Minneapolis, MN (8/14/2009)
- Labor Day Weekend usually means rest,
relaxation and a long weekend. To one of the
hardest-working racers in the sport, Robby Gordon,
it is an opportunity to travel across the country
and do what he loves best, race. Gordon will
race The Off Road Championship (TORC), at Crandon
International Off-Road Raceway, in Crandon,
Wis., on Sunday, September 6, and then jump
on a plane and head to Atlanta Motor Speedway
for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Labor Day Classic
500, later that night.
“I am very excited about this new opportunity
with Polaris as the primary sponsor of the
TORC entry in Crandon and the NASCAR entry
in Atlanta. To combine these two tracks where
I historically perform well together on Labor
Day weekend should make for an exciting double-header,”
commented Robby Gordon on the Polaris sponsorship.
As part of the multi-year product development
and marketing agreement Polaris and Gordon
inked earlier this year, Polaris will be the
primary sponsor of Gordon’s No. 007
TORC Chevy Silverado race truck for the TORC
race and the primary sponsor on the No. 7
NSCS Toyota Camry, at the NASCAR Labor Day
Classic 500.
“We can not be more excited to be associated
with Robby and what he is trying to accomplish
in both Crandon and Atlanta,” said Craig
Scanlon, director of Off-Road Vehicle sales
for Polaris. “Robby has quickly become
a integral part of the Polaris family and
we are very proud to have him represent the
more than 3,000 employees at Polaris.”
On his 20-year anniversary of his first World
Championship win in the series, Gordon returns
to Crandon in hopes of capturing the first
cup race of the TORC season. He is still the
youngest off-road racer in history to win
a World Championship title and ring at Crandon.
A whirlwind of a weekend, Gordon will practice
for the TORC race on Friday and Saturday morning,
then fly to Atlanta after Saturday’s
practice to qualify for the NASCAR Labor Day
Classic, and return to Crandon on Saturday
night for more prep before the race on Sunday.
After the TORC race, he’ll jump back
on a plane to compete in the NASCAR race on
Sunday evening.
“Earlier in the year, we began our
relationship working on product development
with Polaris’ Side-by-Side division.
To have them become more involved in our program
is very exciting, especially on the Off-road
racing side of things. This enables us to
continue sharing information back and forth
to further help with the future development
on the consumer Side-by-Side products,”
stated Gordon on his relationship with Polaris.
This past winter, Gordon and Polaris entered
into a three-year agreement that included
Gordon providing insight on future products
and promoting Polaris’ RANGER RZR Side-by-Sides.
The agreement was unique in that Gordon would
not only market Polaris product but also use
his off-road expertise to help create new
Polaris vehicles. It won’t be much longer
when off-road enthusiasts will see the first
of the units co-developed by Robby Gordon
and Polaris.
“Gordon is one of the hardest-working
names in racing, and his work ethic and off-road
knowledge has been instrumental in the development
of new Polaris products during the past seven
months. We look forward to an exciting Labor
Day race weekend and future product launch,”
added Scanlon.
The TORC off-road race can be seen live on
ABC, Sunday, September 5, from 4-5 p.m. ET.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Labor Day Classic
500 will air on ESPN, starting at 7 p.m. ET,
Sunday night.
