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From Dealer Show to Podium in Nine Days
Daryl Rath
shows Sportsman XP is more than just hype- It’s
a performance ATV!
Daryl Rath |
Minneapolis, Aug. 5, 2008-Nine
days ago, Polaris Dealers got a look at the
brand new and 2009 Sportsman 850 XP in Las
Vegas, Nevada. The question was asked is it
truly as good as it looked? Daryl Rath wanted to
answer that question with a podium finish and he
did! Straight from the bright lights of Vegas to
a cross country track in Iowa, Rath put the
machine to work and raced a two hour cross
country endurance race. The IATVHSS Series event
was held at Decatur City, Iowa, on Aug 3.
With an impressive first showing, Rath placed
second in the Pro Utility Class. Rath stated,
“It was important for me to keep the ATV as
stock as possible. I knew this was a contender
right off the showroom floor and I wanted to
prove that.” He added, “It was going to be a
challenge in itself racing a brand-new,
just-released ATV against some highly modified
4x4 race ATVS, but I was up for the challenge.
These guys racing have exhaust systems,
clutching, motor work and suspension on the race
machines, I put on some Dunlop Tires with
Tireballs, and a Precision Steering Stabilizer
and headed for the line.”
With temperatures topping 103 degrees the
heat was going to be as much of a factor as the
track. The course ran through fields, some tight
tree sections and deep creek bed crossings. Rath
and his Sportsman 850 XP found themselves in
second place after a large bottleneck,
continuing to push forward the remainder of the
race and successfully closing the gap on the
leader.
“We have the benchmark we were looking for,
and now know what this ATV can do,” Rath said.
“There were a lot of people behind me in this
program and they’re all very excited to be
involved with such a great new machine.”
The Polaris/Rath/Dunlop
team is sponsored by: Polaris
Industries – Rath Racing – Dunlop Tires – Fox
Shox – FMF Exhausts -DWT Douglas Wheel
Technologies– B&B Racing Engines –Wiseco -
RPM- Fly Racing –Torco Fuels - Dirty Dawg
Performance -Hinson Clutch Components - Xstream
Composites- Precision Racing Products - Amsoil –
WPS – QuadTech – UpDog – Powermadd – Tireballs –
Faast Co. – Scott Goggles – PEP – CV4 – K&N
Filters.
About Polaris
With annual 2007 sales of $1.8 billion, Polaris
designs, engineers, manufactures and markets
all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), including the
Polaris RANGER™, snowmobiles and Victory
motorcycles for recreational and utility use.
Polaris is a recognized leader in the
snowmobile industry, one of the largest
manufacturers of all terrain recreational,
utility and side-by-side vehicles (ATVs) in the
world, and rapidly making impressive in-roads
into the motorcycle cruiser and touring
marketplace under the Victory® brand. The
Victory motorcycle division was established in
1998 representing the first all-new
American-made motorcycle from a major company in
nearly 60 years. 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 are available from authorized
Polaris dealers or anytime from the Polaris
homepage at
www.polarisindustries.com.
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