1988 Maxx Charlotte Dale Earnhardt Graded Promo RC Card AUTO LE 25/100 – Beckett 9 Auto 10

Dale Earnhardt won a record-tying seven Winston Cup Championships before a tragic accident claimed his life in 2001. He won a total of 76 races. He finished in the top ten of 428 of his 676 career NASCAR races. Not surprisingly, he was an inaugural inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. Earnhardt is also a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

The first Dale Earnhardt cards came out in the early 1980s. These were promotional releases that didn’t see wide distribution. As NASCAR started licensing out full sets in the latter part of the decade, Earnhardt quickly became a key part. Collectors can trace the evolution of racing cards through Earnhardt.

Presented is a very rare 1988 MAXX Charlotte – Dale Earnhardt card #99. This is the rookie card that should’ve been released to the public. But technically, this card was never released on the open market. MAXX had the card printed and ready to go but couldn’t come to an agreement with Dale Earnhardt. Still, it managed to reach the open market and remains extremely popular with collectors. MAXX did later release some copies via redemption in 1994. These have a gold sticker attached to the front that acts like a serial number.

For a long time the 1988 Maxx set card #87 was considered his rookie card because he was pictured on it with his team. That’s the closest fans could get to having a 1988 Maxx Dale Earnhardt rookie card. Maxx and Earnhardt came to terms in 1989 and Maxx used the same photo that they used for the 1988 #99 promo card for the 1989 Maxx #3 card.

In 1997 Upper Deck, which purchased Maxx, released 100 autographed versions of the 1988 Maxx #99 Dale Earnhardt card via redemptions in the 1997 Maxx wax product and 1998 Maxx Year in Review factory sets. These cards were autographed on the front and hand numbered out of 100 on the back. This is one of those rare cards. It is numbered 25/100 on the back. The highlight is that it is encapsulated and graded by Beckett with a 9 MINT with subs Centering 9 – Corners 9.5 – Edges 9 and Surface 8.5. The autograph placed on the front in black felt tip grades in at a spectacular “10”. In addition to this one, there are only (2) other graded  (via BGS) with only one higher that exist making it a super rare delicacy.

1988 Maxx Charlotte Dale Earnhardt Graded Promo RC Card AUTO LE 25/100 – Beckett 9 Auto 10