1998 The Joker Kenny Irwin 1:24 Action Platinum Series Car

Action Racing Collectables' 1998 Platinum Series 1:24 die-cast of Kenny Irwin's Joker car is one of the sharper crossover pieces from that late-90s window when NASCAR licensing and DC Comics branding were running in the same lane. The Platinum Series designation mattered: ARC reserved it for the higher-detail runs with opening hoods, interior detail work, and tighter paint tolerances than the standard production line. This is not a grocery-store blister pack. It is a collector-grade 1:24 sitting at one piece.

Kenny Irwin Jr. was one of NASCAR's rising names in 1998, running the No. 28 for Robert Yates Racing and turning heads as a legitimate contender in an era when Earnhardt, Gordon, and Jarrett were defining the Cup Series conversation. The Joker paint scheme came out of a DC Comics promotional push that had Warner Bros. properties showing up on hoods across the NASCAR paddock in the late 90s. Batman villains on stock cars was a short-lived but real chapter of NASCAR's peak mainstream crossover period. 1998 in particular was dense with licensed schemes: toy companies, film studios, and comics publishers all saw the 28-car as real estate. ARC's Platinum die-casts from this run were built to sit on a collector shelf, not go around a track, and the level of detail on the livery reflects that intent. The Joker face graphics on these were applied with the expectation that someone was going to look at them under good light.

This copy is pre-owned, so inspect the photos for any shelf wear on the chassis corners or base plate edge. The roof and hood graphics are where the Joker livery is most legible on this car, and that is where you want to confirm paint integrity before buying. The box, if present, carries the ARC Platinum Series markings that distinguish this from the standard line. Check the axle posts on the undercarriage, which on these Platinum Series pieces are usually diecast metal rather than plastic, and that detail alone tells you which tier you are holding.

OWNER VERIFY: Confirm ARC Platinum Series designation on box or base plate, and verify the No. 28 / Kenny Irwin Jr. driver attribution on the decal or documentation.