Press Pass wanted to change before people had a chance to tire of the old reliable product. So instead of American Thunder they gave us main event. Main event would be a poker themed set with a hint of the old west.

Complaints were wide spread when collectors found out that poker player autographs would be inserted. They thought this would be instead of a racer [possibly their favorite]. Press Pass assured them this was not the case. The Poker autographs would be in addition to any autograph and memorabilia cards that were already guaranteed. This calmed some concerns but hobbyists were still skeptical.

Not only would poker autographs be inserted but in some boxes you would find a spark plug with certificate of authenticity from the team indicating which spark plug and the race it was used.

Prior to the release they even announced that driver worn sunglass would be inserted in some value and gravity boxes not to mention the poker chips that were exclusive to retail.

Press Pass tried to go above and beyond in promoting this set and giving the most value to the consumer. They even brought back the much requested lug nut card.

So what about the boxes and the cards. We received two boxes neither of which contained a spark plug.

There are 20 packs per box with 5 cards per pack.

We start off with a 90 card base set which is divided into sections using poker terms.

The first 36 cards are the rounders which feature the driver and the car on the front. On the back is a brief summary written in old western font. The photos are a black and white drawing.

Some of the sections are the winning hand [which features all the drivers from a particular team], pit boss which are the crew chiefs, and jackpot which is the race winner.

Included in the base set are six cards featuring some of the top poker players in the world. First and foremost being Doyle Brunson who many call the Dale Earnahrdt of poker. Each of these six also have an autograph redemption randomly inserted.

It takes two boxes to compete one base set, minus the rookie rounders which are the short printed autographed rookie cards.

There are three insert sets consisting of Renegade Rounder, High roller and full deck.

The renegade rounder cards are enhanced with ink made of tire material. These cards are black and white photographs which are designed to resemble a wanted poster. It is a nice effect and makes an attractive insert. This is a nine card set with an average of two per box.

The High roller set is a normal insert showing the driver on front, and the car on back. However the color chrome appearance and poker theme make this one of the best looking insert sets this year. We received three in each box which means you will need to buy or trade to finish this 12 card set.

Full deck is a playing card insert. The cards are printed on playing card stock and can be used as a real deck when completed. The pictures on this are in color. You receive one playing card per pack so it will take some trading/buying to get that set finished. I do wish press pass would have made a box to put the cards in when finished. It could have been a mail order purchase..

There is also a contest card available in main event. You scratch off a circle to see show your card. You need to make a pair [1 black 1 red] of the card for a chance to win an autographed playing card. I have not seen one of these prizes yet but they do sound interesting.

Main event continues the American Thunder tradition of including plenty of hits. In each box we received our two memorabilia cards and one autograph.

We received a hat dance, a pit wall banner, a wheel cover and pit stacker

Our autographs are Ricky Carmichael /50 and the short printed rookie rounder of Brad Keselowski.

As stated earlier main event brought back the lug nut card but only one driver had one in this set. That is Dale Jr. This is one of the more popular race used sets and we can not wait to see them used with other drivers.

Overall I think this was a really interesting set. I found the theme to be exciting and new. The playing card insert set was a nice addition.

The problem with the set lies in the execution of it. 20 packs of 5 cards doesn't allow you to complete anything. It takes at least two boxes to build a base set. It requires even more to build the 54 card playing deck and inserts.

Also the black and white photos only work on the renegade rounder insert set. The B/W photos on the first 36 cards and autograph cards look cheap. I do not understand the effect they were going for but it does not work. It also makes the cards look less attractive when trying to sell on ebay. I showed them to some race fans at work and none of them would buy a card with that look.

The autographs should have been placed on the renegade rounder cards. The look of the wanted poster combined with autograph would have been a huge improvement compared to these.

I hope they only use this photo treatment for the main event release.

I can not help but to wonder if this set was the same but called American thunder still would it have been more popular. It is an overall excellent set that needs to be tweaked.

I would like to see it again next year with some minor adjustments. The overall concept gets an a but execution is a c+
We did receive a really great box and it receives an A.

Hopefully in the future this set will gain respect and become more popular. Press Pass tried something new and that should be commended. However there is room for improvement.