TJ Gulla, Shaun Crapo Earn Victories, Levi LaVallee on Podium Twice
MEDINA, MN (February 16, 2009) - Polaris snocross racers won both Pro races, earned four of six Pro-class podium spots and elevated themselves toward the top of the points standings with their strong performances in ISOC AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series racing February 14 in Farmington, New York.
Racing on Polaris IQ® Race Sleds, TJ Gulla (Hentges Racing) won the Pro Open class at Farmington, Shaun Crapo (Amsoil/US Air Force) won Pro Super Stock and Levi LaVallee (Hentges Racing) finished third in both Pro classes.
The victory put Crapo in fifth place in Super Stock points, and Gulla is in second in Open points. Gulla and LaVallee are tied with 142 points in Pro Open - six points behind the leader - but Gulla's New York win gives him the tie-breaker advantage. In the Pro Super Stock point standings, LaVallee is in second position.
Pro Open: Dominating Polaris Performance
In Pro Open, Polaris racers earned two podium positions and five spots in the top 10 at Farmington. Gulla picked up his first win of the season and LaVallee finished third, followed by: Rock Maple Racing star Danny Poirier (Hulten's Speed Sport) in eighth, Crapo in ninth, Matt Judnick (Judnick Motorsports) in 10th and New York native Brett Bender (Hentges Racing) in 11th.
In Pro Open points there are five Polaris racers are among the top nine spots, and five among the top 10 positions. Polaris racers currently in the top 10 for Pro Open points are: Gulla in second; LaVallee in third; Bender in seventh; Matt Judnick (Judnick Motorsports) in eighth; and Crapo in ninth.
Pro Super Stock: Crapo Gets First Win of Season
In the Pro Super Stock final, Gulla was clearly the fastest racer on the track and he and Crapo were running away from the field until just three laps remained. That's when Gulla got caught up in lapped traffic and got passed by a host of racers.
Crapo got through the traffic and raced away for the victory, his first of the season, while Gulla came home in 12th. Polaris racers who joined Crapo in the top 10 in Pro Super Stock included: LaVallee in third, Bender in fifth, Poirier in sixth, Bobby LePage (Hentges Racing) in eighth and Andrew Johnstad (Avalanche Racing) in ninth.
In the Pro Stock point standings, LaVallee is in second, Crapo is fifth, Gulla is sixth, and in eighth through 11th are: Bender, DJ Eckstrom (Amsoil/US Air Force), LePage and Matt Judnick (Judnick Motorsports), respectively.
Jr. & Semi-Pro: James Johnstad Rolls in Juniors
In Semi-Pro classes, Derek Ellis (Avalanche Racing) finished third in Super Stock and fourth in Open. In the Semi-Pro points standings, Ellis is fifth in Super Stock points and seventh in Open, while Bobby LePage (Hentges Racing) is fourth in Open points.
In the Junior classes, James Johnstad (Avalanche Race Team) took first in both Jr. 16-17 and Jr. 14-15, and Jake Scott (Hulten's Speed Sports) took second in Jr. 14-15. Johnstad has a significant lead in points in both Junior classes. Polaris racer Brett Nastala (Redline Racing) is third in Jr. 16-17 points, and Colton Lampi (Lampiracing) is fourth in Jr. 14-15 points.
The next event on the ISOC AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series schedule is February 20-22 in Valcourt, Quebec.
About Polaris
With annual 2008 sales of $1.9 billion, Polaris designs, engineers, manufactures and markets off-road vehicles (ORVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and 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 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 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.
