Well none of that happened. We received a product that has a boxing theme without any of the boxing stars. There are also no redemption's for non racers in this one.

The bonus autographs included this year come straight from Victory lane. Those ladies that you see in the victory lane every week each have a couple of certified autographs in this product.

The product did start off with a slight glitch though. Press Pass was going to include some race used spark plugs and lug nuts in random boxes. The parts didn't reach the boxing facility until it was too late to go into the product. so what did Press Pass do. They held a contest on facebook and gave them all away to some loyal followers. Any company can make a mistake but its how they deal with the mistake that makes them great or so so. Press Pass went out of the way to make sure the collectors had a chance at these.

The base set starts with 90 cards and 10 sp cards that appear at the end of the set. The background on the base card is a chain link fence. This is to represent the cage matches and to me gives the cards a very urban look. I enjoy the photography on these cards and believe they are some of the best of the year. Press Pass continues to listen to their customers and put the SP at the end of the set instead of the middle as in years past. With only 20 packs even building one complete base set is not possible. However it does mean more trading for us and fewer extra base sets out there so that is a good thing.

Included in the sets are the insert cards. There is one parallel version of blue foil. It is well done and the blue foil is a nice touch. With only one parallel version there isn't the sense of overkill on getting 6 of the same card. One fix I still would like to see is the parallel versions need to be numbered different again. I just cant get past the feeling that some of the color blind collectors cant tell the difference.

The first insert set is called tale of the tape. I admit I had to look up what the term meant. It by the way is the pre fight measurements of the fighters and press pass incorporated this theme perfectly to the racers. Its a foil insert set resembling the stealth cards this year.

The second insert set is the American Muscle cards. This set features the cool rides that we love watching go around the track each week. Its also a foil set.

The last is not really an insert set but a set within a set. It is the mini fight card set. There are 25 cards in this set and they have 3 levels. The first is the 1 per pack base fight card, the second is the checkered flag background which is 1 in 10 packs. the rarest version is the brick background which only occurs one in every 150 packs.

The Hall of Fame cards are back for the last time in this release. It has been a year long program and has caused fun and frustration for many of us. I still love the photography and would like to see the cards back next year. These are inserted at 1 per 14 packs. we only received one but it is possible to get two per box.

What makes the box so great is the number of hits. You get at least 2 race used and 1 autograph per box. With at least 3 hits and just 20 packs per box this box is well worth its suggested retail price.

Our first hit wasn't a normal driver race used item. Those that remember Joey Logono making the statement Kevin doesn't wear the firesuit in the family will understand this card. Press Pass saw the commotion and jumped right on it. We have a Delana Harvick race used firesuit upper curt card of hers. Delana is the only wife that wears a firesuit and this was a great item to include. She also has a race used card with husband Kevin.

The second hit was the head to head card. This piece has two drivers and a piece of the hat each wear. The cards are really nice with an excellent layout.

The autographs are b/w photography. While I have been against some of the b/w artwork released lately these have an artistic feel. Its been said that color photos take a picture of the person, while b/w photos take a picture of the persons soul. Thats what these do for me. They give a depth to the driver that you do not always get with color.

As mentioned before the bonus autograph this year is the Ms Sprint Cup autographs. To me these are like getting truck series rookie autograph. While they may not be mainstream stars now who knows what the future holds. It is also nice to get an autograph that hasn't been released 10 times before that is racing related.

Main event is a success. It gives the right amount of hits compared to packs and has an affordable SRP. Press Pass continues to keep its finger on the pulse of the sport and tries to stay current as quickly as possible. When Tony Stewart called the crew member billy bad butt they were on it and now with the Delana firesuit they were there also. It makes me wonder what they could do with the Richard Childress comment about Hamlin and the skunk.

Main event suffers from one thing. Collectors liked previous releases of American Thunder and since the name change it has alienated some. It might be better next year to go back to American Thunder. I always enjoyed high gear and beleive that would get a better response than the name Main Event does now.