With the year almost over, the time has come for Lionel Racing to release the list of top diecast cars. For the second consecutive season, a historic scheme has taken the crown.
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According to Lionel Racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. topped the list of 10 diecasts. This was not an Xfinity Series scheme, however. It was actually the No. 8 Budweiser Late Model. This throwback to the early days of Earnhardt's Cup Series career beat out Chase Elliott's No. 9 Hooters car that won at Texas Motor Speedway.
(Note: Lionel Racing noted it bases the top 10 on diecast preorder sales)
The full top 10 in diecast preorder sales:
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Late Model scheme
- Chase Elliott Hooters scheme from Texas win
- Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Terry Labonte throwback
- William Byron Axalta scheme from Daytona 500 win
- Brad Keselowski Castrol throwback from Darlington win
- Corey LaJoie Chili's Catch A Rita scheme
- Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com scheme from Brickyard 400 win
- Chase Elliott standard Hooters scheme
- Tyler Reddick Jordan Brand scheme from Talladega win
- Joey Logano Shell/Pennzoil scheme from Cup Series championship
No. 8 - a bright orange beauty
No. 7 - a win that holds a lot of meaning 🏁@KyleLarsonRacin | @chaseelliott | @TeamHendrick | @HendrickCars pic.twitter.com/fUyNrLXUWO— Lionel Racing (@Lionel_Racing) December 19, 2024
"Dale Jr. reuniting with Budweiser and his signature number eight was meaningful to many fans and collectors across motorsports," said Lionel CEO Howard Hitchcock in a statement. "Just how meaningful it was showed right away in strong demand for the die-cast."
The top 10 list in 2023 also featured a historic scheme in the top spot. Kevin Harvick took this spot with the No. 29 Busch Light throwback. This is the car that paid tribute to the Goodwrench scheme he used at Richard Childress Racing. Harvick also took the 10th spot in 2023 with his Budweiser throwback paying homage to his championship win in 2014.
Having two Elliott schemes in the top 10 is nothing new for Lionel Racing. Back in 2022, four of Elliott's schemes were in the top 10 in diecast preorder sales. Earnhardt also joined the list in 2022 with his No. 3 Sun Drop Late Model scheme.
Elliott's No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet ranked third behind Ross Chastain's Hail Melon Martinsville car and Kurt Busch's Jordan Brand car from his Kansas win. Elliott's Hooters Chevrolet ranked seventh, his NAPA Nashville win ranked eighth, and his NAPA Dover win ranked ninth.
The other cars in the top 10 in 2022 were Richard Petty's STP Firecracker 400 200th Win Pontiac, Austin Cindric's Discount Tire scheme from his Daytona 500 win, and Larson's HendrickCars.com scheme.
