[WANT] Before Daytona Edition

Since tomorrow is February 1st, which means we'll be just two weeks before the first NASCAR race of the year, the Sprint Unlimited (2/14, 8PM EST).

So, I decided to look around eBay for some neat NASCAR promo cars, NASCAR diecast that are given away with products in stores, or by mail-ins, or just simple free store promos.

Of course, what better way to start such a topic than with the various cars General Mills has offered in their cereals for the good part of the 00's.

Of these, I currently own three, all Dodges. Pop Secret, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Reese's Puffs.

But there were many others offered over the years from 2001 (the original 5 Countdown to Daytona set) to about 2008(?).

First up is this Intrepid with a Honey Nut Cheerios paint job. Marked as a 2001, because it was run in the 2001 Brickyard 400.

After that, I found a listing with TWO Wheaties Intrepids. This one would probably be good for someone who wants one of these, and a second one to trade.

Next are a selection from one seller who has 4 different ones that eluded me both when I collected these as a kid, and today.

These promo cars featured Grands biscuits, Bugles snacks, Brawny paper towels, and Betty Crocker products.

But promo cars were around well before General Mills began offering these, and the later Petty tribute Hot Wheels cars.

A great example is this #5 Kellogg's Monte Carlo from 2001. This appears to have been a mail-in car, as the listing says 'not available in retail stores'.

In 2000, Amoco offered a promo of their Cup car, driven by Dave Blaney. One of a few different promo cars the company offered, apparently all when he was behind the wheel of their car.

This next one I must not have paid much attention to on the track, because until now, I didn't know this paint scheme even existed.

This is Jeff Burton's #9 Hardee's Busch Series Ford Taurus that ran at the 1999 Hardee's 250 at Richmond, a race that Burton finished second in

Finishing things off is this 1998 Tide Ford Taurus. It seems Tide offered a lot of promos in the late 90's.

There's a whole lot more NASCAR promo cars on eBay. Personally, the ones I want the most are the General Mills ones, but there's a lot more I'd love to get my hands on.