Press Pass Premium® Sizzles with ALL-NEW 2003 Photography
of
Top Drivers and Rookies
Charlotte, NC. (April 22, 2003) -As the NASCAR Winston Cup
season heats-up, Press Pass Premium 2003 hits the market in April
as the first NASCAR trading card set of the year to feature all
new 2003 photography of the drivers and teams.
"Press Pass Premium marks the first time for collectors to
see all new paint schemes, sponsor and driver/team changes, and
the newest crop of NWC rookie drivers in our trading cards,"
said Mandy Kirkland, Product Manager for Press Pass, a division
of Racing Champions (NASDAQ: RACN). "Photography from this
set was captured during the Speedweeks activities leading up to
the Daytona 500 in February."
In addition to offering collectors a variety of trading cards of
hot NASCAR Winston Cup rookies such as Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle,
Press Pass continues its dominance in memorabilia cards by showcasing
the sport's top stars with Hot Threads race-used Firesuit cards.
The firesuit card program is even better this year with the all-new
Signature Series autograph version where top drivers sign hobby
and retail versions of the Hot Threads memorabilia cards, creating
excitement and cross-over collecting opportunities in both the hobby
and retail markets.
The popular Press Pass Signings autograph program kicks-off in Premium
with three distinct levels. Continuing in Press Pass Premium is
the Year-Long Total Memorabilia Program offering collectors Double
Burner (hobby only) and Triple Burner (retail only) multi-piece
memorabilia cards from Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Stewart, and other
superstars of NASCAR.
Other inserts include three-tiered red-foil Reflector parallel cards
(Contenders, 1:1 packs; Champs & Challengers, 1:12 packs; Premium
Choice, 1:48 packs); silver foil, double-etched Performance Driven
(1:24); holofoil, foil stamped In The Zone (1:12 packs); and Dale
Earnhardt 10th Anniversary Series printed with silver foil (1:72),
paralleled with gold foil (sequentially numbered to 250) hobby only.
Press Pass Premium is scheduled for a late April release.
Racing Champions Ertl (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 offerings include 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 its products by linking them with highly
recognized licensed properties including NASCAR, NHRA, John Deere,
Harley-Davidson, Case, Polaris, Honda, Caterpillar, Ford, GM, Chrysler,
Texaco, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, Hit 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.
