Polaris Racing Teams Locked and Loaded For 2006
MEDINA, MN (September 9, 2005) – “Can you do it again? – If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that lately, I’d be a millionaire by now,” chuckled Polaris Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr., referring to the industry-wide wonder if Polaris Racing will be able to repeat its year-end results of 4 WSA Championships and 3 International snocross titles last season. “At the end of last season, we celebrated for about a week and started working towards this year,” said Rager, Sr. “Last year was then, this is now and we're going to attack this year one race at a time – one weekend at a time."
For 2006, Polaris racing is looking stronger than ever. Key racers that were rising stars last year are back – this year as superstars with some of them moving up to more prominent classes. New teams have joined an already dominant force of riders and high profile sponsors such as DuPont have picked Polaris as the team of choice to put their money on moving forward.
“Because our team is healthy and we did not lose any key people, I feel our depth is considerably better than last year,” said Rager, Sr. “The success we enjoyed in 2005 is a great thing going into this year because success typically breeds success.” He added, “The other important thing is the young talent that performed so well in the ’05 race season is moving up for the ’06 season which will make us even deeper.”
Returning Racers and Teams Give Polaris the Edge and Depth In 2006
“If it works, don’t fix it” is clearly the approach of a majority of the Polaris race teams in 2006, with a majority of them returning to do battle on a variety of circuits. Here is a detailed look at who’s back and the team they will be affiliated with:
2006 KEY POLARIS WSA NATIONAL RACERS AND TEAMS
Team Dupont (Judnick Motorsports)
Matt Judnick
Ross Martin
Dylan Martin |
Team Industries
TJ Gulla
Levi LaVallee
Brett Bender |
Team Amsoil
Carl Schubitzke
DJ Eckstrom |
Team Hentges
Niko Korsumaki
Justin Tate
Andrew Johnstad
Bobby LaPage
Johnny Hentges |
Team Kafka
Chris Kafka |
Team Strandland
Steve Strandland
Kyle Strandland |
Team Graeber
Robert Graeber |
Team Bristow
Matt Bristow |
2006 KEY POLARIS WSA REGIONAL & NATIONAL RACERS AND TEAMS
Team Woodys
Rick Tiede |
Team Carey
Ryan Carey |
2006 KEY POLARIS MOUNTAIN WEST RACERS AND TEAMS
Team Ellis
Derek Ellis
Nicole Ellis |
Team Hold Fast Racing
Liv Dalebout
Parker Brown
Shiliah Dalebout |
Team Durmas
Eben Abshire |
Team Tobin
Tyler Tobin |
Team Gould
Ryan Gould |
2006 KEY POLARIS ROCK MAPLE RACERS AND TEAMS
Team Chico
Chris Chico |
Team Tech Lab Racing
Matt Lucinzki
Ken Murrphy |
Team Southside
Dale Petrus
Art Babcock
Jason Stone
Darren Mees
Bruce Gaspardi
Nick Kelly |
Team Loschiavo
Evan Loschiavo
Nathan Loschiavo |
Key Polaris Racers Move Up
Ross Martin, last year’s two-time Semi-Pro Champion surprised everyone at season-end by moving up to Pro for the final event and winning that race too in convincing fashion. This year, it’s no surprise that this superstar is taking his place in the Pro Class full-time.
Other returning Polaris racers that are on the move include Parker Brown, who will join Ross Martin in a move from Semi-Pro to Pro and Andrew Johnstad, moving from Sport to Semi-Pro.
New Teams Make a Pool of Dominant Polaris Racers Even Deeper
First, is an all-new WSA National Team called Team Avalanche with Mike Shultz competing in the Pro Class and Mike Bell and David Glefke set to take on the Sport class. Next, Polaris will be adding yet another female rider to the growing women’s class with Team Abrahamson. Kylie Abrahamson has her sights set on the Pro Women class, while rising star Brett Abrahamson has made the move from Arctic Cat to Polaris and will be making his home in Semi-Pro. Team Traynor is another new Polaris team, with Patrick Traynor making the move from Ski-Doo to Polaris and will do battle in the very competitive Semi-Pro Class.
Keep Up With Polaris Racing All Season-Long on the Web
All season long, keep up to speed with the 2006 Polaris Race Team on the web. Direct your browser to www.polarisindustries.com to find in-depth racer bios, up-to-date race results, photos galore, race schedules, the latest Polaris Racing gear and much more.
About Polaris
With annual 2004 sales of $1.8 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 and Pacific 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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