Autograph seeking? preferences?

[NEW2]

Not everyone agrees on the topic of having diecast autographed. So I thought I’d start a thread to discuss the whys and why not of the issue, HOPEFULLY in a civil-ish way…because everyone has their own likes and opinions which may or may not make sense to the next person along the way. So here goes my perception of the choice to seek autographs.

I like getting the cars autographed. And not from a financial perspective as I rarely if ever part with a car once I have it, and especially if I go to the trouble of getting it autographed. I prefer to get it done in person, though that isn’t always possible and isn’t always the easiest to get done. A buddy once put it best I guess for me, getting it autographed in person adds a little character to it as the guy who actually drove the car, handled the diecast and added his own ‘dna’ if you will via fingerprints or whatever…not that I’d need it for a later FBI investigation…just kind of cool thinking they actually handled the model. Which is even more important when it is a rare custom never produced, and they are surprised to even see one. Just my thoughts on that end of it.

Where? I prefer the windshields. It looks uniform, and keeps the artwork on the paint job clean. That is one of the things I like about NASCAR is the art and design involved with the schemes. And things like Mountain Dew schemes, or energy drinks, or MMs, etc…for me sometimes it is as much about how cool the design is more than any given driver. One alternative I have heard mentioned is on the driver side door. Reason being, as a lot of people display them that way, the autograph is highly visible. I dislike the roof and the hood for both reasons mentioned above.

How? Like I said, I prefer to get it done myself. One, I KNOW it is authentic. Two, the experience of talking with the driver makes it half the fun. Three, the other half of the fun, the challenge of getting to some of the more difficult drivers. In rare instances I’ll purchase a car pre-autographed (favorably if it comes from the dealer/factory that way…) if that is the only way it came or if the driver is nearly impossible to track down and get a signature. Even have a buddy I trade back and forth with as he can secure some I can’t. Most Roush drivers are really easy since they do the PR events in Livonia yearly. But most of mine are stand the line autographs, each with their own stories.

Why? Again, I just like them autographed for the challenges, and the stories that go along with some of them. Best one has to be my Mark Martin Batman Begins car. I liked Mark from his Roush days. Never met the guy, and during the Batman Begins weekend he made a limited appearance. I had missed tickets (only gave out fifty). I showed up anyways and walked the line asking if anyone had an extra. Offered up a Roush autographed Kurt Busch Champion OS car. Fortunately a group of guys had an extra ticket as their buddy was passed out tentside…they said they’d give him the car since they gave away his ticket…but I doubt he ever benefited from the trade. Cool part, my brother in law and I stood in line with the ‘golden ticket’. A couple ahead of us had an extra as well and as they overheard us talking about the ‘deal’ they felt bad and gave him a ticket. Said they wished they knew, and would have just given it to me without trading. But I mentioned without the trade, we never would have been in line, and my brother in law wouldn’t have benefited… so it all worked out.

Terry Labonte- My dad had been a fan through most of his career. Never met the guy. Well, at the Charlotte street festival Terry made a special appearance. Though as we waited in line, a HUGE storm rolled in and wind sheer damn near killed Terry when the stage he had just arrived on collapsed. He was hurried off to his SUV and it looked like he was going to bolt…which I didn’t blame him, but it was a real disappointment. Then his PR chick set up a deal with Wachovia and they held the session in the bank lobby. When my dad finally got up there, the grin was priceless…he spent a few minutes talking to Terry about his son, etc…it was kind of cool to watch him meet his racing hero. Though he has never been one to acknowledge cool things like that…he talked about it endlessly for quite some time. He still brings it up now and again when we talk about standing in lines here and there.

Elliot Sadler- MIS a couple of years ago Elliot was finishing up his SPEED show. Sometimes he’ll come down and sign some stuff but the crowd was really thick. I had my son with me, and the Halloween MMs car he ran in his last season at RYR. As he moved around the stage, he spotted my son standing there, and pushed through the barriers and about three rows of fans to get to my son, signed the car, patted the kid on the head and gave him a wink as he went back to ‘safety’…though not one person bothered him on the way out or the way back…they all just stood there marveling at what just happened…as insignificant as a stupid autograph might be.I never got that diecast back…my son still has it in his room…


SO stories? Opinions similar or different than mine? Any secrets or tips? All I can say is Charlotte is where it’s at for fan days.

[Erikjef24]

I have 11 autographed cars, and I fully agree with you on the windshield. All of them are on the windshield except for the 2 Kyle Busch ones, and you cant really see the autograph very well, and I;m not really too happy about it. All the others (Hamlin, Sorenson, Blaney, Biffle, Mears, Hornaday, 2 Steve Park, Mcmurray) are signed on the windshield, you can see them much better and like you said, doesnt mess up the paint job.

I also, along with most other people I would think, would prefer to get the autograph in person. I have gotten every single one of mine in person, I have never bought anything that was already signed and don't intend to. Tracking the driver down and getting the autograph yourself is most of the fun.

My story about my signed Mcmurray car is similar to your one with Martin and not having a ticket. It was at the July N.H. race in 06, and Mcmurray was going to sign Sunday morning at the Irwin tent. Well, I heard them announcing it on Saturday....

[Erikjef24]

sorry for making it 2 seperate posts, you can only type so much when on the PS3)

so, when I went and checked it out, they said they would start giving out the tickets and 9 am. Well, Sunday morning, we left the hotel early enough to make it-so we thought. Of course, we were stuck in traffic for a little longer than we thought we would be, and didng get to the booth until about 9:30-and, of course, no more tickets. So, I just stood there with the car for about 20 min when an Irwin official (or whatever you want to call him, lol) came over and gave me the one last ticket that he was holding on to. So, of course, I got the thing signed

I am going to Watkins Glen this weekend, I'll post what autographs I get, I got over 10 last year

[NEW2]

pretty cool! Amazing what some fans (me included) will endure sometimes for that signature. And I look at all the other things I could do in life, and standing a line is not so bad when it is worth it to me in the end. Great story.

[JPM42]

Why: Almost 5 years ago my fiancee and I started collecting autographs for the fun of it. It started out as just a thing on the side with collecting our other drivers. Now its grown so much that we've had to weed out a few in the last couple weeks to make room for more.

Where: Anywhere EXCEPT BLACK ON THE WINDSHIELD! I can not stand that. If the interior is white it's not that bad but with most cars you can't see it if it's in black.

Crazy stuff we've done: We have met every driver in the business at this time and alot of legends. But the craziest thing we have done was drove 6 hours to Nashville laid on the sidewalk at the summit center for another 18 hours and then FINALLY got to meet Jr. We will do pretty much what it takes to meet him, JPM and Bill. I have met Bill 9 times and will be meeting him again at his dirt race in Atlanta in October. I'm also trying to get all of JPM's 1/24 scale's signed (only like 4). We have met Jr a total of 4 times.

Goals for this year: As you all have seen I've got a few Petty things to get signed. My goal is by the end of the year is to have all of his historical series cars signed plus all the other old model cars I can get of his. Plus HOPEFULLY we will meet Jr again and have some more stuff signed by him. We have also trying to branch out into other forms of racing. This year will be NHRA and if everything goes good next year will be IRL.

Total cars: 110+ 1/24 scales, 60+ 1/64 scales, and 30+ hats.

[NEW2]

have to agree with the black sharpie on the windshield, but most guys have a silver anymore. I actually try to carry a gold sharpie paint pen. Just sets the autos apart. But if black is all there is..so be it. Junior has been impossible for me. He shows up at MIS...but this year as a prime example, traditionally after qualifying he spends a little bit of time near the garage area...so I was ALL set...good spot, the whole nine yards, gave up all others just to be in position...and it rained...Junior disappeared, like he had anything ELSE to do...and my day was kind of done. Hamlin and a few others hung out including Hornish...but alas...struck out AGAIN...some day I suppose.

[Karz]

I'm with the windshield Guys!!
Having the car signed on the body just doesn't do it for me.
Silver sharpie on the windshield is what I'd like.
I have none of my cars signed yet but hope to someday.

Only have 2 signed NASCAR things around here.
Jimmie Johnson race used Valves from his 2004 car and the very first Jeff Gordon Card ever made.
That's it so far. :(

[NEW2]

wholy crap he looks like such a young kid there. WOW. Hang on to that one!

[Billy Kingsley]

I just had a chance to meet and get some signatures at the Sprint car race I went to this past Wednesday night. It was something I'll never forget, for sure. After the race, they opened the pits up to anybody who wanted to be there. I stayed up in the top of the stands recording the PA annoucer giving the final rundown, and I was afraid that I would miss out on people...not so.

My friend Robert, who took me with him, and I made a beeline for Steve Kinser. I had spent an hour before the race preparing a windshield for the 1995 #26 Quaker State Ford Thunderbird he drove briefly in Winston Cup. I didn't expect to get any autographs at all, but I was pleasently surprised.

Steve came out of his hauler, and there were a row of 30 or more people forming a half circle around the car. Us included. Well, he signed for the little kids first, and for some people multiple items. I assessed the situation and moved a little closer to to the right side of the car. I asked him if he could sign my windshield, and I explained that I was a model car builder and building his Cup car. He thought that was cool, and brushed off some dirt before signing it (hey, it was a dirt track!)


I then got Jac Haudenschild as he was coming out of his hauler. He signed my program, but upside down. I don't care, I got to meet him!
I then walked to the left hand side of the track and looked at some cars. I waited a few seconds for Terry McCarl to come out, but he didn't. So, I walked all the way back to the other side of the track, and got autographs from Lucas Wolfe and Joey Saldana. I then stood with my friend Robert with Sportsman driver Kevin Ward, who he's known a while. When I got back down, probably a half hour later, Steve Kinser was STILL signing autographs! That was very classy. By that time Terry McCarl had come out of his hauler and signed my book. He had a great personality and talked to me a bit-more then anybody else. He did win, too! (I told him that it was my first race after being a fan for more then 20 years) and he thought that was cool.


That was my first autograph experience ever. I am hoping to have a NASCAR experience next year, and I MIGHT have an ARCA experience later this year...We shall see...

[NEW2]

NICE JOB billy! pretty cool by the sounds of the evening...personally...you may have opened a pandora's box...first autograph I got was a Kurt Busch 1/64 car. I didn't want to spend the 'big bucks' on the 24 scales (yet...unfortunately...) and you didn't need a ticket at that point so I just jumped in line...now it has become a near science with timing appearance events and trying to get at least one 24 scale for every driver. hate to say it...but it sounds like the bug has bitten man!

Junior has been the thorn in my side. EVERY time I think I have the cat bagged...something comes up. Either rain, he has a bad Q-run and ditches, or any other variable...