Sport is one of the most popular pastimes in the world.
There are many different types, from soccer to racing, and they all have their fans.
Many of those fans like to collect memorabilia about their favorite sports stars, which is where sports trading cards come in.
These are collectible cards that feature sporting legends, with information and statistics about them often on the back.
Some cards have become rarer than others, which usually leads to them being more expensive.
But how much are sports cards of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt probably going to cost one of his fans?
Well, we’ve got some answers for you!
There have been countless cards made that feature Dale Earnhardt, and their prices range all over the place.
If you’re a fan of Earnhardt and want to collect a few of your own, you’ll get a good idea below of the kinds of prices that you’re likely going to be paying!
What Is NASCAR?
To start with, what is NASCAR?
This is the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and it’s one of the most popular types of car racing there is in America.
Dale Earnhardt was involved in this specific kind of US racing, completing over a hundred races as a stock car driver.
This is the biggest kind of NASCAR racing. It often involves cars driving around an oval race track, but sometimes they also race on standard race courses too, with straight stretches and bends.
There are millions of fans of NASCAR, which was founded way back in 1948.
The most important races in the series often range somewhere between 200 and 600 miles (322 and 966 km) in their length, which is an incredible test of endurance for each driver.
Who Was Dale Earnhardt?
Dale Earnhardt was a professional stock car racer for NASCAR, as well as a team owner in later years.
He raced between 1975 and 2011, a 26 year stretch that’s impressive for any driver.
He was the son of stock car racer Ralph Earnhardt, and was most famous for driving the No. 3 Chevrolet car for the Richard Childress Racing team.
Earnhardt is a NASCAR legend for many reasons, a key one being that he is their only driver in their history to have at least one win in 4 different (and consecutive!) decades.
He won 76 Winston Cup races in his lifetime, including the Daytona 500 event of 1998 and four Winston 500 tournaments.
Dale Earnhardt Sports Cards – Prices And Types
There have been thousands upon thousands of different NASCAR sports trading cards made over the decades, and Dale Earnhardt is no exception.
There are well over a hundred different varieties that feature Earnhardt alone, which is not surprising given his historic status in the industry.
Below, we’re going to look at a good range of his cards, showing the highs and lows of the prices.
This will give you an idea of what the rarer types of his cards are!
1988 Maxx #99 Dale Earnhardt – $0.23
This is possibly the earliest Dale Earnhardt sports trading card there is, dating back to 1988.
This is 13 years after his very first race, so there was a lot of status and history brought to him already when it came out.
Surprisingly, you can pick it up quite cheaply, considering its age.
You’re likely to find one from a seller at just $0.23, a bargain for a piece of NASCAR legend.
On the front of the card is a large picture of Dale smiling, while the back of the card has a table of statistics about his career.
As we’ve said, he had been doing NASCAR for 13 years when this card came out, so the table is understandably long with 13 lines of information.
It details how many wins he had each year, as well as the amount of money he made each time.
1990 Maxx #3 Dale Earnhardt – $7.58
More expensive is this card from two years later, which will probably cost you around $7.58 if you buy it in near mint condition from a sports trading card seller – online or in person.
On its front is another smiling photograph, while the colorful yellow back has another statistic table.
This table goes up to 1989, but only goes back to 1980, missing some key years of Earnhardt’s career.
Considering it’s got less information on it than the previous card, it’s surprising that it costs so much more – but that’s the way it can be with the value and rarity of sports trading cards.
1995 Action Packed Stars 24K Gold #11G Dale Earnhardt – $35.57
Jumping ahead five years (rest assured there are dozens of cards in between this time though!), we find one of Earnhardt’s more expensive cards.
This 1995 trading card will probably cost you just over $35 if you buy it in near mint condition from a seller.
However, I’ve seen it go as high as $46.24, so be careful! This can be a costly one.
It’s a shiny, cool looking card.
On the front is a picture of Earnhardt holding one of his many winning trophies, while the back doesn’t have a statistics table.
Perhaps this is because there would be too much to fit onto it by 1995!
Instead, there’s a paragraph mentioning one of his latest victories, and adding that it was his 64th career victory at the time.
1996 Pinnacle Speedflix Artist Proof’s #52 Dale Earnhardt – $12.57
Cheaper, but still more than most Dale Earnhardt cards, is this one from 1996.
It will probably cost you around $12.57 if you buy it in a near mint condition.
On the front of the card is a picture of Earnhardt in action, kitted out in his racing helmet and sitting in his NASCAR car.
2012 Press Pass Redline #50 Dale Earnhardt – $2.03
Possibly the most recent sports trading card to be produced about Dale Earnhardt, this will cost you only about two dollars from most sellers.
This is hardly surprising given how recently it was made.
Since it was made after his death in 2001, it’s one of the cards that looks back on his career.
In a paragraph on the back, it describes how he was one of the all-time best at changing his driving styles to adjust for changing track conditions.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it!
Dale Earnhardt has gone down in NASCAR history as one of its greatest drivers, and for that reason there are loads of different sports trading cards that have been made about him.
As you have seen, they can vary a lot in their prices and rarity. We’ve looked at a range of them, from low to high prices.
On the whole, I’d say a card of Dale Earnhardt will probably only cost you $3 or $4 most of the time, since many of them tend to be quite cheap.
Then again, there are some cases where the price goes up a lot – but any card you can snag of Dale Earnhardt will be worth it, because he has played such an important part in NASCAR. You can learn more about Dale here.
Apart from being such an interesting hobby that can take you in so many directions. It keeps you in touch with your younger self. I still feel the same level of excitement when adding a new card to the collection.
I'm still learning, and I always will be. I hope you find my posts helpful.
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