Press
Pass® Racing Celebrates 10th Anniversary in 2003
November
4, 2002 Charlotte, N.C - Press Pass will mark its 10th anniversary
in racing trading cards with more memorabilia, more autographs,
a year-long Dale Earnhardt retrospective, and more special promotions
than ever. Since the inaugural release in 1993, Press Pass has
introduced numerous innovations to collectors including the trading
card industry's first ever event-used memorabilia cards (1996
Press Pass Racing) and multi-piece memorabilia cards (1997 Press
Pass Premium Racing).
For 2003, Press Pass drops the green flag on a special 10th Anniversary
logo and several new promotions. "We are excited about our
10th anniversary and have many fun and collectible surprises in
store for collectors throughout 2003," explained Tom Farrell,
Director of Marketing for Press Pass, a division of Racing Champions
(NASDAQ: RACN).
Kicking off in Press Pass 2003 in December is a new year-long
autographed race-used memorabilia program. Autographed Burning
Rubber race-used tire cards are featured in the first release.
Other new features in the Press Pass 2003 base brand include special
tie-ins with the Richard Petty Driving Experience, Winston Cup
Scene magazine, and Sam Bass Galleries.
Press Pass pays tribute to Dale Earnhardt, Sr. with a special
art card series from renowned NASCAR artist Sam Bass in Press
Pass 2003 as well as an online contest where collectors vote for
their favorite Press Pass Dale Earnhardt cards of all time. From
December 1-31, collectors can vote online at nascar.com, beckett.com,
or the Press Pass/Racing Champions website (www.rcertl.com) and
be eligible for special prizes. The "Top 100" Dale Earnhardt
Press Pass cards will be featured in a year-long tribute beginning
with the Press Pass Eclipse brand in March.
In addition to the above promotions, Press Pass plans to offer
expanded memorabilia programs across several brands. New technologies
and deeper rosters are planned. The 10th Anniversary festivities
begin on December 10th with the release of Press Pass 2003.
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.
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