NASCAR Autographs - Add the Legends to Your CollectionHave an autograph collecting story you would like to share? Maybe you have a question about an autograph you have just discovered. Comments or questions, we'd we'd love to hear from you. Go to Your Autographs NASCAR autographs make great additions to an autograph collection, and they are a necessity to a racing memorabilia collection. The legends of racing are some of the most well known names in America, yet they are among the most accessible of celebrities. Only the autographs of the biggest names are hard to get, but that is only because the crowd that gathers around them at events are so huge, and they are deluged with through the mail autograph requests. Very few autograph collectors wouldn't like to add the big names to a collection even if they know little and care less about racing. That would be tantamount to excluding Mickey Mantle and Muhammad Ali. The big names transcend sports; they are all pieces of American history.  No doubt part of the reason for the fan-friendly attitude of NASCAR drivers is tradition. NASCAR's roots go back to the 1930's during those wild and crazy days when moonshine runners toyed with their cars so that they could outrun the local law, but would still appear no different from the outside than any other "stock car." Those moonshine runners took pride in their cars, began racing other souped-up cars in fields, and eventually developed a fan following. From there they moved to dirt tracks and paying customers, still meeting and greeting their fans who were also their friends, family and neighbors. People today, if they know anything at all about NASCAR's roots, are generally going to think no more beyond Thunder Road, starring Robert Mitchum, which didn't hit theaters until 1958. Yet there was a host of names who first cut the trail to modern day NASCAR who even the most devoted of today's NASCAR fans are probably not going to recognize - names like the Raymond Parks, Red Vogt and the three colorful Flock brothers. Those legendary autographs are not likely to be in autograph collections, and if they were they would probably be worth less monetarily than either of the Dale Earnhardts. It wasn't until the early 1970's that NASCAR became popular outside the south and it wasn't until the 1980's that race fans in meaningful numbers began collecting the autographs of the popular drivers. When most collectors look for autographs to add to their collections, they look no farther back than those from 1970's. I hope that changes in the future, but there are no signs of it yet. The only other "sports entertainment" that I can think of that parallels NASCAR's preference for the autographs of modern stars over the pioneers is professional wrestling. Wrestling stars from the early part of the last century like Frank Gotch and Jim Londos were household names. Now they are recognized by only the most ardent of wrestling historians and collectors. Early in their careers, modern era racing stars like Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt saw the value of their signatures as a "brand." Few celebrities have been as business savvy, especially when there was no precedent. It has been theorized by many that Richard Petty has signed his name more often than anyone in history. He doesn't leave until the last autograph is signed, and he has always signed through the mail. He takes great pride in his signature; he even took a penmanship class before he became famous. I've never seen a "scribbled" Richard Petty autograph and that small attention to detail is probably one of their reasons that he is still popular today. Dale Earnhardt trademarked his name well before it was the smart thing to do, and, like Petty, a Dale Earnhardt signature is really an artistic statement. It is one of the most recognizable autographs of all sports stars. and also, like Petty, he was smart enough to sign them to all who asked, free of charge. The most valuable NASCAR autographs of modern era stars are those of legendary racers who died early. These names include Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Davey Allison, Neil Bonnett, Alan Kulwicki, and Tim Richmond. Autographs of popular celebrities usually soar just after their deaths. They eventually settle lower that their peak, but still higher they they were before. All of these race stars died too soon, so their autographs should continue to rise in value disproportionate to those race stars who continue to sign into retirement. Most collectors of NASCAR autograph favor signed photos, but trading cards are also popular NASCAR items to have signed. Many collectors concentrate on die-cast cars; some do not collect anything else. Simple signatures on index cards are probably favored by more race fans than collectors of other genres.
Just about anything with a likeness of a racer makes a good and potentially valuable collectible of NASCAR autographs. Comic books, magazines, posters, ads, and postcards are just a few items that a collector could get signed, and most of those items are inexpensive, if not free. Subscribe to Collecting Celebrity Autographs News
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