Robby Gordon to Race for FDNY and Special Olympics at Watkins Glen

PHOENIX (May 6, 2003) -- When NASCAR’s fleet of stock car drivers descend on Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International for their turn on the 2.45-mile road course on Aug. 10, 2003, the challenging event in New York will be especially noteworthy for Robby Gordon and the No. 31 Cingular Wireless team.

Gordon, Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and the No. 31 race team will field a race car lauding some everyday heroes -- New York City Fire Department (FDNY) personnel and Special Olympics athletes. Gordon’s No. 31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet Monte Carlo will incorporate an FDNY/Special Olympics paint scheme, designed to celebrate each organization’s commitment to service and personal heroics. For years, FDNY and Cingular Wireless have been ardent supporters of the Special Olympics, which promotes training and athletic competition in a variety of sports for individuals with mental retardation. Special Olympics provides opportunities for participants to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy by sharing their athletic skills in an enriching environment. Members of the FDNY community proudly contribute their time to various Special Olympics events, providing equipment set-up and support at athletic events.

“It’s an honor for me to again be able to help both FDNY and the Special Olympics,” Gordon said. “I’ve seen first-hand the hard work and dedication that the people of both these organizations display in their everyday lives. They’re my heroes.”

Action Performance Companies Inc., the leader in the design, promotion, marketing and distribution of licensed motorsports merchandise, worked with Gordon, Richard Childress Racing and Matrix Executive Management & Consulting LLC, who represents the FDNY in this cross-branding promotion, to design the special edition No. 31 Cingular Wireless/FDNY/Special Olympics Chevrolet.

“NASCAR’s annual Winston Cup outing in New York always is a prominent event,” said Fred Wagenhals, chairman, president and CEO of Action. “The Watkins Glen road course is a demanding challenge for even the most experienced stock car drivers and crew chiefs. Most of all, the Watkins Glen road course provides a showcase of skill. Now, Watkins Glen also will be a place where those of us in the motorsports community can show our appreciation for the skill, bravery and dedication that members of the New York Fire Department and the participants in Special Olympics bring to their positions every day.”

About Action Performance Companies:

Action Performance Companies Inc. (NYSE: ATN) is the leader in the design, promotion, marketing and distribution of licensed motorsports merchandise. The Company’s products include a broad range of motorsports-related die-cast replica collectibles, apparel, souvenirs and other sports-inspired memorabilia. Action Performance markets and distributes products through a variety of channels including the Action Racing Collectables network of wholesale distributors, the Racing Collectables Club of America, QVC, goracing.com, trackside at racing events, direct corporate promotions, mass retail and department stores, specialty dealers and select online retailers. For more information about Action Performance and its many subsidiaries, please visit the company’s corporate Web site at www.action-performance.com.

About Matrix Executive Management & Consulting LLC:

Matrix Executive Management & Consulting LLC, a leader in licensed decorated apparel for name brands for over 25 years, holds the exclusive apparel license for the FDNY. Over the past two years, Matrix Executive Management has taken hold of the FDNY brand, building it up to the national level as it stands today. Distribution into mass merchandising channels combined with contributing much-needed funds to FDNY and the Fire Safety Education Fund. By focusing its licensing efforts on America’s Real Heroes, Matrix Executive Management has landed top licenses including the FDNY, NYPD, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Marines. For more information, call (505) 345-9999 or visit our Web site at www.americasrealheros.com.

About Special Olympics:
Special Olympics is an international program of year-round Olympic-type sports training and athletic competition for more than a million children and adults with mental retardation. The organization provides opportunities for participants to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

All Special Olympics participants adhere to their oath: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

About the FDNY Fire Safety Education Fund:

The FDNY Fire Safety Education Fund is the non-profit foundation of the Fire Department of the City of New York. The Fund supports the FDNY in serving the public and saving lives through fire safety education and other joint projects. The Fund, in conjunction with the Fire Department, created a state of the art learning center in Rockefeller Center in 2001. More the 100,000 School children and visitors from across the city and throughout the nation have visited the Fire Zone experiencing first hand the important lessons of prevention, practice and planning. The Fund is the only organization sanctioned by the Fire Department and the City of New York to market the FDNY logo. A significant portion of the proceeds from the sale of officially licensed FDNY Fire Zone products goes to support the work of the Fund.