2006 Wheels High Gear CONTEST - WINNER ANNOUNCED

**Grid** · 01-30-2006, 12:05 PM

2006 Wheels High Gear CONTEST

Thanks again to our wonderful partner Press Pass we are running another TR contest. This one has a little twist to it. Our contact at PRESS PASS would like to pick the winning entry.

The skinny ......
Please explain what you like or dislike about 2006 Wheels High Gear as well as what you would do to improve this product.

The jackpot .....
Winner will receive the following items pulled from the box of 2006 Wheels High Gear we recently reviewed.
WHEELS AUTHENTIC AUTOGRAPHS - Marvin Panch
DAYTONA '06" POWER PICK - 1 - 2006 Power Pick Contest Entry Card
DAYTONA WINNERS - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
ZERO CARD - Tony Stewart
FULL THROTTLE - 1 - Jimmy Johnson
TOP TIER - 2 - Mark Martin \ Jeremy Mayfield
MAN & MACHINE - 4 "MAN" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. \ Mark Martin \ Jeff Burton \ Ricky Rudd
FLAG TO FLAG - 10 - Casey mears \ Jeff Gordon \ Kevin Harvick \ Dale Jarrett \ Bobby Labonte \ Jeremy Mayfield \ Ken Schrader \ Tony Stewart \ Martin Truex Jr \ Brian Vickers

**Davz13** · 01-30-2006, 06:09 PM

do you have images (front/back) of this product?

jonsportscardz · 01-30-2006, 06:44 PM

i love the new layout expecially of the autos i just pulled a couple this week,i dislike the flag to flag as they are the same old look and i wish they would improve maybe adding some more serial## numbered cards thanx.

FrankMcdee · 01-30-2006, 06:49 PM

You can find the review of this product at Press Pass Review

yoz2000 · 01-30-2006, 07:35 PM

I broke 2 boxes and was pleased with the box break. The design of the cup winners was really cool. The only disapointmet I have is that there is only one auto every other box. 1 auto per box and a bigger set would be my suggestion.

streicher187 · 01-30-2006, 10:27 PM

The design is nice and I like the black/white photo on the autograph.. Press Pass had the best autograph design in ANY sport a few years ago when they had the drivers holding markers so it looked like they were signing the card..

What I would change is add in more retired drivers and Bush drivers.. With only 43 regular drivers in nascar it limits the size of the set I wish they would mix in young and old drivers.. A cool insert would be an autograph flag chasers set with a large swatch of flag signed on the flag by the driver(mabye limited to 1/1 or 1 of drivers number..)

Billy Kingsley · 01-30-2006, 10:41 PM

While I havn't gotten this set yet, I've been too sick to leave the house for the past week and a half, I do have some things to comment on that goes for ALL of Press Pass's releases! Once I get this set, perhaps I could comment more.

1. Move Vintage NASCAR. NASCAR has such a rich history, it's sad that very few modern fans know about it. Press Pass showed great initiative with 2005's Legends (one of my all-time favorite NASCAR sets) and seeing that a Marvin Panch signature was included in this set makes me smile. I don't know if the drivers are paid for their signatures and perhaps, photos, but alot of the drivers from NASCAR are still alive and some are not doing well financially, so getting them onto the card sets would help pretty much everyone- The fans who get their cards, like myself and the drivers, who, perhaps, get a little bit to help them through life. I also have to wonder, and I assume it would, would it make these fine folks feel better knowing that people still care, still respect them, still know who they are? I would bet it would.
Speaking directly to the Press Pass officials: I know some people who could be of interest to you...Rex White's crew chief, Louie Clements's son Mike is someone I could put you in contact with in a matter of seconds, and I know someone who has spoken extensively to Buddy Arrington, Ray Elder and more. I don't want to sound like a name dropper, even though that's exactly what I am doing, but if I can help even in the smallest of ways make cards of these people, so long the backbone of NASCAR, then I will do it everytime.

(BTW: One of my current "Holy Grails" of NASCAR cards would be to pull one of the Tim Richmond cut signatures from Legends, I believe that exists. I may have it confused with the Davey Allison Cut Signature and there were only Tim Richmond Relics. It would make my search easier!)

Longer card sets. 90 cards is not enough to cover Modern NASCAR. Again, it's been improving lately but there is still more ground to cover. There are some full-time drivers who don't get a bit of coverage. Guys like Kirk Shelmerdine, Carl Long, etc. And the Busch and Truck Series could use more coverage too.

Please don't make the last card of a set-within-a-set a combination driver/checklist. It shortchanges the drivers who get stuck with that card. Instead, please make the last card a checklist only, with the front of the card being a shot of all the drivers togther or field shots.

I know you likely have no control over this, but please don't airbrush out the sponsors of some cars. Dale Jr, Sterling Marlin, (now David Stremme), Dave Blaney (now Clint Bowyer) Rusty Wallace (now Kurt Busch) etc etc. I know the sponsors can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but that really cheapens the look of the cards. It's one of my Pet Peeves of trading cards when things get airbrushed out, like when Topps changes the jerseys of NBA players. It annoys the heck out of me, but, in this case, I know there is likely no chance of that changing, due to sponsor liscensing issues and government involvement.

Make Redemption cards expire later! While I've been collecting NASCAR cards since 1993, I've only been paying attention to them since 2002 (something I deeply regret) and now, when I buy boxes that came out years and years ago, if I should pull a redemption card, it's long expired and I'm out of luck. Again, an issue I have with all trading cards, not just NASCAR and Press Pass in general.

Thanks for letting me sound off. I've been a fan of Wheels since 1993's Rookie Thunder.

**thebighurt035** · 01-30-2006, 11:06 PM

I'm not much into Racing cards but have bought a few packs here and there.
I love the look of the 2006 Wheels High Gear cards and the black/white Auto is a nice touch and the Race used flag cards are a great idea.
And after seeing the review I have to go out a buy some now.

I don't know if this has been done before but an autograph card of the drivers with their wives or girlfriends (dual auto) would add another dimension to it.

Well thats my .02
Great looking cards.

Roy

YankeePride · 01-31-2006, 12:49 PM

I thought the photography could have been better, it seems like the relationship b/w the cars and the drivers didn't go all that smoothly from the review pictures I saw. I would have liked to see some telephoto lens shots of drivers in the cockpit, hands clenched on steering wheels, etc. Also, some photos of cars in tight spots, like swapping paint, passes up high on a turn, etc. - something to really capture the thrills of a race. On the plus side, the coloring and designs were interesting, they really looked like cards that were eye-catching as you would be thumbing through them either right out of the pack, or displayed in a binder.
As for other improvements, I agree with some of the others who mentioned more of a history-based focus with some inserts, given the low number of drivers in the series. I also think an insert set with some crossover-focus would be cool, if licensing permitted it. By that, I mean NASCAR drivers who drove other events, such as the recent 24-hour race in Daytona. I imagine there would be licensing issues with this, but that's for your lawyers to work out, I'm just working on a wish list

Also, I'd like to see some more creativity with race-used cards. It would seem fairly easy to work in pieces of rubber from the used tires of a specific driver. Also, something amazing would be crash debris, which could be incorporated into the card and tied to a specific picture of the crash, and then serial-numbered. A little sick and twisted, but since they usually walk away unharmed, it wouldn't be too dark of an insert, and let's admit it - everyone loves the spectacular wipe-outs when nobody gets hurt.

FrankMcdee · 01-31-2006, 01:02 PM

I personally really like the cards depicting the drivers when they were kids. It sort of humanizes them a bit. I particulairly like the Flag to Flag and the Full Throttle insers as they really capture the car and driver pairings. The base cards look nice and the autographs of legends is really a huge plus.

As for cards I would like to see, I would like to see more dual autos featuring teammates (who wouldnt want a Jimmy Johnson/Jeff Gordon dual auto) and crew chief or owners combined with the drivers dual autos. I would love to see Joe Gibbs paired up with his guys. I think to take it to the next level though an autographed insert at low numbers is a necessity. I would love to see a piece of sheet metal mounted in a card that takes up most of the card (think Sweet Spot autographs) that is multicolored and autographed by the driver. Make them sequentially numbered to a low number and you have a must have card. A piece of race used sheet metal in the Budweiser red with juniors autograph on it would be a huge piece of metal/cardboard memoribilia that would essentially drive the product.