In the 1960s, auto‑racing trading cards remained specialized and relatively rare compared with mainstream sports cards, but a handful of sets and issues directly tied to motorsport emerged, especially around Grand Prix‑style racing and European subjects. One of the most notable racing‑themed card series from this era is the 1962 Petpro Grand Prix Racing Cars set, issued by Petpro Limited in England. This set of 35 cards featured artist‑painted depictions of Grand Prix cars and notable machine types from the 1930s into the early 1960s, including models associated with legends like Juan Manuel Fangio and other historic Formula car designs.
While motorsport cards were still not a major focus for mainstream U.S. manufacturers in the 1960s, some regional or promotional racing cards (often related to events like the Indianapolis 500 or regional racing clubs) also appeared among collectors’ inventories, though these tend to be smaller and less documented than the Petpro release. The decade as a whole laid groundwork for a more expansive motorsport card hobby that would grow in the 1970s and beyond, as interest in USAC Championship, NASCAR, and international racing expanded and eventually inspired larger, more widely distributed racing card issues in later years.