Press Pass® Racing Celebrates 10th Anniversary in 2003

December 3, 2002 - Charlotte, NC - 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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