Top Drivers Add Their Signatures to Press Pass® Optima Race-Used Lugnut Cards

Septmeber 24, 2002 Charlotte, N.C - There is one characteristic that sets Press Pass Optima 2002 apart from all other 2002 Press Pass racing products; it is the first and only product of the year to feature autographed race-used memorabilia cards. The only other time that Press Pass included autographed race-used memorabilia in a product was in Press Pass VIP 1999, when the company reissued its 1997 Precious Metal sheet metal cards with gold signatures. For the first time ever, there will be extremely rare Autographed Race-Used Lugnuts for collectors to chase in Press Pass Optima 2002.

This year's NASCAR Winston Cup title chase has been one of the closest battles in NASCAR history. Press Pass Optima 2002 features Autographed Race-Used Lugnut cards from several of the top drivers in contention for the championship including Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johonson. All Autographed Race-Used Lugnut cards are numbered to each driver's car door number (hobby only).

In addition to the Autographed Race-Used Lugnut cards, Press Pass Optima 2002 offers one of the largest memorabilia card line-ups with 18 regular Race-Used Lugnut drivers to collect. A cutting edge card design allows the lugnut slice to be viewed from both the front and the back of the card. There are two distinct versions to collect. The hobby version features an image of the driver (1:160 packs) and the retail version features an image of the car (1:400 packs).

"For most of the driver's featured in Autographed Race-Used Lugnuts, this is their first ever autographed memorabilia card," explained Tom Farrell, Director of Marketing for Press Pass, a division of Racing Champions (NASDAQ: RACN). "With production limited to each driver's door number, Autographed Race-Used Lugnuts should be one of the most coveted and collectible inserts this year."

The Press Pass Signings program continues in Press Pass Optima 2002 and features autographs from dozens of NASCAR drivers and legends (1:96 hobby packs and 1:240 retail packs). Press Pass Optima 2002 consists of a 50-card base set, several new inserts, and Fan Favorite which is a 27-card "set-within-a-set", that features information on each driver's fan club . Product release is slated for October 15th.

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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