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Magnificent 7? Polaris adds young ridersNot only will we be seeing a new IQ-based Polaris sled on the race circuit this year, but we'll also see a mostly new mix of Polaris snocross riders.
"We feel we have turned the corner and that we have the deepest and youngest team in the industry," says Tom Rager Sr., Team Polaris racing manager. "We're expecting great results from our racers this year and we're looking for success from these racers two and three years down the road, too."
Polaris has one completely new team, along with six others that feature mostly new members. Here's who to look for on the new IQ sleds:
• Hentges Racing - This new team will be directed by team manager Todd Wolff and features Pro racers Justin Tate, Brad Pitlik and Semi-Pro racers Jonny Hentges, Nate Hentges and Bobby KePage. Last season, this team rode Ski-Doo sleds. Wolff is best known for his back-to-back I-500 victories and a national snocross title.
• Boss Racing - Canadian based, this team will be directed by Garry Querel and Wayne Ostopowich and will compete on the CSRA circuit. Racers Earl Reimer and Ryan Kenney, who both previously raced on the Ski-Doo Blair Morgan Racing Team, will be competing for Boss this season. Reimer was last season's World Snowmobile Association (WSA) Veteran class snocross champion.
• Western Racers - Veteran Brian Call will oversee the Polaris racers in the West, including Norris Brown, Parker Brown, Shila Dalebout and Liv Dalebout who will compete in snocross on the Rocky Mountain Cross-Country Racing Circuit (RMXCRC). Call also will race on the circuit. Experienced champions Derek and Nicole Ellis also plan to compete on Polaris' snocross team. Derek was the RMXCRC Semi-Pro champion last year, while Nicole won the Pro Women's title. The two also will compete in the Jackson Hole World Championship Hillclimb.
• TEAM Industries Racing - TEAM will be led by returning pro racers TJ Gulla and Levi Lavallee. Lavallee was last season's X-Games hillcross champion. They'll be joined by Brett Bender who will compete as a Semi-Pro.
• Team Amsoil/Scheuring Speedsports - Pro D.J. Eckstrom will be joined by pro Carl Schubitzke on this team, owned by Steve Scheuring. Polaris says this team was deeply involved in the development of this year's 440 IQ sled.
• Judnick Motorsports - Semi-Pro Matt Judnick returns and is joined by Semi-Pro Ross Martin. Martin dominated last season and won the national title in Semi-Pro Stock.
•Tech Lab racing - The team, owned by Tom Anthony, will feature Pro racers Mike Schultz and Aaron Christiansen in the Rock Maple Racing Circuit. Schultz raced Semi-Pro last season and finished second in the Semi-Pro Open points at the WSA National.