The fully curated factory program includes an elite management team, crew chiefs and mechanics, supporting three of the sport’s brightest young drivers: Austin Weiland, Brock Heger and Cayden MacCachren
Factory racing program powered by sponsor support from Rockford Fosgate®synchronicitysmProgressive Insurance®GoPro®Fox Racing®Fox Shocks®Polaris Engineering Lubricants, rigid® Industries, BFGoodrich® Method racing tires and wheels®
MINNEAPOLIS, March 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Polaris Off Road, the leader in off-road vehicle innovation, is setting a new standard for off-road racing with the development of a full RZR Factory Racing program and the first race-ready UTV this sport . Piloting three all-new race machines designed by Polaris will be rising off-road stars Austin Weiland, Brock Heger and Cayden MacCachren. The trio of riders is backed by the full power and innovation of Polaris engineering, along with an elite management team and crew comprised of some of the sport’s most proven and successful off-road racing veterans.
Polaris Off Road
The new Polaris Factory Racing program is unprecedented in its comprehensive nature, with a management team, crew chiefs and mechanics. This industry-leading crew has been completely hand-picked by Polaris from the ground up with full hands-on support from Polaris engineering and their development of the purpose-built factory racing UTV. Typically, the term “factory racing program” has been loosely used to describe OEM sponsorships and stock vehicle-oriented support for established independent racing programs with management teams, crew chiefs and pre-existing mechanics.
The new Polaris Factory Racing team will enjoy invaluable sponsorship support from a line-up of major brands that share the same commitment to premium quality and elite performance. Sponsors include Rockford Fosgate, synchronicity, Progressive Insurance and GoPro. Additionally, the team is supported by a line-up of performance brands with a long track record in off-road racing that will provide critical products and technical support, including Fox Racing for vehicle livery and apparel design. the team, Fox Shocks for your industry. leading semi-active Live Valve suspension technology, Polaris Engineered lubricants, rigid lighting, BFGoodrich tires and Method Race wheels.
“Backed by nearly 70 years of innovation, Polaris is not only responsible for literally inventing the side-by-side performance category, but also has a long and storied history of winning at the highest levels of off-road racing , so it just makes sense that we would jumpstart the industry again with the first UTV class factory racing program,” he said. Reid Wilson, Vice President of Polaris Off Road Recreation. “Racing is an integral part of everything we do, driving performance innovations that inspire the products we bring to showrooms; ultimately advancing the industry and advancing the market on the consumer side. We’re absolutely grinding it out – us to showcase Polaris. “Engineering prowess and ingenuity through our new Polaris Factory Racing team.”
While the new RZR racing machine takes center stage, Polaris personally hand-picked its team of highly trained off-road racing specialists and young up-and-coming racing phenoms. Team operations will be done at Vista, California Among the 12 full-time employees of the Polaris Factory Racing team is more than 150 years of combined off-road experience, experience and proven champions.
Engineering: Polaris Off Road
Development of the three purpose-built vehicles was led by Polaris’ Off-Road Racing Technical Director Robert Wilmot, overseeing a team of Polaris off-road engineers for whom racing and racing isn’t just a job, it’s a personal passion. For these engineers, developing a purpose-built factory racing UTV is literally a dream come true. Alongside Wilmot, the Polaris engineering team will assist in the progression of the program from the standpoint of ongoing race vehicle development and testing.
Driver: Austin Weiland
Weiland has always had a passion for racing, working his way through the youth ranks of go-karts, midget oval cars, and eventually into short-course off-road racing. He has been competing full-time in the Best in the Desert and SCORE series in the Production Turbo class, with notable wins in the 2021 Vegas to Reno, 2022 King of the Hammers Desert Challenge and 2022 Baja 400, 500 and 1000 wins.
Driver: Brock Heger
Emerging as the next big name in off-road racing, Heger has excelled in every discipline of racing and has over 100 wins and 200 podiums to his name. Most recently, Heger has raced Pro-Lite short-haul trucks and production UTVs in the Champ Off Road Series, winning championships in both classes and competing full-time in the SCORE Trophy Truck Spec class.
Driver: Cayden MacCachren
A third-generation racer from one of the most iconic families in off-road racing history, MacCachren, will pilot the team’s third vehicle. The son of off-road royalty, it’s no surprise that MacCachren followed in his father Rob’s footsteps to become a championship racer. In just four years, he has accumulated so many year-end championships, along with multiple race wins at different levels of the sport.
Team Directors: Craig Scanlon & Travis Clarke
The team will be led by off-road racing veterans and team managers Craig Scanlon i Travis Clarke, a duo that includes two decades of combined off-road racing experience. The two have formed SCI (Scanlon Clarke Industries) as the program management arm of the Polaris Factory Racing team.
Formerly an executive at Polaris Off Road, Scanlon has been a driving force in the industry on and off the racetrack. In addition to his work for Polaris, Scanlon dived headfirst into his passion for off-road racing by creating the Scanlon Motorsports Group, a professional racing program where he also served as a driver, earning his first victory in the UTV Pro Class at the 2019 Baja 500.
In addition to experience racing and winning in off-road cars, Clarke brings a wealth of experience in racing business and athlete management. Well established as one of the sport’s top sports marketing executives through his work with Wasserman Media Group, Clarke’s client list includes some of the sport’s most recognized drivers. He has also been a key player in the ongoing evolution of King of the Hammers, driving critical sponsor support critical to the overall progression of the first US-based off-road event. Outside of the off-road world, Clarke has been responsible for establishing some of the top teams in Supercross/Motorcross, NASCAR and the rally racing community, including RCH, Two Two Motorsports, Ken Block’s Hoonigan Racing Division and Pastrana Waltrip Racing.
General Manager: Ryan Thomas
Off-road industry veteran Thomas will oversee the team’s day-to-day operations and manage driver and sponsor relations as the team’s general manager. Thomas has spent his entire life on both the business and racing side of the industry initially working for his family company, Chenoweth Racing Products, which developed some of the most successful cars in off-road racing history. Most recently, he was president of Ultra4Racing and previously spent ten years as director of Wide Open Baja a Cap Sant Luc. Thomas also has serious career credentials from his days as a top flight driver, with five come down 1000 titles to his name.
Chief operating officer: Adam Arsenault
To manage the team’s 10,000 square foot state-of-the-art race shop at San Diego, Californiatouched the team Adam Arsenault, who will act as director of operations. Since 2010, Arsenault, a Navy veteran himself, has owned and operated Broadsword Racing, an off-road team of active duty military, veterans and first responders. Arsenault brings to the team a wealth of operational management skills learned throughout his 20-year military career in the Marine Corps Special Operations Division, including mission planning, tactical communication and navigation. In his role, he will manage the vehicle fleet, oversee race parts inventory, and develop and manage the race volunteer roster.
Crew Chief: Johnny Nelson
ancient off-road racing co-driver Johnny Nelson will act as the team’s crew chief. After winning multiple come down 500 and come down 1000s as a co-driver, Nelson switched gears to the technical side as a mechanic, where he was voted SCORE Mechanic of the Year, an award he has won multiple times. In his role, Nelson will collaborate alongside Polaris engineering, manage senior and junior mechanics, and develop and execute pre-race and race-day strategy.
mechanics
The team will have three senior and three junior mechanics to ensure the vehicles are ready for each event. They will also be responsible for maintaining the shop, chase trucks, trailers and pit crew.
This Polaris Factory Racing team is driven by one singular goal: to win. In 2023, the team will compete in the SCORE International series and the Best in the Desert’s Vegas race in Reno. The season will start at San Felipe 250 onwards March 28-April 2followed by the come down 400 Dec From May 31 to June 4from Vegas to Reno August 16-20the come down 500 onwards September 12-17and the come down 1000 from November 13 to 18.
Full details and information on the purpose-built Polaris Factory Racing UTV will be released on the day March 15. For information on Polaris RZR, visit RZR.Polaris.com or join the conversation and follow RZR on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About Polaris
As the global leader in motorsports, Polaris Inc. (NYSE: PII) has pioneered breakthroughs in products and enriching experiences and services that have invited people to discover the joy of being outdoors since our founding in 1954. The product line of high-quality Polaris includes the Polaris RANGER®, RZR® and Polaris GENERAL™ side-by-side all-terrain vehicles; Sportsman® all-terrain vehicles; military and commercial all-terrain vehicles; snowmobiles; Indian Motorcycle® mid- and heavy-duty motorcycles; Slingshot® motorcycle roadsters; Aixam quadricycles; Goupil electric vehicles; and bridge and deck boats, including industry-leading Bennington pontoons. Polaris enhances the riding experience with a robust portfolio of parts, apparel and accessories. Proudly based in Minnesota, Polaris serves more than 100 countries worldwide. www.polaris.com
FOX® is a registered trademark of Fox Factory Inc.
GoPro® is a registered trademark of GoPro, Inc.
Rigid® is a trademark of JST Performance, LLC d/b/a Rigid Industries, LLC
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synchronicitysm is a service trademark of SYNCHRONY BANK, a federal savings bank
Method Race Wheels® is a registered trademark of CUSTOM WHEEL HOUSE, LLC
Rockford Fosgate® is a registered trademark of Rockford Corporation
Progressive Insurance® is a registered trademark of Progressive Casualty Insurance Company
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