In the fall of 2011, Press Pass released the Wheels Main Event Racing set.  It is a 90 card base set, and the checklist contains many of the names you’d expect in a racing set from that era.  Jeff Gordon, Danica Patrick, Kyle and Kurt Busch  lead the way along with several other stars who are still racing here in 2020 as I write this review.

Black & White, Blue, Red, and Emerald parallels of the set exists, with the latter three only found in box topper or retail bonus packs.  A handful of insert sets add some variety.  Main Event All Stars, Joe GIbbs Racing Anniversary, and Rear View sets are all part of the master set checklist.

This was a mid-priced set at release, and the hobby configuration had 20 packs per box with five cards in each pack.  Each box promised one autograph, two relic cards, and a box topper.  Retail blaster boxes (which is what I recently purchased) had fewer standard packs and a one card “bonus” pack which contained either an autograph, relic, or parallel card.

There are about 60 players on the autograph checklist according to various online sources, but I have not been able to track down a comprehensive list of those individuals.  The memorabilia cards are pretty sharp in my opinion.  Shoes, shirts, gloves, and hats were primarily used. 

Box Break

I didn’t get into racing cards until around 2017, so this product wasn’t even on my radar at its release.  However, I recently picked up several retail blaster boxes for around $5 each, and at that price this product is a ton of fun if you are a racing fan.

I ended up with one Denny Hamlin hat card, and one autograph in my blasters, and I was only a few cards short of a base set.  I was able to pick up the last few cards I needed from Sportlots and am happy to add this one to the collection!  As with most racing cards, the competition is sparse on Sportlots, so I added my doubles onto the site and over time should be able to offset a good portion of my purchase cost.

Boxes can still be found on eBay, but prices are starting to rise.  Complete base sets will set you back around $10-$15 shipped.

Checklist

The Checklist can be found on TradingCardDB at this link.