Pack of the Day 137: Hobby Box of 2016 Panini Prizm NASCAR

Like I mentioned yesterday, I found a new (to me) card shop here in Dayton, Ohio, and while I was there I bought a box of 2016 Panini Prizm NASCAR. This is the first NASCAR product from Panini, and the first NASCAR product since Press Pass shut down. I think that was in January of 2015. So it's a pretty big deal if NASCAR trading cards are something you're into. Each box has 20 packs and 4 cards per pack, for a total of 80 cards in a box. 

I got 54 base cards in my box, with no doubles. The checklist is 100 cards deep, so you're going to need multiple boxes if you're trying to complete a set. The set starts out with your fairly standard driver cards. The first 22-ish cards run in numerical sequence based on the driver's door number, but then I guess they ran out of door numbers and things get a little random. Drivers like Josh Wise don't have a stable number all year, so they don't even get their numbers on the card. The card backs are pretty bare-bones, with very basic height/weight/birthdate information and a paragraph about the driver.

After the driver cards is a subset showing the cars themselves. The backs of these cards feature a paragraph about a particular achievement that driver has accomplished, usually a victory, a pole, or a run of good finishes at a particular track.

Following that, there are several more subsets. One features Champions, the next has Driver Introductions, then there are a few Hall of Fame cards, and finally there is a card for the 2015 Chase for the Cup with the final Chase standings on the back.

The most numerous parallel is the basic rainbow-hued Prizm. I got ten of these in the box, although there are also Prizm parallels for all of the inserts that I am not counting in that number.

It took me a couple of minutes to figure out what these are. Apparently there is a short-print base variation set featuring eight drivers. I pulled a Rusty Wallace base version and a Mark Martin Prizm variation from this group. They are numbered as if they came from the base set, but they have a checkered flag background to differentiate them from the base cards whose numbers they share.

I pulled 5 inserts from three different insert sets. The first is Competitors, next is Qualifying Times, and last is Winner's Circle. I think Competitors is an insert for drivers who are popular to get a few more cards in the set. Qualifying Times talks about drivers who qualify first for a race, and Winner's Circle is a set that honors each race winner from 2015. There are a couple of other insert sets that I didn't pull any cards from, like Champions and Machinery, as well as retail-exclusive inserts for Wal-Mart and Target.

I pulled three basic Prizm parallels for insert sets. They are just like the Prizm parallels for the base cards.

There were three colorful serially-numbered Prizm parallels in my box. All come from the base set, although I believe most of the inserts have parallels. That Rusty Wallace is a Green Flag parallel numbered # 031 / 149, Denny Hamlin is a Blue Flag parallel numbered # 37 / 99, and Jamie Mcmurray is a Rainbow parallel numbered # 19 / 24. I guess it is just because of good branding, but I can't see a rainbow parallel without thinking of Jeff Gordon.

Each box doesn't guarantee three hits, but it does tell you to look for three hits, on average, per box. I got three in my box. Here they are in the order they were pulled. The Kyle Busch Firesuit Fabrics card is the only numbered parallel in the box. It is a Green Flag Prizm parallel, numbered # 56 / 99. The autograph is a Driver Signatures Prizm of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and the Race Used Tire relic card features Kurt Busch. I can't say I am blown away by these hits, but they are nice enough. I've seen better breaks out there, but I would imagine mine is about the average you might expect to see from this product.

I was happy to find some of this in a hobby shop, and overall I think it's about what you would come up with if someone asked you to describe a Panini Prizm NASCAR product. I would like to see more cards per box. The price would probably feel a lot better with 100 cards in the box as opposed to 80, even if you don't increase the hits per box and just add another 14 base cards and 6 inserts/parallels.