Here is a fascinating thread in which the top 20 most desirable NASCAR cards are ranked. The list is exclusively NASCAR, so nothing predates the '72 STP set, but it is a fascinating list. The top 10:
1. 1986 SportsStar Photo-Graphics Dale Earnhardt
2. 1992 Traxs Autograph Petty/Earnhardt
3. 1983 UNO Dale Earnhardt
4. 1989 Maxx Dale Earnhardt
5. 1972 STP Richard Petty
6. 1988 Maxx Dale Earnhardt
7. 1972 STP Bobby Allison
8. 1972 STP Fred Lorenzen (I assume this is the "with car" example. The explanation that accompanies the card's description says that the card is on a slow move toward No. 1 on the list as collectors learn more about the 1972 STP set in general and the extreme rarity of "Lorenzen with car").
9. 1988 Maxx (Charlotte & Myrtle Beach) Cover Card
10. 1991 Traks Jeff Gordon
https://forums.collectors.com/messag...hreadid=851215
I am not a fan at all of having the dual autograph card of Earnhardt and Petty listed so high. I have also seen other lists that have the '72 STP Petty card ranked at No. 2 behind the '86 SportsStar Photographic card of Earnhardt.
Earnhardt's' rookie card actually comes from the 1983 UNO set. Not much is known about that set, but it is a 30-card set with driver images on one side and a standard UNO playing card on the other side. I am not really a huge fan of the set, since they do seem kind of cheesy. But that is the generally-accepted Earnhardt rookie card (he does have some earlier postcards).
The 1986 SportsStar Photo-Graphic set is also obscure, but the Earnhardt card from that set usually sells for more than the UNO card (the SportsStar card is also a lot more scarce than the UNO card). I was the underbidder on an Earnhardt SportsStar card that sold for $327 a few weeks ago, and I kick myself for not sniping higher.
In 1988, MAXX entered the racing card game with sets produced in huge quantities. MAXX sets from either of those years are very, very common, but the Earnhardt card is still very desirable because they are his first "mainstream" card releases. The 1988 Earnhardt MAXX card is also famous for never being officially released until 1994. MAXX had the card all ready for release, but was unable to come to a licensing agreement with Earnhardt. As a result, the card was dropped from release at the last minute.
Some copies of the '88 Earnhardt MAXX card did slip out, but six years later, 999 numbered copies of the card were officially released. The MAXX sets were huge (both in quantity and impact), but I am not a huge fan of them from a collecting standpoint because they are so common and easy to find. The Earnhardt MAXX cards are a bit like the '52T Mantle in that there are tons of them around, but the MAXX Earnhardt cards are iconic and what many people first think of when they think of an Earnhardt card.