1993 Hi-Tech Indy 500

The greatest auto racing spectacle coming in week and half. Been huge fan of the Indy 500 since I was a kid. This is one of few card sets dedicated to the race. The set consist of 81 cards based from 1992 Indy 500 race. I remember the race as one of worse ones with numerous accidents resulting multiple drivers getting sent to the hospital. It was already grim month of May prior to the race with big crashes (Rick Mears sliding down the track sideways) and injuries (3-time Formula 1 champion Nelson Piquet, attempting make his first ever Indy 500, broke both his legs) and a death (Jovy Marcelo) during practice and qualifying. The race ended in only high note with a duel to the finish. This post will include links to the race. On to the cards.

20 - Jeff Andretti - first 33 cards feature drivers' starting position from 1992 Indy 500 race. Front listed driver's finishing position. Back of the card feature picture of the driver and the car when they qualified along with speed and team they drove for. Strange how Jeff is driving for legendary A.J. Foyt after Foyt blasted him the previous year. The youngest son of legendary Mario Andretti broke both of his legs in one of most violent crashes at the speedway. To his day I still wince when I watch the clip.

1 - Roberto Guerrero - pole sitter with, at the time, fastest qualifying speed of 232.482. He didn't make it to the green flag as he crashed it during the pace laps. That audible laugh from a fan will live on.

24 - Buddy Lazier - his race ended when his Buick V-6 engine expired. He would win Indy 500 in 1996, the year Indycar and CART split.

2 - Eddie Cheever - he lead the field to green flag by default after Guerrero crashed only to get split by Mario and Michael Andretti going into turn 1. He's the lone Ford engine to see the checker flag at the end. He was driving for Chip Ganassi that year. Driving his own team he would win Indy 500 in 1998. Currently Indycar commentator for ABC; most likely announcing his final Indy 500 race this year as NBC Sports got Indycar TV rights starting next year.

28 - Jimmy Vasser - a rookie at the race he got bit hard breaking his femur in a crash. He came back and became CART champion in 1996 driving for Chip Ganassi. After his driving career ended he become a team owner with KV Racing who won 2013 Indy 500 with Tony Kanaan driving. The team shut down before start 2017 season and sold their equipment to Juncos Racing. He's back this year at Indy in partnership with Dale Coyne Racing.

36 - Al Unser, Jr. - winner of 1992 Indy 500 in a thrilling duel with Scott Goodyear driving for Rick Galles in Galmer chassis. It was final victory for the Galmer chassis. He joined his father Al Sr and uncle Bobby as winners of the race. He won his second Indy in 1994 driving for Roger Penske. The following year the entire Penske team failed qualify for the race marking first time defending champion did not qualify for the race. The years within next decade haven't been kind to him afterwards dealing personal issues along with drug and alcohol abuse. Good news he's been sober for 7 years.

51 - Ted Prappas - after multiple crashes during practice in 1991 he finally made the field in 1992. Dropped out of the race with gearbox problem finishing in 16th. It's his only time he raced at Indy 500.

41 - Bobby Rahal - 1986 Indy 500 winner finished 6th in the race a lap down. 1992 was his first year driving for his own team which continues to this day with his son, Graham, and last year Indy 500 winner, Takuma Sato, racing. Team won 2004 Indy 500 with driver Buddy Rice in a rain shorten race. Danica Patrick started out with Rahal team before going to Andretti Racing.

 47 - Dominic Dobson - last driver to see the checkered flag finishing 12th, his best finish at the race.

35 - Roberto Guerrero - getting his qualifying pose done before the bad luck hit on race day. Card glossed over his teammate in the race, the late Jim Crawford, was the first to hit unofficial 230 MPH lap at practice.

Let the field of 33 be filled and be ready on Memorial Day Sunday.

2013 Garbage Pail Kids Brand New Series 3

Continuing my look at packs of cards I know nothing about...I present to you a third pack of Garbage Pail Kids cards! 

pack front

odds from pack

You can follow APTBNL on twitter at @namedlater and me at @beansbcardblog.  Please take a look at and follow my personal blog, I Feel Like a Collector Again. Happy collecting!

2018 Funko Avengers Infinity War Mystery Minis

Greetings!

Hope everyone is doing well.

I'm hanging in there...I'm assisting with the remodel of the Target I work at part-time by essentially working overnights full time.  That plus the regular job means I don't have much time for anything else during the week except for sleeping.  Also, an earlier than expected move out of the house we've been renting for the past 7 years means that I'm currently living with my in-laws with all my stuff in storage.  Ugh.  I have some pics saved on my computer for posts I've been holding on to, but they're mostly Pokemon, so that my youngest can take the cards back and do whatever he does with them.  Anyway, this isn't my blog, so no need to bore you all with the details; you're here for pretty pics, right?

So, one night while putting things away, I came across these in the clearance section.  I thought it was too soon for them to be put on clearance but also thought one was good for the site...it's a 2018 Funko Avengers Infinity War Mystery Mini!

In case you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of 10 years and 19 movies' worth of Marvel super hero adventures.  In three weeks, it has made close to $550 million in the US alone.  However, there doesn't appear to be any trading cards released to celebrate the movie, unless it's being held back to prevent any spoilers.

Here's the back of the box, which shows you the available bobble-heads as well as the odds of pulling them.  This back is from the Target exclusive version (if you haven't gathered that from the top of the post).  There is also a regular release, a Wal-Mart release, and a Hot Topic release.  Head over here for the complete list.

The bobble-head comes sealed in a black plastic bag, with nothing else inside.  So who did I get?

I got Thor, and I'm cool with that.  I guess I would have preferred the Hulkbuster; I've read that the thing's so heavy that you'd know that you got it when picking up the box...so yes, I tried lifting all the boxes and it wasn't among the remaining boxes.  I don't think lifting the box constitutes pack searching.

Anyway, that's the box.  I may get more if the clearance price drops more so that Thor could have a buddy to hang out with or an enemy to fight.  And as for the funky-looking ax instead of his hammer, well, spoilers.

Thanks for reading!

2018 Topps Now Opening Day Team Set

For 2018, Topps introduced a program where collectors can buy the Topps Now Opening Day team set PLUS receive ALL the Topps Now team issues given throughout the season. The initial team set consists of 15 player cards. Collectors can buy the regular version or may splurge to receive one autographed card as part of the team set. Mine are the non-auto flavor.

The cards themselves feature a borderless front. The cards are standard size (2" x 3") but are a heavier than normal stock. They also feature a high-gloss finish, reminding me of Stadium Club sets. The "Topps Now" logo adorns the upper corner. The player's name appears in a mixed-caps font in the lower left printed on a white background that ends in a diagonal "cut." There is a small space after that and the player's position is listed in a mirrored white background, offset a slight bit from the one to its left. The team logo is also on the right. The team name appears in all caps in white under the player name portion.

The cards backs feature the Topps logo, team insignia, player name, position, team name, and the card number at the top. The cards are numbered with the "OD" prefix for "Opening Day." A nice touch is that the cards are sequentially numbered within the team. That's a throwback I miss from the days of Fleer. There is a paragraph of information about the team's 2017 season and a forecast, of sorts, about the 2018 season. The paragraph on every single card back is the same. UGH. Seriously? Someone at Topps couldn't come up with something specific to each player here? Ah well. The TOPPS logo is also watermarked across the back, which is a nice (if not a bit weird) touch.

The lower portion of the card back features copyright information.

Some of the cards are vertically oriented, while others are horizontal. It's a nice mix of photos and the photos themselves look spectacular. Someone finally upgraded the equipment used by field photogs at Topps.

I am looking forward to getting whatever Topps Now cards for the Tribe become available as the season progresses. I do not know if cards issued during the season come together at the end of the season of if they ship throughout the season. Honestly, I cannot image Topps shipping all these during the season. In any case, as I receive my additional cards, I'll be sure to share them here!

2017-18 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2

NHL playoff fever hits and let's rip a pack of Upper Deck hockey series 2. Be enamor with the photography Upper Deck used for the cards.

327 - Aleksander Barkov - led the Panthers in assists and total points this season. Made All-Star for first time and a finalist for Lady Byng Award.

359 - Scott Hartnell - back with original team he played for this season. He's been healthy scratch in the playoffs. The shot likely taken during pre-game.

417 - Morgan Rielly

463 - Remi Elie - Young Guns card. Remi spent his first full season with Dallas Stars. He's down in their Texas Stars club for AHL playoffs.

320 - Connor McDavid - living up his billing as next big superstar. Lead the league in total points with 108

424 - Bo Horvat - getting praises from his bench he's likely the next captain for Canucks next season

276 - Jaromir Jagr - ageless wonder most likely played his final season in NHL getting 22 games with Flames before getting released during the season. Spent remaining season in the Czech League.

324 - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Upper Deck scored a goal on with the use of the crisp photography. Got a McDavid and most likely Jagr sunset card out of this pack.