It was a long time in coming, but Randy Ricci made it into the Guinness World Records. The pool service technician in Santa Rosa, Calif., is a huge NASCAR fan who loves to go to the races -- and that passion ultimately led to his collection of NASCAR-themed cereal boxes. Major cereal makers such as General Mills and Kellogg’s sponsor race teams and have featured drivers on the boxes. Starting in 1990, Ricci began amassing boxes, eventually reaching a total of 315, including 20 autographed by racing legends such as Richard Petty and John Andretti.
The boxes are kept in pristine condition, never opened. Most are stored in bins at the Sonoma Raceway, and in four more bins at his home. When Ricci asked Guinness if he had set the record for the most NASCAR cereal boxes, he learned they didn’t have such a category. So they set requirements for him to meet, including videotaping and photographing his entire collection, along with two witnesses on hand to verify there were no duplicates. He assembled a nine-person team to set the collection out on the Sonoma Raceway track in spring 2014. By the end of the year, Ricci got word that he had achieved a new Guinness World Records title, and an official certificate followed in the mail.
Not surprisingly, Ricci owns other NASCAR memorabilia, including driver-autographed drum heads. His most prized NASCAR possession is the yellow front end of Marcos Ambrose’s No. 9 Ford Fusion, raced in 2013. Ambrose and Ricci have become friends over the years and often hang out together when the driver comes to the local speedway to race.
