Why the 2025 Panini Donruss Racing Hits The Sweet Spot For Many NASCAR Card Collectors

The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing is the 9th installment of the Panini Donruss racing set. It is one of the most budget-friendly NASCAR options.

Panini has a wide range of NASCAR products, from high-end releases like National Treasures to mid-tier favorites like Prizm Racing. However, Panini Donruss Racing is perfect for collectors who want a fun rip with a very low entry point.

Donruss is one of Panini’s longest-running brands and a fan favourite thanks to the variety of brands, low entry price, and numerous inserts.

The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing edition keeps that tradition alive, delivering bold graphics and eye-catching inserts, all at an affordable rate.

Whether you’re chasing Rated Rookies of NASCAR’s next big stars or hunting for rare Down Town inserts or memorabilia cards, this set delivers plenty in every box.

This article shall break down everything you need to know about the 2025 Panini Donruss Racing, from the specifics of this year’s design, its pros and cons and how well the cards are expected to perform on the market.

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History of Panini Donruss Racing

Panini’s history with NASCAR began in 2016 when they signed a multi-year agreement with NASCAR to deliver high-quality trading cards.

Panini announced its official licensing agreement with NASCAR after Press Pass, which previously produced NASCAR trading cards, went out of business.

Speaking on the deal, Mark Warsop, CEO of Panini America, expressed excitement at delivering high-quality NASCAR cards to fans.

“We are excited to bring NASCAR trading cards back into the marketplace. NASCAR fans are some of the most passionate in all of sport, and we look forward to delivering an assortment of products across a broad range of price points that meet the needs of collectors and race fans alike.”

Indeed, Panini has kept its promise of delivering a broad range of products across different price points. The inaugural 2016 Panini NASCAR release had four NASCAR trading card products.

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• 2016 Panini Prizm NASCAR
• 2016 Panini Torque NASCAR
• 2016 Panini Certified NASCAR
• 2016 Panini National Treasures NASCAR

However, Panini has continually expanded its NASCAR offering, introducing new brands to cater to different collector budgets and preferences. Among these, Donruss Racing emerged as one of the most affordable choices.

The Birth of Panini Donruss NASCAR (2017)

Panini introduced the iconic Donruss brand to NASCAR in 2017 with the 2017 Donruss NASCAR Racing. While it was Donruss’s first showing on the race track, it came with a retro vibe similar to what Donruss is known for in other sports.

While it was cheaper than other Panini NASCAR products, boxes still came with many inserts, an autograph and two memorabilia cards. The 2017 Panini Donruss Racing was designed to be affordable yet packed with value.

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Since its 2017 debut, Panini Donruss Racing has become quite popular with NASCAR collectors. It perfectly balances exciting cards, nostalgia, and budget-friendly fun.

Even though Panini has several ultra-premium brands like National Treasures, Donruss remains the go-to set for fans who want a fun rip without a premium price tag.

2025 Panini Donruss Racing Release date

The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing released on 16 May 2025.

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2025 Panini Donruss Racing Release Format

We expect the 2025 Panini Donruss Racing to be available in a variety of formats, including Mega boxes.

We expect Panini to announce additional formats as we get closer to the release date.

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2025 Panini Donruss Racing Hobby boxes

• 8 cards per pack
• 16 packs per box
• 20 boxes per case
• 3 autographs or memorabilia cards
• 16 base optics or parallels per box on average
• 100-card base set
• Available for preorder for $90

2025 Panini Donruss Racing Checklist Review

The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing continues its legacy as the most affordable and budget-friendly NASCAR set of the year. However, its budget-friendly price doesn’t mean there’s no chance of pulling valuable cards in a Donruss Racing set.

The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing perfectly blends autographs, memorabilia cards, and fan-favourite inserts. Donruss Racing remains the best value in NASCAR collecting.

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The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing has a 100-card base set with 93 base and 7 Rated Rookies. Each box offers a chance to pull superstar signers, rookie standouts, and limited parallels.

Look for a top-tier rookie class featuring rising sensation Connor Zilisch, chase the elusive Black Pandora Optic SP Parallel, and search for the ultra-rare 1-of-1 Checkered Flag parallels.

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2025 Panini Donruss Racing Inserts

The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing set brings back collector-favorite inserts while introducing fresh designs. The inserts in the 2025 Panini Donruss Racing includes;

Rated Rookie

The flagship rookie insert returns, spotlighting NASCAR’s hottest young talents. Look for Connor Zilisch and other rising stars in this coveted series. The Rated Rookies insert has a long and rich history, and these cards are expected to hold their value incredibly well, especially if the drivers have legendary careers.

Race Kings

A premium insert showcasing NASCAR’s biggest names in artistic, high-end designs. Past versions have featured vibrant colours and bold graphics, making them some of the most visually striking cards in the set.

Downtown

Panini’s ultra-popular artistic insert makes its NASCAR return. Known for its cityscape designs, the Downtown insert typically features dynamic portraits of drivers with creative backgrounds. These are among the most sought-after inserts in the product.

Spellbound (New for 2025!)

The fan-favorite Spellbound insert makes its NASCAR debut. Collectors can chase individual letter cards to piece together the names of top drivers.

This unique insert set features a stacked lineup of current stars and legends, with each card showcasing:

• Bold, high-contrast letter designs
• Player portraits incorporated into the typography
• Multiple driver name sets to collect

As a puzzle-style insert, Spellbound adds an extra layer of chase appeal to 2025 Donruss Racing. Complete sets will showcase full driver names when assembled, making this one of this product’s most interactive and display-worthy inserts.

2025 Panini Donruss Racing Autographs/Memorabilia

Panini’s Donruss Racing has become a go-to for affordable NASCAR autographs, blending rookie signers with legends. While official 2025 details are pending, here’s what has been confirmed for the 2025 Panini Donruss Racing set.

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Signature Series

A staple of Donruss Racing, this subset features autographs with sleek designs, often pairing legends from the past and the brightest up-and-coming stars!

However, we expect several more signature inserts, like in the 2024 Panini Donruss Racing and the Legendary Signatures Autos from the 2022 Panini Donruss Racing.

2025 Panini Donruss Racing pros

Affordable Price Point

With pre-orders going for $90 per hobby box, this is one of the most budget-friendly ways to collect NASCAR cards this year.

The lower cost makes it perfect for casual fans who want to enjoy opening packs without worrying about significant investments. The best part of this is that some really great cards can be pulled from this box.

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Fun Insert Sets

The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing includes several popular inserts like Downtown, Rated Rookies, Race Kings, and the Spellbound insert making its NASCAR debut.

These are all great inserts with a rich history behind them. While they might not hold as much value as their similar insert from other sports, these inserts would provide exciting chase opportunities without the premium price tag.

Additionally, they will likely hold their value over time because of their special cultural significance.

Guaranteed hits

Each 2025 Panini Donruss Racing hobby box contains  3 autographs or memorabilia cards and 16 base optic/parallels per box on average.

While not as high-end as more expensive products, the hits look fantastic and are excellent additions to any NASCAR collection.

Key Rookies

The 2025 Panini Donruss Racing features key rookie cards like Connor Zilisch that could gain value over time, making it interesting for collectors and investors alike.

This product delivers solid value for NASCAR card collectors who want an enjoyable rip without spending hundreds per box. While you likely won’t make money back on every box, the affordable price makes the entertainment value worth it.

2025 Panini Donruss Racing cons

Low ceiling on value

Panini Donruss Racing has a reputation for being an affordable product. This means you won’t find the ultra-valuable hits that come with premium releases.

Because this is a paper release, most autographs and hits won’t be worth big money. For example, since its 2021 release, very few cards have crossed the $200 mark, with several hits struggling to break $150. This isn’t an investment product, it’s designed to offer a fun rip, not profit.

NASCAR’s Overall Market Limitations

Aside from being a Donruss Racing set, even high-end NASCAR Racing sets face a low ceiling because NASCAR cards simply don’t command the same prices as major sports like football or basketball.

A 1/1 National Treasures Baseball hit will sell for several times the price of a 1/1 National Treasures Racing hit. The NASCAR collector base is smaller, and demand is more niche, which affects long-term value.

2025 Panini Donruss Racing Value

We’ve established that the return on investment on NASCAR sets isn’t great, even with premium sets like the 2024 Panini National Treasures NASCAR.

The price of unopened boxes often remains steady from year to year. However, let’s look at how well previous Donruss Racing sets have performed on the market.

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Wax

Just one of the last three years of Donruss Racing hobby boxes has crossed the $100 mark. This year’s hobby boxes come with a preorder price of $90.

This is more than the current price point of the 2024 Panini Donruss Racing. It doesn’t look like a good investment opportunity. However, the current hobby box prices of the previous sets indicate some profits for collectors.

While you might see small profits if you hold sealed products for several months, significant returns are highly unlikely going by the current prices.

The numbers don’t show impressive growth for NASCAR wax to warrant investing in them. Unlike other sports where sealed wax regularly appreciates $200 – $600, NASCAR products typically see much more modest gains at best.

That said, at $90 per box, the risk is relatively low. None of the previous Donruss Racing releases have lost value over time. So, while it’s not recommended as an investment play, collectors buying at this price point won’t lose money either.

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Singles

The secondary market for singles from recent Donruss Racing releases remains soft, with most autographs and memorabilia cards selling under $10.

Even autographs for well−known drivers sell for below $50. Over the past two years, only a handful of cards have crossed the $200 mark on eBay, with the highest recorded sale barely crossing $300.

While Panini Donruss Racing is a fun, low-stakes rip, it is far from a profitable investment

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Final thoughts on the 2025 Panini Donruss Racing release

For NASCAR collectors on a budget, the 2025 Panini Donruss Racing set hits all the sweet spot. It is an affordable and entertaining rip packed with exciting inserts and autographs.

While it won’t compete with high-end products in terms of resale value, that’s not really the point, especially with a NASCAR product.

At around $90 per hobby box, it’s one of the most affordable NASCAR sets.

You get multiple hits per box, a strong lineup of rookies (like Connor Zilisch), and fun chase cards like Downtown inserts, Spellbound puzzles, and Race Kings. The design stays fresh while keeping the classic Donruss vibe collectors love.

Yes, NASCAR’s card market still lags behind other sports, and the return on investments, even on premium sets, cannot be compared to the returns on more popular sports.

But that makes Donruss Racing the perfect fit for NASCAR collectors. It’s not pretending to be an investment product. It’s a low-risk, high-fun set for fans who just want to rip, collect, and enjoy the chase.

You can consider a National Treasures NASCAR set for premium NASCAR hits. However, this is your best bet if you want an affordable, entertaining NASCAR break with tons of variety.

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