Completed my first NASCAR Rainbow!

And the funny thing is, I didn't set out specifically to complete this one, and didn't realize I had until I listed my cards in my paper listing.

To recap: a Rainbow is having all possible parallels of a specific card. For my purposes, there need to be more than 2 versions (base and one parallel) to qualify as a rainbow.

I actually HAD been trying to complete a different parallel via COMC, as there is a set that has an unnumbered parallel, one numbered to 125 and one numbered to the driver's car number, in this case, 66. As luck would have it, I was able to get the two numbered versions, but the un-numbered, one per pack Silver Signature is eluding me! (2000 MVP #69)

EDIT: I originally began writing this post in August 2018. Since that time, I was able to complete that rainbow with the help of a member of NUTS, the NASCAR only card forum. You can read about it HERE

So, the first rainbow was not planned, but one I lucked in to. 2003 Press Pass VIP has 4 versions. The base card, then there is the Exclusive, which is one per pack. (This is the card with the corrupted scan) There is also a special Tin set, which looks very similar to the base but the foil is a different color and the cards have different numbering. The last version, the Laser Explosive, is serially numbered to 250 copies and is the one I got from COMC in August 2018.

2003 VIP Base #15. Gold foil. I didn't really know what I was doing back in 2009 so the scan is a little too bright.

2003 VIP Explosive #X15. The Explosive cards are black and white, have holofoil, feature no gloss whatsoever, and feel in hand like an old metal-printed photo of the late 1800s. They are actually pretty cool in hand.

2003 VIP Collector's Tin #CT15. This was scanned with scanner #3, which explains the lines. I will probably rescan it at some point in the future. They have a light gold foil.

2003 VIP Laser Explosive #LX15. The Lasers feature the same silver print and texture of the Explosive, but feature full color. They also have silver foil. 

As an added bonus bit of coolness, the Laser I got happened be SN #001!

Very fitting to be my first completed rainbow as SN1. The first Serially Numbered NASCAR card I ever pulled from a pack was also #SN1, in that case of 125, back in 1999.

The funny way I mentioned lucking into this rainbow? I was just paging through the SN cards on COMC, picking off as many cheap ones as I could before the money ran out. This one was the cheapest from the Laser Explosive set, and when I clicked on it and saw it was SN#1, I couldn't click "buy now" fast enough.

Considering I have the complete base set, 3/4ths of the Tin set, and about half of the Explosive set, I could conceivably complete a lot more rainbows for this set...if I wasn't such a cheapskate. Most of the cards on COMC are a dollar and change, but there is a Ryan Newman card for 75 cents...unfortunately I am in a negative balance, -28 cents, so I can't buy it unless somebody buys something I have for sale on there. Maybe some day.

I'm planning to be attending the Plainville card show in Connecticut tomorrow, so stay tuned for another card show recap a couple days from now. Now that I have a really good scanner I may scan the cards before I do the post, so I may not get it up until next week some time. It may also be a combination of pictures and scans. Only time will tell.