PUZZLED? Press Pass® Puts It All Together In Stealth 2002

July 15, 2002 - Charlotte, NC - Press Pass continues the tradition of offering collectors the very best in NASCAR trading cards by including an interactive base card design along with unique card production technology in Press Pass Stealth 2002.

The 72-card base set will feature trios of top drivers and their cars. When sleeved in plastic sheets, the card backs form an oversized image of the team's transporter.

"The puzzle backs on the base cards, which we introduced in 1998 with the premiere issue of Stealth, have become a popular part of the Stealth identity," explained Mandy Kirkland, Product Manager for Press Pass, a division of Racing Champions (NASDAQ: RACN). "The Press Pass product team always looks forward to developing and engineering Stealth. We hope that collectors have as much fun putting this set together as we have had creating it."

Press Pass Stealth 2002 showcases Race-Used Glove cards (1:480) featuring NASCAR Winston Cup's top drivers, continuing the event-used memorabilia card tradition which was first pioneered at Press Pass in 1996.

The award-winning year-long Press Pass Signings program which began with Press Pass Premium in April continues in Stealth with three distinct levels of autographs. Collectors can expect to find autographs of top drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman, and Jimmie Johnson. Press Pass Signings are available in three versions: Silver Signings found in both hobby and retail, plastic TRANS Signings sequentially numbered to 100 (hobby and retail), and Gold Signings, hobby only and sequentially numbered to 50.

Continuing in Press Pass Steatlh is the Year-Long Total Memorabilia Program offering collectors Double Burner (hobby only) and Triple Burner (retail only) multi-piece memorabilia cards featuring race-used memorabilia from Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Stewart, and all the other superstars of NASCAR.

Inserts include the all-foil, foil stamped progressive insert, Behind The Numbers (1:48 to 1:240 packs); Profile, a plastic, foil stamped insert (1:24 packs); Fusion, a holofoil insert that illustrates the training that is endured for NASCAR Winston Cup's best (1:12 packs); EFX, an all-foil insert that explains how twelve drivers keep their cool in the seasons hottest months. Collectors can look for the Dale Earnhardt "Quotes" insert on mirror foil-board (1:72) plus a special hobby only holo-foil version sequentially numbered to 250. Lap Leader, the series' set-within-a-set, will feature the top 27 drivers and their cars as a special die-cut card that provides an overview of the driver's performance at the halfway point (1:1). This unique set of cards can also be found in a plastic version (1:8).

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.