MEDINA, MN (Jan. 16, 2007) – Polaris snocross racer TJ Gulla (Hentges Racing) won Pro Open and finished second in Pro Stock on his IQ® race sleds during a busy weekend of racing at the Polaris BIR Championship January 12-14 in Brainerd, Minnesota. It was a doubleheader weekend for Pro racers, as they ran finals on Saturday and Sunday, and Polaris racers used the opportunity to earn valuable points and tune up for the upcoming Winter X Games.
Other Polaris racers who won during the weekend were Brett Bender (Hentges Racing), who won Semi-Pro Open, and Derek Ellis (Rocky Mountain Motorsports), who won every heat and took the Sport Open title.
“We had some guys who ran well and we were happy to earn some points to put several of our racers right in the middle of the points races,” said Polaris Racing Manager Tom Rager, Sr. “We hope to use the busy weekend as a springboard toward strong finishes at the X Games.”
PRO RACERS CROWD THE TOP 10
Polaris Pro racers earned numerous top 10 finishes throughout the weekend. In Saturday’s racing, Gulla took first in Pro Open as four Polaris racers finished among the top eight. Gulla’s Hentges Racing teammate Levi LaVallee finished third, Mike Schultz (Avalanche Racing) took seventh and Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports) finished eighth. In Pro Stock on Saturday, Gulla finished second, Martin took fifth, Schultz was seventh and Shaun Crapo (Scheuring Speed Sports) was ninth.
On Sunday, Crapo led the way in Pro Open with a second-place followed by Gulla in fourth, Schultz in fifth and LaVallee in eighth. In Pro Stock, three Polaris racers finished among the top seven, led by Schultz in fourth. Gulla was sixth and Martin was right behind in seventh.
POLARIS RACERS DOMINATE SEMI-PRO OPEN
Brett Bender (Hentges Racing) won the weekend’s Semi-Pro Open title. He finished second in the first round, then won the next two rounds to win the class. Polaris racer Dylan Martin (Judnick Motorsports) was fourth, Bobby LePage (Hentges Racing) was sixth, Andrew Johnstad (Avalanche Racing) finished ninth and Chris Kafka (Hentges Racing) was 10th, giving Polaris the most top 10 finishers of any brand. In Semi-Pro Stock, Bender (eighth) and LePage (ninth) once again earned top 10 spots.
POLARIS RACERS SWEEP BOTH SPORT CLASSES
In Sport Open, Polaris racer Derek Ellis (Rocky Mountain Motorsports) finished first every time he took to the track to win the class title. Other Polaris racers who finished in the top 10 were Rylie Hogue (Rocky Mountain Motorsports) in fifth, Kurt Heiser in sixth, Jon Hoese in eighth and Joseph Fallen in 10th. Joseph Fallen won the Sport Stock class while Matt Bristow (Bristow Racing) finished fifth, Jon Hoese was seventh and Ryan Carey took eighth.
DELENE DIPPEL IS THIRD IN PRO WOMEN
Polaris racer Delene Dippel had a strong second moto to finish third in Pro Women, while Christina Herheim was ninth and Diedra Dippel was 10th and Kylie Abrahamson ran 13th.
SOLID POSITIONS IN WPSA POINTS
Following the Brainerd race, Polaris racers had four of the top 10 positions in Pro Open and Pro Stock points. In Pro Open points, the Polaris positions include: 2. Ross Martin; 3. Levi LaVallee; 4. TJ Gulla; 6. Shaun Crapo; and 12. Mike Schultz.
In Pro Stock, the Polaris positions are as follows: 1. Ross Martin; 3. Mike Schultz; 5. TJ Gulla; 10. Levi LaVallee; and 11. Shaun Crapo.
Polaris racers in the Semi-Pro Open points chase include: 1. Brett Bender; 4. Andrew Johnstad; 5. Dylan Martin; and 10. Bobby LePage. In Semi-Pro Stock, their positions are: 3. Brett Bender; 4. Chris Kafka; and 6. Andrew Johnstad.
In Pro Women points, Kylie Abrahamson is third, Delene Dippel is sixth and Diedra Dippel is 10th.
WINTER X GAMES COMING UP
Next up for selected Pro and Semi-Pro racers are the ESPN Winter X Games, January 25-28 in Aspen, Colorado. This one-class event is a non-points race, but it’s among the most high-profile events on the schedule. The next WPSA points race will an Eastern National at Verona, New York, February 10-11.
About Polaris
With annual 2005 sales of $1.9 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.
