SCF Official Review: 2014 Press Pass American Thunder

[Enigma]

First and foremost, I'd like to thank our sponsors for providing us with this box.

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20 packs per box
5 cards per pack
Current Retail Price (online): $83.99 - $94.99

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
- One Autograph And Two Memorabilia Cards Per Box
- One Parallel #'D To 50 Or Less Per Box
- Richard Petty "50Th Anniversary Of First Daytona 500 Win" Insert
- New 2014 Photography
- 2014 Rookie Cards Featuring Daytona 500 Pole Sitter Austin Dillon
- 2014 Nascar Hall Of Fame Class Insert


PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

LOOK FOR
American Thunder Autographs And Race-Used Memorabilia
"Brothers In Arms" Teammate Race-Used Memorabilia Cards
"Class A Uniform" Race-Used & Driver-Worn Memorabilia

Look For All 8 Rookies:
- Austin Dillon
- Kyle Larson
- Justin Allgaier
- Parker Kligerman
- Cole Whitt
- Michael Annett
- Ryan Truex
- Alex Bowman

WHAT WE PULLED

Base - 70/70 (100%)
Dupes - 18

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Subset Photo

Black And White /50 (1): Justin Allgaier

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Climbing The Ranks (2)
Top Speed (2)
Great American Legend (2)
With Honors (2)

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[Enigma]

NASCAR Hall Of Fame (1)

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David Gilliand Autograph /25

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Battle Armor Danica Patrick 2-color Sheet Metal /99

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Class A Uniform Kyle Busch Firesuit /99

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After a small hiatus, Press Pass has relaunched the American Thunder line that was formerly under the Wheels family umbrella. American Thunder is a replacement for Premium, which was only around for the last couple of years. American Thunder contains a 70-card base set. The set contains 49 profile cards of the drivers in the different race cirucuits, 11 Brothers In Arms (pictures all drivers within a racing team in Sprint Cup), 9 Convoy (showcases the transporters for some of the top names in Sprint Cup) and a checklist. American Thunder pushes a patriotic theme with the subsets.

There are errors on the back of the checklist card. Cards 1-57 are correct. However, card #58 is for Richard Petty Motorsports. Yet the checklist says it should be BK Racing, which is card #59. The gaffe pushes each card out of order until card #67. This card is the Convoy for the Jimmie Johnson. However, the checklist shows is should be for Martin Truex Jr., which does not exist. Each box will contain 1 color proof parallel. The hobby only versions are Black And White /50 and Yellow /5.

Four insert sets along with the Hall Of Fame continuation set appear in American Thunder. Each box should yield 2 of each insert (1 for the HOF series). Climbing The Ranks focuses on the younger/less experienced drivers trying to breakthrough. Great American Legend is devoted to Richard Petty and his career at Daytona (this is the 50th Anniversary of his first victory in the Daytona 500). Top Speed showcases the fastest laps among the top qualifiers for the 2014 Daytona 500. With Honors highlights the festivities before the start of the Daytona 500. The back of each card is also a puzzle piece that when completed, show a huge picture/view of Daytona before the race.

Each box will yield one autograph and 2 race used relics on average. For those who remember the previous incarnations, sets like Skidmarks are gone. Instead, Class A Uniforms and Battle Armor (a carryover from other releases) are the main relic sets. There are teammate relic in Brothers In Arms. They are numerous autograph sets in American Thunder. The base series contains 3 levels. Be forewarned that these are sticker autographs, which Press Pass has explained over the years why they have to use them on one release per year (which also means possible redemptions). Brothers In Arms also gets the autograph treatment. Richard Petty is featured with an autograph set as well as an auto/relic set under Great American Legend. Finally, Great American Treads contains swatches from tires used in the 2014 Daytona 500 along with a signature from the driver.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Base - 5/5
Design - 4.5/5
Fun - 4/5
Value - 3.5/5
Rebuy - 4/5

Overall - 21/25 (84%)

NPN INFORMATION

NPN 2014 Press Pass American Thunder
9805 NorthCross Center Court, Suite H
Huntersville, NC 28078

Limit 1 Request Per Household

Postmarked By: 8/10/14
Received By: 8/17/14

Canada Skills: 50 + (2 x 4) - 10 = ?

Once again, I'd like to thank our wonderful sponsors at Press Pass for giving us the opportunity to open and review this release, especially before it goes live. For more information on all of their products, visit them today at www.presspassinc.com.

Base and inserts are available for request. Please PM me with the card or cards of interest. Cards will remain available for 30 days from the time this review has been posted. As always, only VIP members may make a request for the first 48 hours.

[Enigma]

My apologies for the small photos and breaking it up over two posts. This is a site issue and not on my end. Until it gets corrected, this will be the only way I can post reviews.

[pwaldo]

Nice hit with the Danica