The New NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Season Heats up as
Press Pass Turns on the Heat with Premium® 2004

April 21, 2004 Charlotte, N.C. - Press Pass Premium 2004 hits the market in April as the first NASCAR trading card set of the year to feature all new 2004 photography of the drivers and teams in their newly adorned NASCAR NEXTEL Cup uniforms.

"Press Pass Premium generates excitement with collectors as it marks the first time this year for collectors to see all new paint schemes, sponsor and driver/team changes, and the newest crop of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup 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."

Premium will include 2004's top contenders for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title. Hot Rookies including Kasey Kahne and Scott Wimmer, are featured in their new NASCAR NEXTEL Cup uniforms for the first time. 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 hot this year with the Signature Series autograph version where top drivers sign hobby versions of the Hot Threads memorabilia cards, creating excitement with these rare memorabilia/autograph cards that are numbered to the selected drivers' door number.

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 for the first time in hobby, Triple Burner and in retail, Double Burner multi-piece memorabilia cards from Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Stewart, and other superstars of NASCAR. NASCAR fans will be excited to learn that Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gold Signings cards can be found in hobby boxes only!

Other inserts include the silver foil, double-etched Asphalt Jungle (1:10); holofoil, foil stamped In The Zone (1:6 packs)-hobby only Elite Edition parallel of In The Zone insert sequentially numbered to 250; Performance Driven is printed on foil and holofoil and is stamped with gold (1:20), and the first installment of a series of six inserts found in our 2004 Press Pass products, Dale Earnhardt Gallery Series printed with silver foil (1:72), paralleled with gold foil (sequentially numbered to 200) hobby only. Foil lovers will not be disappointed when it comes to Premium inserts. Press Pass Premium is scheduled for a April 21st release.

RC2 (www.rc2corp.com) is a leading producer and marketer of high quality, innovative collectibles and toys targeted at adult collectors and children, as measured by sales and brand recognition. The Company's diverse product offerings include: agricultural, construction and outdoor sports vehicle replicas; automotive, high performance and racing vehicle replicas; traditional children's toys; sports trading cards and 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®, Learning Curve, American Muscle™, AMT®, W. Britain®, Press Pass®, Eden™, Feltkids® and JoyRide Studios™. The Company supports its brands and enhances the authenticity of its products by linking them with highly recognized licensed properties from John Deere, Harley-Davidson, HIT Entertainment, Lamaze, Case, Polaris, Honda, Caterpillar, Ford, GM, DaimlerChrysler, NASCAR, NHRA, Texaco, Universal Studios, Warner Brothers, DIC Entertainment, Nintendo, Sega, Electronic Arts and Microsoft. The Company's products are marketed through multiple channels of distribution, including chain retailers, specialty and hobby wholesalers and retailers, OEM dealers, corporate accounts for promotional purposes and direct to consumers. The Company sells through more than 20,000 retail outlets located in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.