1972 STP Cards Date(s): March 30, 2018. Album by Eddie Smith. 1 - 22 of 22 Total. 1677 Visits.
1 Fred Lorenzen with car. This is the most valuable racing card in the hobby. The card is legendary for its rarity.
Several veteran racing card collectors spent decades trying to find an example for their collection. Card gradng company PSA has graded just two examples total of the card.
Collector Jon Hardgrove, perhaps the most knowledgeable racing card collector in the country, had seen just one example of a Lorenzen with car card in 26 years of searching prior to acquiring a copy of his own in 2014.
It has been speculated that the Lorenzen cards were "pulled" shortly after production due to Lorenzen not competing in the 1972 Daytona 500 and retiring shortly thereafter. "I have this card. I got mi..." View Comments...
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3 The portrait card of Lorenzen used to be nearly as elusive as the "with car" version, but a small find of Lorenzen portrait cards in 2016 allowed several collectors to acquire an example of the card.
Lorenzen was sponsored by STP in 1972, yet it remains somewhat of a mystery why he was the only driver in the set to be featured on two cards. Fellow STP driver Richard Petty, who had won 92 Cup races in the five seasons that preceded the release of the 1972 STP set, was featured on only one card.
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5 Bobby Allison's card from the STP set is arguably as rare as the Lorenzen with car card, but Allison's card does not have quite the reputation as an impossible to find rarity.
This is generally accepted as the second most valuable racing card in the hobby. PSA has graded only three examples of the Allison card.
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7 Richard Petty's rookie card is not as elusive as the Lorenzen with car card and the Allison card, but it is Richard Petty. There is always demand for the card.
The cards were handed out for free at the STP promotional tent during the 1972 Daytona 500 (and possibly Talladega as well later that season). Several long-time collectors of the set claim that the two Lorenzen cards were not included among the cards being dispensed at Daytona that year.
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9 James Hylton finished second in NASCAR points to Petty in 1971 and third in points behind Petty and Allison in 1972. He also recorded his second and final career Cup series wn at Talladega in 1972.
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11 Charlie Glotzbach was a four-time career winner in the Cup series, and also lost the 1969 Daytona 500 to Lee Roy Yarbrough on the final lap.
He returned to win in the Cup series after being shot twice by a disgruntled ex employee of his trucking company late in 1969
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13 Richard Brooks was a journeyman driver who won just one Cup race in his career, the 1973 Talladega 500.
One of the great mysteries of the STP set is why some of the journeyman drivers were included, yet the set did not include David Pearson or Bobby Isaac. Pearson was a three-time Cup series champion by 1972 and Isaac won the 1970 Cup series championship on the strength of 11 wins.
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15 By 1972, Benny Parsons was a two-time ARCA champion. The best year of his Cup career would come the season after the set was released; he was the 1973 Winston Cup champion.
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17 Dave Marcis was a five-time career Cup winner known more for the longevity of his 35-year Cup career. Even after big money car owners and sponsors entered the sport, Marcis usually fielded his own equipment. He was also known for racing in wingtip shoes rather than racing footwear.
He finished as high as second in the season-long NASCAR Cup standings (1975).
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19 A 19-time winner in the Cup series, Buddy Baker's card in the STP set is among the most common cards to find. An example of Baker's card in the set can sometimes be acquired for as little as $20-30.
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21 In addition to Baker, Elmo Langley's card is the other one that is fairly easy to locate among the 11-card set. One reason that has been speculated for why Langley's card is relatively common (none of the cards have had more than 16 examples graded by PSA) compared to some of the other drivers is the rumor that he handed out copies of his card to fans after his retirement as a competitor.
Langley won two career races in he Cup series, both in 1966.
