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Polaris Announces 2008 Factory Racing
Sponsorships
Minneapolis, January 14,
2008 – Polaris Industries is going full
throttle into the ATV racing season with the
company’s biggest effort, to date, in factory
racing sponsorships. For 2008, Polaris will have
racers competing in the Grand National Cross
Country series (GNCC), World Off Road
Championship series (WORCS), World PowerSports
Association (WPSA) and ITP QuadCross.
“Polaris has tripled our race team for 2008.
We enjoyed many successes in 2007and with the
additional efforts Polaris will be even more
competitive for 2008,” said Justin Burke, race
team coordinator for the ATV Division at
Polaris. “The addition of two new race quads,
the Outlaw 525 S and Outlaw 450 MXR, and the
existing Outlaw 525 IRS, gives our racers the
advantage in the varying terrain of each
series.”
WORCS and ITP QuadCross
Racing Sponsorships
ATV racing legend, Doug Eichner, is back aboard
the Outlaw for the 2008 season as well as the
RANGER RZR. Eichner switched to the Outlaw four
races into the 2007 WORCS season and finished on
the podium six out of the seven races, only six
points behind the first place finisher. He
delivered eight Pro victories overall to Polaris
in 2007 and, in 2008, Eichner will race the
Outlaw 525 IRS, Outlaw 525 S, Outlaw 450 MXR and
the RANGER RZR in the WORCS and ITP QuadCross
Series. Polaris and Eichner also have
teamed with Lonestar Racing to support the west
coast team in their pursuit of WORCS and ITP
Quadcross Championships.
In addition to Team Captain, Doug Eichner,
John Shafe, Angela Butler and Youth Rider Caide
Hunt join the Polaris roster.
Professional Team Rider, John Shafe, will be
doing double-duty racing the Pro class in both
WORCS and the ITP QuadCross Series. Shafe was
fourth overall in the 2007 WORCS series and
finished with a strong third place overall in
the ITP QuadCross Series. Shafe will race
the Outlaw 450 MXR in both series.
With a total of nine championships to her
credit, Angela Butler will direct her
championship riding skills aboard the Outlaw 450
MXR for 2008 in both WORCS and the ITP QuadCross
Series. In 2007, Butler won both the Women’s
ATVA Championship and WPSA Championship.
Youth Team Rider, Caide Hunt will race a pink
Outlaw 90 in the “70-90cc Modified” class in the
WORCS Series. Hunt is a four-time National
Champion winning the 2004 ITP QuadCross
Championship, 2005 WORCS “50cc Stock” and
“Modified” Championship and 2006 WORCS “50cc
Stock” Championship.
The first race of the 2008 WORCS Series is
January 25-27, in Phoenix, AZ, and Round One of
the ITP QuadCross race will be held March 8 – 9,
at Glen Helen Raceway, in San Bernardino, Calif.
GNCC Racing Sponsorships
Up-and-coming “XC2 Pro Am” Rider, Kevin Yoho
joins the Polaris race team for 2008. Yoho
rounded out the 2007 season seventh overall with
four podiums. He will switch between the Outlaw
525 S and 450 MXR depending on race terrain.
Top-Ten, Pro Racer Bryan Baker returns for
the 2008 season. Baker will race the Outlaw 525
S and is looking get back into the Top 10 this
season.
Polaris also re-signed “Super Senior (50+)”
Racer John Gallagher and again will sponsor the
Wilson Racing Team. Gallagher finished top of
his class again in 2007 with six firsts, four
seconds and one third. Wilson Racing consists of
“XC2 Pro Am” Racer Mike Sroka and “Junior A”
Todd Rothermel. Sroka finished first in the
“Junior A” class with six podium finishes in
2007aboard the Outlaw 525 IRS. Rothermel rode
the Polaris Outlaw 500 to the “4-Stroke Stock A”
championship in the 2006 GNCC meet and returns
to the team in 2008. Gallagher, Sroka and
Rothermel will race both the Outlaw 525 S and
IRS.
The first race of the 2008 GNCC series is The
Triton, March 1-4, in Melbourne, Fla.
WPSA Powersports Tour
Racing Sponsorships
With the introduction of the Outlaw 450 MXR
half-way through last WPSA race season, Polaris
goes all out for 2008’s season. H-Bomb is back
on their Polaris 450s racing the Pro Class with
Dana Creech and Jason Luburgh.
An ATV icon, Creech became part of an elite
group of riders when he appeared in Huevos 3 in
1999. He has competed in WPSA, the Score
International Series and the GNC ATV series.
H-Bomb Racer, Jason Luburgh made his Pro debut
in ATVA in 2001 and has several Top 10 finishes
in WPSA.
Polaris also signed Rath Racing to race in
various series. Daryl Rath will race a Sportsman
in WPSA’s QTC, an Outlaw 525 S in the Super Moto
Series and GNCC, and a RANGER RZR in select Side
by Side events. Rath is a 26-year racing veteran
with four National Championships, two
International Championships, 38 State/District
Championships and the first-ever Quad Terrain
Challenge Championship.
Landon Hurst, Brock Lyons, Cody Anderson and
Jay Corey will hop on the Outlaw 450 for Rath
Racing. Hurst and Lyons will race WPSA’s Pro
Class, and Hurst also will race the Outlaw 525 S
in the Super Moto Series. Anderson will race the
Pro AM Class at WPSA and on his off weekends,
hit the Super Moto and Extreme Dirt Track
series. Corey will race WPSA’s “B Class” on the
Outlaw 450. Corey is the youngest rider on the
roster and brings both MX experience and Cross
Country racing to the team.
The first race of the 2008 WPSA series May
17-18, in Taylorville, Ill.
About Polaris
With annual 2006 sales of $1.7 Billion, Polaris
designs, engineers, manufactures and markets
snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs),
Victory motorcycles and the Polaris RANGER for
recreational and utility use.
Polaris is a recognized leader in the
snowmobile industry; and one of the largest
manufacturers of ATVs in the world. Victory
motorcycles, established in 1998 and
representing the first all-new American-made
motorcycle from a major company in nearly 60
years, are rapidly making impressive in-roads
into the motorcycle cruiser marketplace. Polaris
also enhances the riding experience with a
complete line of Pure Polaris apparel,
accessories and parts, available at Polaris
dealerships.
Polaris Industries Inc. trades on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PII,” and
the Company is included in the S&P Small-Cap 600
stock price index.
Information about the complete line of
Polaris products, apparel and vehicle
accessories is available from authorized Polaris
dealers or anytime from the Polaris homepage at
www.polarisindustries.com.
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