Rusty's 'Last Call' to include new die-cast

The biggest news to hit the racing world this week is the impending retirement of former NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Rusty Wallace at the conclusion of the 2005 racing campaign. Wallace's farewell tour, dubbed "Rusty's Last Call," will include an elaborate collectible and souvenir platform that will most likely cover everything from die-cast to apparel and just about everything in between.

Much to his credit, Wallace has always been a driver who took his collectibles program very seriously. Since the collectibles craze hit its stride in the late 1980s, he has been personally proactive in the development of products bearing his name and likeness.

"I'm really involved in it," he said in an interview last year. "My fans are really important to me. They pump me up. The way I see it, if my fans are going to spend their hard earned money on my collectibles and souvenirs, I owe it to them to make sure that they have really neat, innovative, quality products that they can be proud of. I want them to have the best available. That's why I'm personally involved with that whole deal, and why I only want the best people in the business producing my collectibles. I owe it to the fans."

At the press conference announcing his decision to step down, Wallace unveiled the official "Last Call" logo, designed by Action Performance, and a No. 2 Miller Lite/Last Call Dodge show car that features many of the milestones from his storied NASCAR Cup Series racing career.

Among the accomplishments noted on the car:

SUPERSTORE •   Rusty Wallace Last Call gear!

The Last Call show car has been replicated in die-cast by Action -- the exclusive source for Rusty Wallace die-cast -- and is offered through all of the company's standard distribution channels, which includes the NASCAR.com SuperStore.

"Rusty Wallace has been an important part of Action Performance Companies almost since our company began, as he was the first NASCAR driver to sign a license agreement with me in 1989," explained Fred Wagenhals, Action's chairman, president and CEO.

"While I applaud his career success and want to see him be successful in all of his ventures beyond the driver's seat, it will be difficult knowing that 2005 is his 'Last Call' on the racetrack. Rusty embodies all of the things that you want to see in your favorite NASCAR driver: dedication, intensity, color and character. He also is a friend, and I wish him and his family only the very best."

Chase Authentics, the apparel arm of the Action conglomerate has kicked off Rusty's Last Call with a cap and tee shirt bearing the Last Call logo. The NASCAR.com SuperStore has just added both of those items to its inventory.

The King himself, Richard Petty, was the first driver to build an expansive collectibles program around his retirement back in 1992. At the time, the Richard Petty Farewell Tour was the biggest souvenir bonanza ever. In the years since, retirement-themed merchandising programs have also been implemented by such luminaries as Harry Gant and Darrell Waltrip.

Stay tuned to NASCAR.COM Collectibles in the coming months for regular updates on Rusty's Last Call merchandise, as well as a feature article looking back on some of the best Rusty Wallace collectibles from years gone by.