NASCAR, in the last few years, has seen tremendous growth.
With huge corporate sponsorships and national television broadcasts
the audience exposed to the exciting sport of autoracing increases
weekly.
Along with that growth, comes a boom in the collectible and memoribilia
market associated with the sport, autographs included. Demand
on driver's time is certainly evident as some of the more popular
drivers go the route of Autopens, rubber stamps, or not responding
to autograph requests at all.
This aside, NASCAR drivers and related personnel still are the
most accommodating of all sports athletes to their fans. They
truly seem to care about their fans as the fans return the same
to them.
There are a number of ways to build your collection many of which
provide a great amount of enjoyment. In-person collecting, by-mail
requests, and purchasing from dealers.
Obtaining an autograph in-person still remains the most exciting way to obtain a signature of your favorite driver. One of the most accessible places to find drivers is at sponsor locations such car dealerships, department stores, and grocery stores. Keep your eyes in the news for such appearances. Many are announced on very short notice, but that could work in your favor with low attendance. Drivers will make appearances at other places such as memoribilia shows and state fairs, but attendance at such events can be tremendous. And there there are those rare opportunities to happen upon someone in a situation other than racing related. Best rule of thumb to remember is be courteous! Don't interrupt their dinner, conversation, etc. and they will usually be just as courteous back.
Many drivers, although not all, are accessible by mail. A few rules of thumb to remember to make your by-mail requests successful:
There are a number of sources for addresses, but one place to start might be "The NASCAR Autograph Collector's Handbook" from Just Sign It Autographs. It lists addresses for drivers, teams, media, and speedways.Most of all, have fun. Do a little research to find different people. Even try asking questions in your letters, you may get more than just an autograph!
Autograph dealers have a vital role to play in the autograph collecting hobby. Dealers usually have the resources available to find an item you may be looking for, or may be difficult to obtain. It also may just be easier to obtain the signatures you want to add to your collection by just purchasing them out-right.There are basically three rules to follow when buying from a dealer:
One of the most popular items to get signed are trading cards. Maxx, Traks, ProSet, etc. provide an inexpensive item with beautiful pictures. One hurdle, however, has arisen in the last couple of years. Although it makes the card look nice, the emergence of UV (glossy) coating on trading cards has caused many headaches for autograph collector's. Pen ink tends not to adhere and just puddle on the card. Collecting Tip: To alleviate this try one of two things:
Another popular item to get signed are the promotional postcards
provided by the teams.
Many people also collect autographs on photos of any type, but
the preferred would be officially liscensed Photofile photos.
The only problem is that Photofile does not have liscensing agreements
with all drivers.
Of course you will find autographs on many other kinds of items.
Die-cast, magazines, uniforms, helmets, any many more!
You may ask "What is the best kind of pen to use to get an
autograph?" Several years ago, Sharpie came out with a permanent
marker that has become the staple in autograph collecting. The
best colors to use are black and blue. Many people also use silver
and gold paint pens, but they are not recommended. Of course the
standard ball-point pen will do, but you need a very clear area
to sign so that it can be seen.
What is it? The Autopen is a mechanical device that looks much
like a school desk, that automatically "signs" a person's
signature with any type of pen desired on basically any item desired.
Producing up to 400 signatures an hour, it produces, by computer
matrix, a perfect, but worthless - inauthentic signature.
The International Autopen Company says that, if used correctly,
you cannot tell the difference between an Autopenned example and
the real thing. It is only when you compare two signatures from
the same source that the Autopen can really be detected.
With the growth of the sport of NASCAR, so has the demand on the
time of the drivers, especially the stars. Several drivers has
gone the route of using the Autopen to answer by-mail requests:
Bill Elliott has used it for years; Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon
have implemented it in the last year (although Gordon has continued
to answer some mail personally); and the newest member of the
Autopen club is Kyle Petty, who, before, did not normally respond
to by-mail requests.
For detailed descriptions of driver autopen patterns and over
160 genuine autograph examples, check out "The NASCAR Autograph
Collector's Handbook" from Just Sign It Autographs.
This is also a good time to talk about authenticity. Forgery has
been a problem in the autograph industry for years, and NASCAR
has not been immune. Getting an autograph in-person is still the
only 100% way to guarantee authenticity, but by being familiar
with signatures you are looking for, scrutinizing any signature
received by mail, and shopping with a dealer you trust and offers
an unconditional return policy you should have good success in
keeping your collection authentic. Be your own autograph expert!
NASCAR autograph collecting, as with the rest of NASCAR collectibles, is still growing and developing. Prices vary widely on different items. Your input is incouraged to help develop a more exact pricing structure for autographed items. Below are only price ranges to give you an idea of what various signatures are worth. You may, in some cases, find prices above and below the ranges listed here.
Lake Speed, Joe Nemecheck, Todd Bodine, Ward Burton, Jimmy Spencer, etc.
Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Rudd, Harry Gant, Sterling Marlin, Terry Labonte, etc.
Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Richard Petty, etc.
Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki
Neil Bonnet
The market is so varied and quickly changing it is very difficult to zero in on prices for other deceased drivers, i.e., Rob Moroso, Kinder, Tiny Lund, "Fireball" Roberts. Would like your imput to further develop this area.
Just Sign It. Autographs
Autoracing Autographs - NASCAR Specialist
8 x10's, postcards, trading cards, more! 1000's in stock.
Buy, sell, trade. All deceased driver items needed!
Monthly price lists issued.
JSI
P.O. Box 1592
Anderson, SC 29622
For more information or to sign up for the Just Sign It mailing
list, e-mail Just Sign It or
visit the Just Sign
It, Autographs Home Page.
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