Nascar's Rusty Wallace & NHRA's John Force Deliver Birthday Gifts to the King of Rock and Roll; Motorsports Champions Present Elvis-Themed Race Cars to Graceland Museum

Business Wire, Dec 29, 1998

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(SportsWire)--Dec. 29, 1998--Action Performance Companies Inc. (Nasdaq NM:ACTN) and Elvis Presley Enterprises (EPE) Tuesday announced that two of motorsports' most respected champions, NASCAR's Rusty Wallace and NHRA's John Force, will join in this year's festivities at the annual celebration honoring the memory of Elvis Presley, on what would have been the legendary rocker's 64th birthday.

Bearing gifts too big to wrap, the drivers will present their Elvis-themed race cars to the Elvis Presley Automobile Museum at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 inside the museum located in the Graceland Visitor's Plaza, across the street from Graceland Mansion in Memphis. The drivers will give interviews to the media following the ceremony.

Wallace's Miller Lite Ford Taurus and Force's Castrol Mustang Funny Car, made their respective debuts earlier this year in the NASCAR Las Vegas 400 Winston Cup race on March 1 and in the NHRA 2nd Annual Lone Star Nationals in Dallas, on May 3.

The special paint schemes were designed by Action Performance as part of a business alliance between Action, EPE, Miller Brewing Co. and Castrol, involving collectible and merchandising programs to commemorate NASCAR's 50th anniversary and to promote motorsports enthusiasm worldwide.

Said Tod Wagenhals, Action executive vice president, "Action is honored to join Rusty and John in making this special dedication to Graceland. Our birthday gift to this great legend is to honor and celebrate all of his great contributions to the music industry and his love for cars and racing."

Said Jack Soden, EPE chief executive officer, "This car museum exists for one reason; Elvis Presley loved cars. He loved to drive them, he loved to give them as gifts and he loved to collect them. He even enjoyed playing a race car driver in the movies. He would be thrilled to have these great cars on display here. On behalf of EPE, it has been great working with Rusty, John, Tod and all of the Action team, and we're thankful for these exciting vehicles."

Memphis-based Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc., with additional offices in Los Angeles, manages the estate of Elvis Presley. In addition to the famous Graceland estate, EPE is aggressively involved in a worldwide licensing program, including merchandising, music publishing, television, film, video and creative projects. It also is the parent entity of Elvis Presley's - Memphis, L.L.C., the division formed to create and operate Elvis Presley's Memphis restaurant venues around the world.

Action Performance Companies Inc. is a worldwide leader in the design, marketing, and distribution of licensed motorsports merchandise. Its products include a broad range of motorsports-related die-cast car replica collectibles, apparel, souvenirs, and other memorabilia.

The company markets and distributes its products through a variety of channels, including the 153,000-member Racing Collectables Club of America (RCCA), trackside at racing events, mass retail department stores, and a worldwide network of wholesale distributors and specialty dealers.