Charlotte, NC. (April 11, 2003) -Racing Champions/Press
Pass has teamed up with Major League Baseball and General Motors
to produce a line of upscale Corvette® replicas that commemorate
eight of baseball's greatest World Series ChampionsTM. Each 1:18
scale diecast is highly detailed and features opening doors and
hood, steerable front wheels, authentic interior, team and World
Series logos, team-decorated toolbox, and a black stand.
"We are excited to bring Corvette collectors and Major League
Baseball fans a truly unique program. Each of the eight World Series
Champion teams are paired with the Corvette from the corresponding
year," said Tom Farrell, Director of Marketing for Press Pass,
a division of Racing Champions (NASDAQ: RCRC). "The program
launches in mid-April commemorating the 1953 New York Yankees and
2002 Anaheim Angels."
Marketed under the American Muscle Sports brand name, the remainder
of the lineup is as follows: 1954 New York Giants and 1986 New York
Mets (May release), 1961 New York Yankees and 1968 Detroit Tigers
(June release), and 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers and 1967 St. Louis
Cardinals (July release). Each diecast replica is serially numbered
out of 5,000. Additionally, special silver chrome editions numbered
to 500 have been randomly inserted. The Corvette World Series diecast
are available at hobby and specialty retailers as well as the MLB
Shop at MLB.com.
Racing Champions (www.rcertl.com) is a leading producer and marketer
of innovative collectibles and toys targeted at males of all ages.
The Company's diverse product offering includes scaled die-cast
replicas of John Deere agricultural equipment and NASCAR stock cars,
other licensed vehicle replicas, pre-teen toys, sports trading cards,
racing apparel and souvenirs, and collectible figures. These products
are sold under the Company's market-focused brand names, including
Racing Champions®, Ertl®, Ertl Collectibles®, American
Muscle™, AMT®, W. Britain®, Press Pass® and JoyRide
Studios™. The Company reinforces its brands and enhances the
authenticity of our products by linking them with highly recognized
licensed properties including NASCAR, NHRA, John Deere, Case IH,
Polaris, Honda, Caterpillar, Ford, GM, Chrysler, Texaco, Warner
Brothers, Gullane Entertainment, Nintendo, Sega and Electronic Arts.
The Company's products are marketed through multiple channels of
distribution, including mass retailers and specialty and hobby wholesalers
and retailers, OEM dealers and to corporate accounts for promotional
purposes. The Company sells through more than 20,000 retail outlets
located in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
