorite driver in the truck series and already has three wins this season.  Would be great to see him win another one today.  Also found out he'll be subbing for a driver tomorrow in the Cup race.  Hope he has a good day and can stay out of trouble.

Aero Package is a great looking insert.

My retired greats from this pack include my all-time favorite drive Rusty Wallace on a sweet Retro Series insert.  Can't complain about pulling "The King" Richard Petty either.

Kyle Busch is my favorite current driver.  He's already won a race this year to extend his streak to 18 straight seasons tying the legendary Richard Petty.

Contenders is a favorite of mine and it's fun finding them included here.  I also enjoy the Race Kings inserts.  Great pack of cards.  Donruss is always fun.  Can't wait for the race today.

Ty Gibbs is only 19 and I think a rising star in the sport but he got on the bad side of folks this year after striking another driver while the driver was taking off his helmet.

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
8 – Retro 1988
4 – Race Kings
3 – Retired Great
3 – Carolina Blue Parallels
2 – Optic
1 – Classics
1 – Car Card
1 – Contenders
1 – Retro Series
1 – Rated Rookie
1 – Aero Package
1 – Silver Parallel

 

Random Wax: 2021 Donruss NASCAR Blaster

 2021 Donruss NASCAR: After today's race the NASCAR playoff field will be paired down to eight drivers so we kick things off today with some NASCAR.  Hailie Deegan is a big target for collectors.  This year is her first in the truck series.  She is currently 17th in the standings which gives her plenty of room for improvement.  

Plenty of veteran, youngsters, and retired greats in these cards.  Zane Smith is my favorite driver coming up through the lower series.  He's currently sits in 8th in the truck series. 

Aero Package inserts are good looking cards showing off both the driver and their rides.

Love the Race Kings cards.  Included here are Optic and orange parallels.

Plenty of orange parallels.  Seems like we could come up with a better color.  I do like the '88 Retro design cards. 

That Navy Blue parallel is #/199.  My all-time favorite driver, Rusty Wallace, makes an appearance on the NASCAR Classics insert.  Nice seeing them not shying away from the beer sponsors on the cards.

That Ty Dillon is a Retro 1988 relic. 

I enjoy the cars getting their own cards.

Another fun box of cards.  Lots of variety all around help this be a winner.  We'll end it with a favorite brand of mine with fan favorite, and favorite of mine, Clint Bowyer who is now an announcer in the booth. 

BREAKDOWN:
56 – Total Cards
14 – Retro 88
11  – Orange Parallel
10 – Silver Parallel
9 – Optic 
6 – Race Kings
6 – Retired Greats 
4 – Rated Rookie
3 – Orange Pulsar
2 – NASCAR Classics 
2 – Aero Package (1 – Checkers)
2 – NASCAR Classics (2 – Checkers)
1 - Car
1 – Elite Series
1 – Action Packed
1 – Navy Blue #/199
1 - Retro 1988 Relics
1 – Contenders (Checkerboard Parallel)

Random Wax: 2021 Donruss NASCAR with a Relic

 2020 Donruss Racing: Happy Father's Day.  I'll be watching the race with my pop today.  We'll start this pack with the reigning NASCAR Cup Champion on an appropriate Race Kings card.  I do like the design of these though I like the Race Kings from previous years that have more of that art feel to them.  Elliott is currently third in the standings and has one win.

There's a decent checklist but not all the cards have the driver's car number and I can't figure out why.  Not a big deal but I do like the numbers on these.  I do like the Retro 1988 cards.  That was a design I have always liked.

These Action Packed cards give us a look at the cars in action I guess.  That light blue reminds me of the 1982 Donruss cards which some had a similar color.  Hamlin currently sits atop the standings but still doesn't have a win on the season.

I'm a big Contenders guy so I like seeing their inclusion into the set.  The Dominators are nice  and we get to see these guys in winning moments.  Richard Petty just doesn't look right without the mustache...or cowboy hat.  William Byron is having a great year already securing a win and sits in fourth place.

That's a Carolina Blue Parallel on the left.  I'm pretty sure they go with Carolina blue since the sport is based out of North Carolina.  Not that many Rated Rookies in these.  I thought there'd be more.  The Truex Jr. Race Kings insert is a silver parallel.  Looks gray to me.  NASCAR and Panini didn't shy away from masks in this release which I like.  These guys and the crews wore them at every race so it is how we remember the year.  Truex Jr. already has three wins this season and is in sixth place.

I like car cards as we do see them for the majority of time on race days and are pretty synonymous with the driver.  Logano is in 5th place with a win this season.

They're optics in these packs.  This Race Day relic has to be a tire on this Ricky Stenhouse Jr. card.  Always fun pulling relics when you aren't expecting them.

I like the colors and having both the driver and car on these Aero Package cards. Brennan Poole below is shown thanks to his mustache and hair.  Looks like he should be in Formula 1 not NASCAR.  This was a fun pack of cards. 

BREAKDOWN:
30 – Total Cards
8 – Retro 1988
4 – Race Kings
3 – Carolina Blue Parallels
2 – Optic
2 – Rated Rookie
1 - Contenders
1 – Dominators
1 – Retro Series
1 – Aero Package
1 – Action Packed

1 - Retired Great
1 – Race Day Relic Red Parallel #/250

2021 Donruss NASCAR Hobby Box

 2021 Donruss NASCAR: I've enjoyed Donruss Racing the last few years and picked up a few hobby boxes over that time.  Panini does a good job with variety, parallels and including retired greats.  We'll kick it off with Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.  A past champion, Hall of Famer, winner of 44 races, he finished in the top 10 in the standings 13 times (eight in the top five), and is the father of the current NASCAR Champion Chase Elliott.  He also won the award as NASCAR's most popular driver a record 16 times.

These Retro '88 cards are a design I really like and account for 75 cards of the set.  I did pull two relics and for my auto I pulled a redemption card for a Jimmie Johnson Timeless Treasures Signatures Holo Gold #/25.  I'm not a big Johnson fan but I've found a good home for it.

This is the "base" card design which isn't bad.  The set consists of six subsets: Race Kings, Rated Rookie, Cars, Base, Cars, Retro '88.  

This is a silver parallel of the 2020 Champion Chase Elliott.  He had a heck of a run in the playoffs to win it all.  These silver parallels always look gray to me.  Or grey even.

I do like most of the inserts and they help the variety.  I'm a Contenders guy but I think the Elite Series is my favorite of these three. 

I love retired greats and there are usually plenty in these sets.  The colors in the Retro Series inserts help that retro theme.

The colors on these cards are great.  I also like how the drivers and cars are able to share the card with a good design.

Parallels are a big part of this set.  Here you see the blue (#/199), green (#/99) and purple (#/49).  There were a total of 28 parallels in this box. 

A couple red parallels (#/299) and another silver parallel.  Panini didn't shy away from the masks which I really like.  For the majority of the season we saw drivers with masks on when they weren't in their cars.

My Race Day Relic Black Parallel #/10.  It is race worn/used material according the back of the card though I couldn't say specifically what it is a part of. The material is smooth and shiny like plastic.

Not a bad looking insert but I wish the colors were more along the lines of the team/car colors.

Optics come one per pack and are pretty popular.  I think this is my first card of Ernie Irvan on new cardboard so I was excited to pull this card.  Probably my only real gripe is the Race Kings which is the insert I look forward to the most.  What do they do?  Put a head and shoulders picture on it.  <yawns>  Not sure what they were trying to do.  I enjoy it more when they do art or even when they've thought outside the box and did full body cards that weren't just a photo .  I just like the "artsy" look the "Kings" cards normally give ya across the different Donruss sports brands.  Still this was a really fun box.  Glad I went the hobby route again this year.

BREAKDOWN:
192 – Total Cards
61 – Retro 1988
24 – Optic
20 – Race Kings
17 – Retired Greats
14 – Silver Parallel
10 – Rated Rookie
8 – Car Cards
5 – Retro Series
4 – NASCAR Classics
4 – Red Parallel #/299
3 - Contenders
3 – Dominators
3 – Aero Package
3 – Action Packed
3 – Blue Parallel #/199
2 – Elite Series
2 – Green Parallel #/99
1 – Retro 1988 Relic
1 – Purple Parallel #/49
1 – Holographic Parallel #/199
1 – Race Day Relic Black Parallel #/10
1 – Timeless Treasures Signatures Holo Gold #/25 (Redemption)