Card of the Day: Benny Parsons 1996 Maxx Premier Series #195

Card of the Day: Joey Knuckles 1991 Maxx Racing #16

Product Highlight: 1993 Maxx Hot Wheels 25th Anniversary Collector’s Edition

When I was a kid, my go to toys to play with were action figures.  I had bins full of them.  Batman, X-Men, Star Wars, you name it.  Like most adults I look back and wish I would have kept them in their original packaging.  But where would have the fun been in that?  Keeping toys sealed wasn’t even a thought.

Outside of the action figures, Matchbox and Hot Wheels weren’t that far behind.  I had a bin full of these too.  Although I don’t live in the house I grew up in anymore, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of those toy cars are still lodged underneath a cabinet or something.  The house’s current owner is probably completely oblivious that they’re still there.  Long forgotten relics of a childhood race that perhaps got a little out of hand.

2018 marks the 50th anniversary of Hot Wheels.  Twenty-five years ago Maxx Race Cards helped them celebrate their 25th anniversary with a commemorative set.  Issued only in factory set form, the set features what they call “the most memorable 25 cars from 1968-1992”.  The card fronts picture a Hot Wheels vehicle with a full-blown description on the back.  Collecting tips are even provided for each vehicle.

Here is the checklist:

• 1968 Beatnik Bandit #1
• 1969 TwinMill #2
• 1970 Boss Hoss #3
• 1971 Evil Weevil #4
• 1972 Funny Money #5
• 1973 Sweet 16 #6
• 1974 Sir Rodney Roadster #7
• 1975 Emergency Squad #8
• 1976 Corvette Stingray #9
• 1977 ’57 Chevy #10
• 1978 Hot Bird #11
• 1979 Bywayman #12
• 1980 Hiway Hauler #13
• 1981 Old Number 5 #14
• 1982 Firebird Funny Car #15
• 1983 Classic Cobra #16
• 1984 ’65 Mustang Convertible #17
• 1985 Thunderstreak #18
• 1986 Poppa ‘Vette #19
• 1987 Ferrari Testarossa #20
• 1988 Talbolt Lago #21
• 1989 GT Racer #22
• 1990 Purple Passion #23
• 1991 Street Beast #24
• 1992 Goodyear Blimp #25

I don’t recall owning any of these specific vehicles.  I do remember picking up a few Hot Wheels cars at a yard sale when I was little, and later discovered they came from their famous Redline collection.

Maxx produced lots of racing cards during the classic junk-wax era.  Most of their sets carry little value today.  Cards of Dale Earnhardt are what they’re particularly known for.

This Hot Wheels set is one of Maxx’s oddball products.  Sealed examples are readily available, and can be found for nothing.

Doesn’t this Hot Wheels car look like a Superfractor?

Card of the Day: Dick Trickle 1990 Maxx #66

Flashback Product of the Week: 1989 Maxx Crisco

This checkerboard design reminds me of Five Guys.

If you were walking through a grocery store in the late 80’s, there is a good chance that you saw some of these sets on display.  Maxx teamed-up with Proctor and Gamble in 1989 to produce a specialized racing set for it’s customers.  Sets were given away to those people that purchased certain Proctor and Gamble products.  Each set contains (1) cover card and (24) drivers.

Many of these sets were destroyed because the driver pictured on the display stand, Greg Sacks, parted ways with his car’s owner Buddy Baker.  This happened two weeks after the sets found their way back to Proctor and Gamble.  With having about one million sets printed, it shouldn’t be a surprise that some found their way into the hands of collectors.

The overall design of this 25-card set looks exactly like the regular 1989 Maxx Racing set issued that year.  One major notable difference is that the Proctor and Gamble set contains a blue ribbon in the upper-left corner which says “Special Crisco Edition“.  You would think that a set such as this would hold a premium over the regular Maxx cards from this year, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.  The key card from both sets is of Dale Earnhardt.  Earnhardt #3 from the regular issue seems to sell for more than the Proctor and Gamble promo.

Card of the Day: Dale Earnhardt 1989 Maxx #3