Here are the results from two randomly selected boxes I recently opened ...
2008 Press Pass Premium NASCAR cards (retail blaster box) -- Box 1
Price: $20 (Wal-Mart)
Packs per box: 7, plus one three-card bonus pack
Cards per pack: 4
Cards per box: 31
Base set completion: 22 of 72 (31 percent)
Duplicates: 3
Short-prints found: 3
-- Flashbacks (1:3 packs) -- 2. No. 74 Jimmie Johnson, No. 79 Jeff Gordon
-- Rookie Debut (1:20 packs) -- 1. No. 90 Michael McDowell
Set completion: 25 of 90 (28 percent)
Insert cards found: 3
-- Wal-Mart Bonus Pack cards (2 per Wal-Mart Blaster Box) -- 2. No. WM1 Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. WM6 Martin Truex Jr.
-- Team-signed baseball autograph contest card (one per box) -- 1. Joe Gibbs Racing
Box grade: ** out of *****
(Box No. 2 and notes after the jump.)
2008 Press Pass Premium NASCAR cards (retail blaster box) -- Box 2
Price: $20 (Wal-Mart)
Packs per box: 7, plus one three-card bonus pack
Cards per pack: 4
Cards per box: 31
Base set completion: 23 of 72 (32 percent)
Duplicates: 1
Short-prints found: 3
-- Flashbacks (1:3 packs) -- 2. No. 80 Kyle Busch, No. 81 Greg Biffle
-- Opening Day (1:10 packs) -- 1. No. 85 Tony Stewart
Set completion: 26 of 90 (29 percent)
Insert cards found: 4
-- Wal-Mart Bonus Pack cards (2 per Wal-Mart Blaster Box) -- 2. No. WM2 Jimmie Johnson, No. WM5 Jeff Gordon
-- Team-signed baseball autograph contest card (one per box) -- 1. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
-- Clean Air (1:5 packs) -- 1. No. CA11 Bobby Labonte
Box grade: * out of *****
Notes: Neither box delivered any of the premium insert cards -- Hot Threads or Hot Threads Patches memorabilia cards (1:112 packs) or Press Pass Signings autograph cards (1:96 packs) but that's to be expected with retail blaster boxes that really just give collectors a taste of what the product has to offer. ... The real catch (i.e. gimmick) in this year's set is the baseball tie-in -- the Opening Day cards show NASCAR stars posing with baseball equipment (bats, gloves) in their photos. ... The contest cards can be mailed in for a chance to win a baseball autographed by each NASCAR team's drivers. A Hendrick Motorsports team ball is at left (click for a closer look). Apparently the four-time champion doesn't get the sweet spot, eh? (That's Junior on there.) ... As with past years, the Premium set is built more on tiers of short-printed cards than with inserts. ... The first box's grade was bumped up by a McDowell Rookie Card -- he's the guy probably best known for his brutal wreck at Texas. At the time of his accident, he hadn't appeared on a card.