Polaris Racers Head to X Games With Solid Footing in Points Races
MEDINA, MN (Jan. 29, 2008) – Polaris snocross racers left wintry West Yellowstone, Montana, hungry for more WPSA wins, but pleased to be standing strong in the season points races. Polaris racers headed to the non-points Winter X Games with the points lead in three of four Pro and Semi-Pro classes as well as in Pro Women’s Super Stock.
Sunday’s weather at West Yellowstone was windy, snowy and freezing cold, reducing visibility to the point where the races were postponed for a day. Monday was less snowy but still cold, and the Polaris racers made the best of the conditions on their IQ® Race Sleds.
Andrew Johnstad (Avalanche Racing ) won Semi-Pro Super Stock and Kylie Abrahamson (Avalanche Racing ) won Pro Women Super Stock, victories that helped both of them strengthen their points leads. Abrahamson had led by just 1 point headed to “West,” but left with an 11-point edge.
Pro Open: Gulla Leads in Points
With his second-place finish on Monday, TJ Gulla (Hentges Racing) departed West with the lead in Pro Open points, followed by Ross Martin (Judnick Motorsports), Dennis Eckstrom (Scheuring Speed Sports) and Levi LaVallee (Hentges Racing) standing 2-3-4, respectively. With Shaun Crapo (Scheuring Speed Sports) in ninth, Polaris has five of the top nine places in Pro Open points.
Pro Super Stock: Eckstrom is Tops in Standings
Rebounding strongly from what had been an off-year for him last winter, Eckstrom finished third in Pro Super Stock at West and is currently second in class points. Ross Martin is third in points and Mike Schultz (Avalanche Racing) is fourth. Gulla (sixth), Shaun Crapo (seventh) and LaVallee (eighth) give Polaris six of the top eight places in the points race.
Semi-Pro Open: LePage Holds Points Lead
In a rare occurrence, a Polaris racer did not win the class on the weekend, but with a fifth-place finish, Bobby LePage (Hentges Racing) retained his lead in the points race, followed by Chris Kafka (Hentges Racing) and Andrew Johnstad (Avalanche Racing) in second and third, respectively. Dylan Martin (Judnick Motorsports) is fifth, giving Polaris four of the top five in points.
Semi-Pro Super Stock: Johnstad Wins, Leads
With his Semi-Pro Super Stock win at West, Andrew Johnstad solidified his points lead in the class. Brett Bender (Hentges Racing) is third and Chris Kafka is fourth in points. Mike Bauer in sixth, LePage (seventh) and Dylan Martin in ninth give Polaris six of the top nine spots in class points.
James Johnstad, Trevor Leighton Shine
James Johnstad (Avalanche Racing) and Trevor Leighton were busy and successful at West. Johnstad won the Sport Stock, Junior 16-17 and Junior 14-15 classes, while Leighton finished 3-2-2 in those classes, respectively. Derek Ellis won Sport Super Stock 1 and Braxton Call won both Junior 8-10 (300cc) and 120 Champ 6-12.
Many of the WPSA racers – including several of the Polaris Pro and Semi-Pro racers, will head to Aspen for the ESPN Winter X Games, which run January 24-27. Check local listings for the snowmobile competition broadcast schedule.
About Polaris
With annual 2006 sales of $1.7 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 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 and touring 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 are available from authorized Polaris dealers or anytime from the Polaris homepage at www.polarisindustries.com.
