Goodbye 2013 NASCAR Season -- Hello 2014 Press Pass Racing.

Amazing isn't it? Jimmie Johnson was just crowned 2013 NASCAR Champion for the sixth time a week ago and hot on the heels of the season close, we have the first 2014 racing product. Press Pass releases their flagship brand to keep a steady flow of racing cards throughout the calendar year. I've heard we are in store for some big changes in the near future and I am excited to see and experience what they may be. For now though, I am going to enjoy this 100-card base set product and the autographs and memorabilia cards inside packs.

The design is solid this year and features drivers from Sprint, Nationwide and the Camping World series. You'll find rookie cards of Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier and Kyle Larson too.

My only beef with this product coming out so early is that it seems incomplete. You see, this year Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Brian Vickers and others are moving into new cars this year. I hope that Press Pass will seriously consider providing a series two for 2014, perhaps even an online exclusive box set with an auto and memorabilia card.

Here's a look at the video box break:

What's Inside: 2013 Press Pass Showcase Video Box Break

Consistency means something in the world of trading cards. I don't take a lot of chances purchasing a product that I don't believe will provide me something I absolutely won't keep in my collection after opening it. I mean if I wanted that kind of gamble, I'd head to Vegas. Do you ever think about that when making a trading card purchase? You see for me, I go in with the thought of getting something I'd like to add to my collection. Many people go at it from a completely different perspective. They go in hoping to get something great to sell. If I had a dollar for every time I've heard the only good trading card is a sold trading card, I wouldn't be talking about trading cards...

There are a small handful of go to products that will deliver something worth keeping or that will deliver something of significant value to use as trade material for another collector. Two of those products are manufactured by Press Pass. They are Redline and Showcase.

As the chase for the Sprint Cup gets underway, Press Pass delivers one of the most potent racing products of the year. Showcase is loaded with some of the most diverse racing gear and plenty of outstanding autographs. Would you like to see what's inside a box? Watch this:

What's inside a box of 2013 Press Pass FanFare Racing?

Over the years, I've had some outstanding autographed cards come out of packs of Press Pass Racing cards. In fact, a large part of my personal collection is made up of NASCAR Champions and the current crop of starting Sprint Car drivers. Of late, their products have been absolutely stellar. Redline has become my go to product when looking for autographs to add to my collection, and FanFare has such a wide assortment of drivers from all facets of NASCAR signing, that it to has become a huge fan favorite. The 2013 edition of the product is no exception, its loaded with great graphs.

Have a look at what I found inside a box of the new racing product:

Parks and Recreation Trading Cards from Press Pass

Boasting one of the most impressive entertainment autograph checklists of any recent non-sports trading card product, Press Pass has obviously has put a lot of eggs in their picnic basket for Parks and Recreation. Big names including Amy Poehler, Rob Lowe, Aziz Ansari, Paul Rudd, Megan Mullally, and key cast members Retta, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Offerman and more have signed for the series. Each box included a memorabilia card and 2 autographs. Look for some fun inscriptions and a complete recap of the series.

Press Pass Ignites a Flame For NASCAR Card Collectors

Filled with gear from the 2013 Daytona 500, autographs from today's top drivers and a beautiful looking base set, Press Pass revs up racing cards with 2013 Ignite. With at least 1 autograph and 1 memorabilia card per box, Ignite, now in its 2nd year provides plenty of thrills and even some bonus hits for some lucky collectors, giving new meaning to the term Hot Box! Have a look at what the product delivers:

Find On-Card Autos of Top Prospects in 2013 Press Pass FanFare Football

The Draft is done. It left many confused and bewildered, but if you listen to Cardboard Connection Radio, you'd know we spoke about how all of the offense players getting hyped were NOT going to get selected early. It seems the NFL agreed, as names like Geno Smith, Matt Barkley and many more weren't chosen until round 2 or later!

In a year where OTs, DTs, OLBs, and S had the advantage, it will be interesting to watch 2013 sets because the early ones are offensive player heavy with QBs, WRs & RBs that were left on the board for much longer than they anticipated.

There's no doubt that a talented player or group of players will emerge as outstanding from deep in this draft, it always happens. Some of the best players in the NFL Hall of Fame came from later rounds.

Let's see how 2013 Press Pass FanFare football fares... It contains on-card autographs of the top prospects and some very low numbered parallels and inserts. Priced at about $85-90 you'll get 5 cards per box or will you???

Press Pass FanFare Racing Offers Collectors A Diverse Selection of NASCAR Memorabilia & Autographs At An Affordable Price

Just opened the brand-new 2012 FanFare Racing, truly the most diverse of the products developed by Press Pass. Check out what we found in this hobby box that contains 4 memorabilia and 4 autographs for a very affordable price.

Racing Fans, Redline Is Here

Press Pass has a new product ready for collectors. It's a premium card set that delivers 2 memorabilia cards and 2 autographs per box for about $175. Check out the video to see what I found in a box!

SNAPPED! A SIGnificant Card Quickie - 2010 Press Pass Showcase Dale Earnhardt Jr. Auto

The drought ends, here's to hoping it's
 not so long for his next victory.

In my opinion, well, because yours doesn't really matter to me (unless of course you want to buy all of my cards for me), I think that Press Pass Showcase is the best NASCAR product ever made. Every year has been a home run release filled with amazing autographs, memorabilia and magic that isn't really found in any other racing product.

It's expensive, yes, but the results have usually been worth it, at least in my case. I've pulled some true gems out of the product including this one.

It's been 4 years and 143 races since Dale Earnhardt Jr. won a Sprint Cup race. He wasn't just hungry for a win, he's on a drought that would make the Mojave Desert look like the great lakes. He's been abused by the media, race fans, and collectors who doubted his greatness. At the same time, he arguably has the most dedicated fan base in the world of sports. Today, that drought ended and the losing streak has been snapped.  Ironically his last win was also in Michigan. While Earnhardt is time and again the popular fan favorite because of his deep family roots and good-guy persona, I always feared this card was going in the toilet because he just couldn't catch a break or win a race.

Glad, I don't have to worry about that for awhile. He's having an excellent 2012 season.

This is card #EEI-DE from the 2010 Showcase set and is one of my favorite autographed card series. I have an affinity for acetate cards and this happens to be one of them. I also love silver ink signatures. Not only is it a clean sig, it also has JR's authenticity sticker on it!

Great card, great day of racing. Congrats Jr.

2012 Press Pass Total Memorabilia Video Box Break

I was eagerly anticipating this product as it is the Press Pass debut of Amber & Angela Cope, Maryeve Dufault and other rising stars. It contains 5 mini-boxes for about $120, and each box has a big hit.

Check out what I found...

2012 Press Pass Racing Video Box Break

Here's a look at what I found inside a box of 2012 Press Pass Racing cards.

SIGnificant Cards - 2011 Press Pass Premium Carl Edwards Premium Signatures

It was a fight to the finish for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup and while on paper it looked like Carl Edwards was the guy to beat, Tony Stewart had other plans. It was a great season of racing. Never before have two racers finished with the same amount of points and Edwards took second place with a tremendous amount of class.

Edwards was the most consistent driver this year for sure and he also had a pretty amazing run in the Nationwide series notching 8 wins. He earned a lot of new fans, including yours truly. There wasn't a race he was in where he didn't hover near the top of the pack.

He's going to continue to be successful with the strong Roush-Fenway team behind him and a solid backing of sponsors for the #99 Ford including Aflac, Scott & Subway. Take a look at the highlights of the Homestead 400, one of the best races I've seen in a long time.

It took awhile for me to find an Edwards auto, but 2011 was a great year to enhance your Press Pass racing card collection. With a series of strong products including Premium, Showcase, FanFare, Legends and my favorite Main Event, they have produced and packed out some of their most impressive cards yet.

Press Pass Premium provided me with this foil board auto of the Ford Fusion driver and it's an interesting card to me. Usually Edwards is all smiles, well unless he is mixing it up on the track with Kevin Harvick or Brad Keselowski. He look almost perturbed in this photo which made me laugh. It's like he'd thinking he'd rather be just about anywhere other than in front of the camera.

I also commend Carl for the signature on the card. Not only is it completely legible, but you can tell that he was really paying attention to signing the stickers because he kept his signature completely within the confines without getting any cropped off the edges. Kudos to him and Press Pass for doing sticker autos in the correct fashion. There's a right way and a wrong way to sign a sticker, and this is an example of the right way. If its gotta be a sticker and the card can't be signed, take notes... this is how its done.

SIGnificant Cards -- 2011 Cam Newton Press Pass Legends All-American Auto

He was drafted #1 overall in 2011 and many had written him off as a flash in the pan before the season began. In fact, this class in general had been criticized and ridiculed to some degree and at this point in the season, many of the former NCAA stars are heartily enjoying the last laugh.

Cam Newton set passing records in his first game, he clearly has the tools to play at the professional level, though his win/loss record might not show it. He is but one of many QBs that have been given the nod to lead their teams this season. Along with Blaine Gabbert, Andy Dalton and Christian Ponder, Newton is turning heads and is definitely a front-runner for rookie of the year honors.

NFL autographs are never at a shortage. There are hundreds of them in collectors hands just before and directly after the draft. To me, it used to be a big deal to get the cards of players in their NFL uniforms and also it had to NFL licensed. Now, I don't think about it so much. I know who the player was drafted by, I don't need the NFL shield to verify that it is a viable trading card. In fact, I've leaned toward more NCAA and college products because you get a solid autograph, most times on-card. Getting an autograph of an athlete before they are committed to sign their name on stickers a bazillion times is also clutch, because many times it becomes a chore to them. Let's face it, if you had to sign you name thousands and thousands of times, you'd get tired of it and there is a good chance they'd get sloppy, some even shorten their signature.

This autograph of Cam Newton comes from the 2011 Press Pass Legends product. I wasn't a big fan of the overall product this year. It wasn't because of the player content, or the lack of NCAA logos. The reason I wasn't a fan this season was because the photos were mainly of the guys from the neck up and there were no action shots.

Legends was released early in the year, before the season began and they already inked Cam Newton and others to sign for the product. Cam's autos were actually redemption cards in the product, but unlike some other companies, Press Pass had the signatures returned to them right after the product went live and they were fulfilled within a few days.

There are many reasons why this particular card holds a special place in my collection. Obviously one of them is because Newton is an outstanding athlete and my collecting goals are to acquire at least one autograph of the first-round draft picks of the NFL. It also is one of my favorites because while I don't like redemption cards, this one was turned around in less than a week and was easily the fastest redemption I've ever dealt with in this industry.

Card #AA-CN comes from the All-American insert set from the 2011 Press Pass Legends product. It's #'d to 250 and is an on-card auto! It also refers to Cam, as Cameron... a bit of a difference from the majority of his 2011 trading cards.

SIGnificant Cards -- 2009 Press Pass Premium Tony Stewart Premium Signatures

It's been awhile since I posted, I took a vacation, and quite frankly didn't want to return to writing on a daily basis right away. I've been busy with life, trying to get some priorities in order, in addition to adding a second night of programming for the Cardboard Connection Radio show, so I took some time to regroup. I'm excited about today's entry though, because it's about a card I had wanted to add to my collection for several years and finally did. Best of all, it came from a pack, and to me, that always makes it better than buying it from the secondary market.

With a victory in Texas this afternoon, Tony Stewart edged closer to overall points leader Carl Edwards, now only trailing by 3 points with 2 races left to determine the Sprint Cup Champion. It was Stewart's fourth win in eight races and he is either going to be the 2011 champ or go down fighting until the last lap.

I've been a fan of "Smoke" since his Indy days and he is one of a handful of signatures I have sought out of Press Pass Racing Products. In 2009 I finally scored the Stewart auto. It came from a pack of 2009 Press Pass Premium and while it is a sticker, it is a nice, clean auto on a great looking card.

Ironically, I am also a huge fan of Kyle Busch and his autograph was pretty much the only major racer from NASCAR who has eluded me since I've been opening racing product back as far as 2001. However, his actions this weekend (intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday) have made me rethink being a fan. You see, my 6-year old son loves him. It began with the car. Of course he loves the M&M car, but then Kyle started to win big and dominate. He nearly shed his bad boy, punk attitude until he tried to kill Hornaday. Try explaining that to a little kid!

Much like my feelings towards other sports, I like to watch and root for individuals other than teams. So I'd be happy to see either Stewart or Edwards win because throughout the year they have been the most consistent. I'll be posting more NASCAR autos with the SIGnificant Cards column, look for them soon!