Minneapolis, February 8, 2010 - Polaris comes into the 2010 race season with teams competing in the Grand National Cross Country series (GNCC), World Off Road Championship series (WORCS), ATVA Motocross National (AMA), Best in the Desert (BITD), TORC, MS4X, LUCAS and Mud racing. Polaris also will continue to offer their race contingency program.
"We continue to be committed to ATV and Side-by-Side racing and are excited for another successful year," said Eric Nault, Product and Race Manager for Polaris' ORV Division. "2009 was a great year for us with RANGER RZR's continued racing successes, new milestones with the Outlaw 450 MXR and a solid finish for the Sportsman XP in its first full year of racing. We look to continue the momentum into 2010."
Rath Racing
Rath Racing is back on board for 2010 to race the Sportsman 850 XP with Power Steering in GNCC and the Outlaw 450 MXR in AMA. Daryl Rath will be vying for the top of the "4x4 Open" class with his Sportsman 850 XP with Power Steering. Rath finished the 2009 season in third place for the class in the Sportsman XP's first full race year and with a more fine-tuned vehicle for 2010, Rath will be on the throttle for No.1. Rath Racer Casey Martin will race the Outlaw 450 MXR in the "450 Pro-Am" class for AMA. After a mid-year switch to the Outlaw 450 MXR and a podium finish at Loretta Lynn's, Martin looks forward to a full race year on the quad with continued success.
Yokley Racing
Polaris will continue to support the Yokley Racing/National Guard race team for 2010. Multi-time Pro and Pro Production GNCC Winner, William Yokley started racing the Polaris RANGER RZR during the 2008 GNCC season and took the Side-by-Side title. In 2009 he finished Fourth in the "Open Modified" class and looks to be back on top for 2010.Yokley's teammate, Jarrod McClure, will race the Outlaw 450 MXR in the GNCC "Pro 450 XCI" class and "450 Pro ATV Class" in select WORCS events.
Jagged X
Jagged X and the No. 1919 RANGER RZR look for their fourth Best in the Desert Championship in 2010. The team hit the podium in five of seven races, with three wins and two second places in 2009 and Brandon Schueler, Chad Riccio and Mike West will be back looking for another successful race season.
Walker Evans
RJ Anderson will be back to conquer the TORC, MS4X and LUCAS series with his Walker Evans RANGER RZR. Anderson finished the 2009 season first overall in the MS4X series and second overall in TORC1s UTV standings.
Highlifter
Team Highlifter-Polaris Racing will be muddin' on Polaris once again for 2010. The team will be racing Sportsman 850 XP, Sportsman 550, RANGER XPs and RANGER RZRs. The racers are as follows:
Sportsman 850 XP: Alicia Gorman, Blake Mann, JW Otwell, Maggie Robertson
Sportsman 850 Touring: Blake Mann, JW Otwell
Sportsman 550 XP: Brian Haughton, JW Otwell and Maggie Robertson.
RANGER XP: Scott Smith, Brian Robertson
RANGER RZR S: Blake Mann, Maggie Robertson
RANGER RZR 4: Brian Haughton
Polaris ATV Contingency
Polaris also will continue to offer an ATV race contingency program for all youth and adult classes, in seven ATV racing series, with a total purse of about $405,800. Polaris is offering contingencies in GNCC, WORCS, ATVA-AMA Motocross Nationals, ITP Quad Cross, New England ATV Motocross Series (NEATV), the Heartland Challenge and Canadian Motorsport Racing Club Series (CMRC). Racers must race 2007 or newer quads, and utility classes must be raced on a Sportsman 850 XP or Sportsman 550. More information and complete rules about Polaris' ATV racing contingencies can be found at www.polarisfactoryracing.com
About Polaris
With annual 2009 sales of $1.6 billion, Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and the Polaris RANGER(r), snowmobiles and Victory Motorcycles for recreational and utility use. Polaris is a recognized leader in the snowmobile industry, and one of the largest manufacturers of ORVs 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 cruiser and touring motorcycle marketplace. Polaris also enhances the riding experience with a complete line of Pure Polaris(r) 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