For the first time since Diecast Mag began tracking the top eBay NASCAR diecast sales of each month (June), no custom cars cracked the top five in sales. In fact, no custom diecasts reached our minimum threshold of $300. However, the streak of the “Earnhardt” name appearing on the list each month continued.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Legend of Hallowdega diecast has become a highly sought after grail for one of the sport’s most popular and recognizable drivers. Junior’s scheme promoted the 15-minute, mockumentary film “The Legend of Hallowdega,” in which included Earnhardt Jr., Darrell Waltrip and Buddy Baker play themselves with David Arquette acting as a paranormal expert to discover “the mysteries around Talladega Superspeedway.”
The Hallowdega ride made one appearance in the 2010 season at, you guessed it, Talladega. In the second trip to the 2.66-mile superspeedway that season, Earnhardt Jr. was amid a long skid with Hendrick Motorsports, scoring just two top-fives in 2009 and just three in 2010 entering the 33rd race of the season. Earnhardt Jr.’s fortunes didn’t improve that day at ‘Dega. He lined up on the grid in sixth but was involved in a crash on lap 135. He finished the race more than 20 laps down in 39th of the 43-car field.
The disappointing finish hasn’t diminished the collectability of the Hallowdega diecast, however, evidenced by one model earning the fifth-highest eBay auction sale of September. An Elite Hallowdega 1/24, one of a 300-model production run, sold with one bid for $499.99.
Richard Petty makes the first of his two appearances — both commemorating “finals” for The King — on the September list at No. 4.
In 2005 Action released a 1/24 of Petty’s 1979 Cup Championship winning Oldsmobile emblazoned with his iconic No. 43 and STP colors. After a disappointing 1978 season in which he failed to win a Cup race for the first time in 19 seasons, Petty had a stellar 1979 campaign to take the title. He earned five wins, 23 top-fives and 27 top-10s in 31 races. Despite his impressive statistics, Petty narrowly edged Darell Waltrip by 11 points to earn his seventh title. Of note, the 1979 Winston Cup season is highlighted in the book “He Crashed Me So I Crashed Him Back,” a practical must-read for NASCAR fans.
Petty’s No. 43 1979 Buick had a production run of over 3,000 in standard form, but Elite (480), Platinum (144) and White Gold (25) version were also produced. On Sept. 20, one of the 144 Platinum versions sold for $510 with 44 bids, making it the No. 4 top sale of the month.
Another of “The King’s” diecasts took the No. 2 spot, and it was another 2005 special release by Action. The company also released a 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix 1/24 “Farewell Car” commemorating Petty’s last season in NASCAR. Production runs were 1,716 for the standard version with 408 Elites produced. All were autographed with Petty’s graceful signature.
An Elite version of his “Farewell Car” sold for $620 on Sept. 20 with 39 bids.
The No. 3 sale of September is a bit of an odd one. According to the seller, it is a Gen-6 Chevrolet SS prototype with a bare body (no grille or light decals, and no hood latches). The all-black 1/24 diecast was signed by Kyle Larson, who joined Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014, along with four other drivers. The seller did not list all the signatures, but one appears to be that of Jamie McMurray, another CGR driver of the time. The signature-laden diecast sold for $550.
The top eBay auction sale of September marks Kevin Harvick’s sole Cup Series championship season in 2014. Harvick won five races that season to capture the title, including the final two races at Phoenix and Homestead. Just a few weeks before those victories, he took the win in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte, the second race of the season at the speedway. Harvick led the most laps that day and took the win over Jeff Gordon by 0.571 seconds.
A Raced Win version of Harvick’s No 4 Budweiser Chevrolet was produced. Of them, just 24 were Elite Color Chrome Raced Win models. The No. 9 model in the extremely limited production run, complete with confetti and marks from Harvick’s post-race burnout, sold Sept. 6 for $704.
Raced Win versions from Harvick’s 2014 championship frequently garner some of the highest diecast eBay sales of late. In June, two of Harvick’s Homestead Raced Win diecasts topped $800.
Diecast Mag’s Most Expensive eBay Diecast Sales of the Month are compiled from eBay sold listings in which the diecast was sold via auction or the Buy It Now feature. Only single diecast sales are included and those found by searching specific NASCAR diecast 1/24 criteria. Diecast Mag is not affiliated with eBay and makes no claims the auction prices listed were the final price paid by the auction winner.
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