By David G. Firestone
While the preferred autographed item per sport varies, for many sports, the item is obvious. Hockey has pucks, golf has golf balls, baseball has…well, baseballs, other times the autographed item of choice isn’t as obvious. In auto racing there are several items people like to get autographed. These include such things as helmet visors, crew shirts, and hats, but one of the most autographed items by drivers are 1:24 die cast replica cars.
Fans get autographed die casts in one of two ways. The first way is to purchase an unsigned die cast, and have the driver sign it, at a race, signing or sponsor event. The first two examples are Greg Biffle die casts from his days at Roush Racing sponsored by Granger. An employee of Granger was able to get these two die casts signed by Biffle. The first is a Cup Series #16 Ford die cast. The die cast is signed in black, and signed on the hood, as some drivers prefer to hand sign the hood at these events.
The second Greg Biffle Granger die cast was also signed at the same event. This die cast is a #60 Roush Ford from the Busch Series. Like the #16, it is also signed on the hood.
This is a Ron Capps NAPA 1:24 die cast. I purchased the die cast at the 2013 NHRA Route 66 Nationals, and got it signed by him during Saturday qualifying. Like the previous two, it was signed on the hood area in black ink.
The other way fans get autographed die casts is buying them pre-signed. Drivers will sign the windshield, and then it will be added to the die casts. These die casts will come with COA’s. An example is this Carl Edwards #99 UPS die cast. Carl Edwards has signed the die cast windshield in silver ink.
This is a Jack Beckman Infinite Hero Challenge Funny Car pre-signed die cast from 2014. Like the Carl Edwards die cast, it is signed on the windshield in silver ink, and comes with authentication.
Next week, a video of miscellaneous items in my collections.
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