After eight rounds of off-road races in 2021, the OPTIMA Batteries-sponsored driver wins the first-ever Great American Shortcourse series in the Pro Lite class.
MILWAUKEE (Nov. 17, 2021) – OPTIMA Batteries, the leading brand of Clarios (NYSE: BBU) (TSX: BBU.UN), has announced that its sponsored driver Christopher Polvoorde has won the Great American Shortcourse (GAS) Pro Lite championship in his Ford Ranger after an incredibly competitive inaugural season.
The GAS series was created after veteran race series director Lee Perfect and race promoter Dave Cole of Hammerking Productions sought to reinvigorate the short course racing circuit, leading to the announcement of the formation of Great American Shortcourse powered by OPTIMA Batteries in February 2021. The series encompassed eight rounds of racing over four weekends between the SBC Fairgrounds in Victorville, Calif. and Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernadino, Calif.
Entering the final event of the series, Polvoorde was the leader in points for the championship after finishing on the podium in the first six races. Polvoorde finished first in both rounds of the final event, securing his place as the first Pro Lite Great American Shortcourse champion by a total of 25 points over the runner-up. Season rival Madix Bailey finished second and Jimmy Weitzel placed third.
“We want to support all types of motorsports,” OPTIMA Batteries Director of Marketing Cam Douglass said. “When we saw an opportunity to be part of the reinvention of short course racing, we gladly stepped up to support the series. Christopher is a great kid and we are excited for his success too.”
Following the championship finish in Great American Shortcourse, Polvoorde is headed to Baja California, Mexico to compete for the first time in the SPEC Trophy Truck class of SCORE’s Baja 1000. Accompanied by title sponsor OPTIMA Batteries, the Chris Polvoorde Racing team brings Baja racing legends Dale Ebberts and Steven Eugenio onboard with 13 chase vehicles in tail, two helicopters and one private aircraft.
“Tackling the [Baja] 1000 in my first year of racing the Spec Trophy Truck class is a tall order to fill, but we have an incredible team so I’m confident that we can lay down a great peninsula run and finish this race,” said team owner and racer Christopher Polvoorde. “For a 1,227-mile race, it’s smarter to bring in outside drivers and teams to try and put together the best possible run that we can.”
Polvoorde, Ebberts and Eugenio have been pre-running in Baja California, Mexico leading up to the race. Christopher qualified first in class at the Baja 400, nearly ten seconds faster than the next driver. The Polvoorde team is striving to put the Number 204 OPTIMA Sponsored Spec Trophy Truck on top of the box for the Baja 1000.
About OPTIMA® Batteries
OPTIMA high-performance automotive, marine and heavy-duty AGM batteries are manufactured by Clarios, LLC, the world’s largest manufacturer of automotive batteries. OPTIMA REDTOP®, YELLOWTOP® and BLUETOP® batteries feature state-of-the-art SPIRALCELL TECHNOLOGY®. This patented design allows OPTIMA batteries to deliver superior performance in both starting and deep cycling applications. The OPTIMA product family also includes a line of Digital Chargers, with advanced multi-stage charging to charge and maintain a variety of vehicle batteries, maximizing battery life and performance. The newest additions to the OPTIMA YELLOWTOP line are now offered in DIN group sizes H6 and H7. This offering allows a variety of modern vehicles, ranging from late-model domestic performance to European models, to experience the power and performance of OPTIMA Batteries. To learn more or to purchase OPTIMA products, please visit www.optimabatteries.com, call 1-888-8OPTIMA (1-888-867-8462) or find @OPTIMABatteries on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About Clarios
Clarios is a world leader in advanced energy storage solutions. We partner with customers to meet increasing market demand for smarter applications, on a global scale. Our 16,000 employees develop, manufacture and distribute a portfolio of evolving battery technologies for virtually every type of vehicle. These technologies deliver uniquely sustainable, next-generation performance, and bring reliability, safety and comfort to everyday lives. We add value at every link in the supply chain, contributing to the progress of the communities we serve and the planet we all share. As a 2020 signatory of the United Nations Global Compact, Clarios is committed to aligning our strategies and operations with universal principles focused on human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. Clarios is a subsidiary of Brookfield Business Partners, a business services and industrials company focused on owning and operating high-quality businesses that benefit from barriers to entry and/or low production costs.
