Racing Champions Ertl Expands Board and Announces Changes in its Composition

    GLEN ELLYN, Ill.--June 26, 2002--Racing Champions Ertl Corporation today announced changes regarding its Board of Directors, including expanding its size to eight members from seven. The changes follow the completion in April of a successful secondary offering in which Willis Stein & Partners, L.P., the original private equity investor in Racing Champions Ertl, sold its remaining position in the Company, which they had held since 1996. Leaving the Board are Avy H. Stein and Daniel M. Gill, managing directors of Willis Stein & Partners, L.L.C.
    Bob Dods, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, "Both Avy Stein and Dan Gill skillfully served Racing Champions Ertl during their tenure on our Board of Directors. We thank them for their many contributions and their support over the past six years." Dods added, "We are very excited to add three highly qualified new board members, all of whom have made significant contributions to the success of our Company."
    Joining the Racing Champions Ertl Board of Directors are Paul E. Purcell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Robert W. Baird & Co., Curtis W. Stoelting, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Racing Champions Ertl and Peter J. Henseler, President of Racing Champions Ertl.
    Mr. Purcell, who joined Robert Baird in 1994, has served in a variety of capacities, including Chief Operating Officer of the firm. He is a member of the Baird Financial Corporation and Robert W. Baird Board of Directors. Prior to joining Baird, Mr. Purcell spent 22 years with Kidder, Peabody & Co. where he was a Managing Director and head of the Midwest Investment Banking Group. He has extensive experience originating and directing mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions in a wide variety of industries. Mr. Purcell received a MBA degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.
    Mr. Stoelting has served as Chief Operating Officer of Racing Champions Ertl since October 2000 and as Executive Vice President since July 1998. Mr. Stoelting previously served as Secretary of the Company and as Vice President, Finance and Operations. Prior to joining Racing Champions Ertl in 1994, Mr. Stoelting was with Arthur Andersen LLP for 12 years. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.
    Mr. Henseler has served as President since October 2000 and prior to that time held a variety of sales and marketing responsibilities including Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, a position he assumed in March of 1999. Mr. Henseler joined Racing Champions Ertl in 1996, having previously served as Director of Marketing at McDonald's Corporation for seven years. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in marketing from Xavier University in Cincinnati.

    Racing Champions Ertl (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(R), Ertl(R), Ertl Collectibles(R), American Muscle(TM), AMT(R), W. Britain(R), Press Pass(R) and JoyRide Studios(TM). The Company reinforces its brands and enhances the authenticity of its products by linking them with highly recognized licensed properties including NASCAR, NHRA, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, 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.

    Certain statements contained in this release contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "expect," "intend," "may," "planned," "potential," "should," "will" and "would." Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Such uncertainties and other operational matters are discussed further in the Company's quarterly and annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company's actual results and future developments could differ materially from the results or developments expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to make any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.