Senior CAE Engineer

Polaris Inc. (PII) stock: slightly drop as RZR Pro R Factory claims first Vegas-to-Reno win. Polaris RZR Factory Racing makes history as Brock Heger dominates Vegas-to-Reno. Tldr. Table of Contents * Polaris stock slips 0.29% to $68.14 despite a historic Vegas-to-Reno victory. * Brock Heger delivers Polaris RZR Factory Racing its first Vegas-to-Reno win. * Heger finishes seventh overall against powerful trucks after winning UTV Pro. * Polaris secures six top-10 UTV Pro finishes in the demanding 505-mile desert race. * RZR Factory Racing now turns attention to the Baja 400 scheduled for September. Polaris Inc. (PII) stock slipped Tuesday as the company's RZR Factory Racing team secured a historic Vegas-to-Reno victory. Polaris shares traded at $68.14, down 0.29%, after recovering from an intraday low near $67.10. Meanwhile, Brock Heger delivered the team's first victory at the event aboard the RZR Pro R Factory. Polaris Inc. stock edges lower despite racing milestone. Polaris stock remained slightly negative despite the company adding another major achievement to its off-road racing program. The shares recovered sharply after falling near $67.10 during the session. PII remained 0.29% lower at $68.14 following the rebound. The racing victory gave Polaris its first Vegas-to-Reno win during the event's 30-year history. This year also introduced a major course change, with competitors running the route in the opposite direction. Heger handled the new layout and secured the UTV Pro Overall victory for Polaris. The result adds another milestone to Polaris RZR Factory Racing's expanding record in competitive desert racing. Polaris also secured six positions among the top 10 finishers in the UTV Pro Overall category. The results highlighted the RZR platform's performance across demanding desert conditions. RZR Pro R Factory secures historic Vegas-to-Reno victory. Heger completed the 505-mile desert race in seven hours, 51 minutes, and 29 seconds. He drove the No. T96 RZR Pro R Factory and won the UTV Pro Overall category. He finished seventh among all four-wheel vehicles competing in the race. That overall position placed Heger ahead of most vehicles despite competition from higher-powered Unlimited Trophy Trucks. He also secured the UTV Pro victory by nearly four minutes. At one stage, Heger held an advantage exceeding eight minutes on corrected time. Heger entered the main event after qualifying second by slightly more than half a second. He then moved toward the front as competitors crossed high-speed desert sections and rocky terrain. Extreme heat and heavy dust also increased the difficulty across the reversed course. Polaris builds momentum ahead of Baja 400. Ethan Groom added another strong result for Polaris during the demanding Nevada event. Groom drove the No. T74 RZR Pro R Factory and secured fifth place in the UTV Pro category. His result strengthened Polaris' presence among the leading UTV teams at the finish. The Vegas-to-Reno result also expands Heger's record of major victories with Polaris RZR Factory Racing. His performance demonstrated the team's ability to compete across long-distance events with changing terrain and difficult conditions. Polaris continues using factory racing to test its off-road vehicles under competitive conditions. Polaris will now shift its attention toward the next major event on its racing schedule. The RZR Factory Racing team will compete in Mexico at the Baja 400 from September 8 through September 13. The team will seek another strong result as it continues its campaign in the SCORE Desert Series. Limited Time Offer Get 3 free stock ebooks. Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis. * Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies * Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders * Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants

Ovative marks ninth straight year on Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Article authors: Ovative Group MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. August 11th, 2026 - For the ninth year in a row, Ovative Group has been named to the Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies with 39% three-year revenue growth. This achievement extends a streak that puts Ovative among a small group of companies that make the list more than once, let alone nine times. "Nine years on this list is a reflection of the world-class growth we've achieved and a result of the great results we drive for our clients every day. Thank you to each of our clients for your trust and partnership." said Dale Nitschke, CEO and Founder of Ovative. That client-first approach was on display this year with impact delivered for brands like Aerie. For their "The REAL Ones" bra campaign, they wanted a campaign focused on cementing and extending brand's trust with key audiences. Ovative built a media strategy around where confidence gets tested throughout a woman's day, that drove a two-year high in brand awareness and earned Ovative and Aerie a joint "Best Use of Out of Home" win at ADWEEK's Media Plan of the Year awards. Ovative has continued investing in this client-first culture throughout its growth streak. This year marketed the opening of a new office at 111 N Canal in the West Loop that quadrupled its Chicago footprint. The space was built for team collaboration as the Chicago team surpassed 100 employees, proof that the firm's investment in talent is keeping pace with its growth. The firm has continued to build out technology for client impact as well. EMRge(TM), its proprietary marketing intelligence platform, was built to help clients understand and drive Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR), the true business impact of their marketing across revenue, customer growth, and brand. More than 90% of Ovative's clients now run on EMRge(TM), using it to see clearly what's driving results and to act faster, the same client impact the firm's culture has always been built to deliver. With smarter platforms, faster data, and AI reshaping what execution looks like, the market around Ovative has changed fast. What hasn't changed is Ovative's focus on driving client outcomes. That commitment has fueled the firm's growth since its founding in 2009, transforming it from a small startup into a national leader in marketing and measurement. Today, Ovative partners with some of the most recognized brands in retail, food and beverage, and beyond, including Polaris, Boost Mobile, Post Consumer Brands, Domino's, and American Eagle Outfitters. About Inc 5000 The Inc. 5000 ranks companies by percentage revenue growth over a three-year period, celebrating innovation, resilience, and entrepreneurial excellence. Past honorees include household names such as Intuit, Zappos, and Patagonia. View the complete 2026 Inc. 5000 list here. About Ovative Group Ovative Group is an independent, full-funnel media, measurement, and creative firm. Leveraging deep industry expertise, the firm helps brands like Polaris, Boost Mobile, Post Consumer Brands, American Eagle Outfitters, Petco, and UnitedHealth Group transform their media, measurement, and creative programs. The result? Profitable growth that speaks for itself. Ovative doesn't just track data, it redefines success. Its proprietary marketing intelligence platform, EMRge(TM), helps businesses transform marketing into a driver of sustainable growth. Powered by Enterprise Marketing Return (EMR), Ovative's differentiated approach to holistic media buying, planning, and measurement, EMRge(TM) is the first marketing intelligence platform to measure businesses holistically. Ovative is all about raising the bar every day, and it shows. Its work has been recognized by organizations like AdWeek, Digiday, Google, Meta, Inc. 5000, and USA Today. For more information about Ovative, visit its website or follow Ovative on Instagram or LinkedIn. For media inquiries, please contact: Courtney Stoesz Sr. Manager of Brand Marketing and Events [email protected] 715-307-2255 ARTICLE AUTHOR * Ovative Group Ovative Group is an independent, full-funnel media, measurement, and creative firm. Leveraging its deep industry expertise, Ovative Group help brands like Domino's, Facebook, The Home Depot, General Mills, Disney, and UnitedHealth Group transform their media and measurement programs. The result? Profitable growth that speaks for itself.

The Polaris RZR Pro R Boost is the world's most powerful side-by-side. One UTV to rule them all. Aug 7, 2026 Looking back fondly on the Polaris RZR's debut in 2007 - back when the terms "side-by-side" and "UTV" conjured up images of very robust golf carts - Dave Elia, Product Director for Recreational Brands at Polaris, recently told a group of media, "Who knew that a 52-horsepower, 50-inch, at that time $10,000 machine would completely change the industry?" Well, Polaris just did it again with the launch of the RZR Pro R Boost, which reclaims the title of the world's most powerful UTV. With 225 horsepower developed in its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, the previous RZR Pro R reigned as the UTV niche's output king for the first part of this decade, until the Can-Am Maverick R upped it to 240 hp and the Kawasaki Teryx H2 pushed the record to 250 hp. The Can-Am benefits from a turbocharger and the Kawasaki a supercharger, so you might be able to guess what Polaris did to reclaim the lead: "We took the two-liter motor that we have in Pro R and we turbocharged it in a legit way," Elia said. By "legit," he means big, as the unit comes from performance turbo maker Garrett and clocks in at 60 millimeters - a size typically only installed on vehicle engines with internals that have been modified for special hi-po use cases, like drift cars. The result is a maximum 275 hp at 7,000 RPM. Getting to the top end quickly will be a blast, but arguably more important in the rugged, highly graded world of UTVs is torque, which the turbo also benefits. A peak 223 pound-feet of torque arrives at 6,000 RPM, but, as Elia said, "You get 97% of that torque... 215 foot-pounds of torque at 4,000 RPM. Coming out of corners, under acceleration, going up hills, you have that available torque starting at low RPM." Polaris also redesigned several mechanical systems to support the added power, including a new dual-radiator cooling system intended to keep the engine, turbo, and transmission cool during extended use in temperatures up to 115 degrees. The RZR Pro R Boost is naturally getting much of the attention. But in the fully enclosed XPEDITION, Polaris has introduced the industry's first pneumatic CVT (continuously variable transmission), called NUMATIX. A CVT eliminates traditional gears altogether, instead running a drive belt between two cone-shaped pulleys that can widen or narrow. As the pulleys change shape, the belt rides higher or lower on them, smoothly changing the "gear ratio" without ever actually shifting. "The trade-off with a mechanical CVT is that you have to tune it, and we have to tune it for one setting," Elia said. "Our engineers are always balancing performance and comfort. We can always lean towards performance, but that's gonna come with higher revs and more noise. Or you can go comfort, but then the vehicle can feel doggy." The pneumatic CVT system adds an air-pressure layer that pulls RPM down by biasing the clutch while keeping ground speed constant. "As you accelerate, the engine RPMs cruise up, and then once you get to a cruising speed at 40 miles an hour, [the engine] basically stays in that high RPM," Elia explained. "You can still have that same acceleration, you can have that same response, but once you get up to the cruising speed, you actually don't need full peak power." Polaris said the XPEDITION's new transmission system adjusts up to 200 times per second, using real-time control that responds to rider inputs and terrain conditions. The company said the technology is designed to produce a smoother, quieter ride without reducing responsiveness. The quieter part is the most pertinent to the XPEDITION, which is one of the cushiest UTVs on the market. "At 30 mph, you have a 45% reduction in RPM," Elia said, which equates to up to a 40% reduction in perceived noise. Additionally, the XPEDITION is a second quicker to 50 mph than the previous model, and NUMATIX brings an added benefit: an integrated onboard air system that supplies compressed air through an auxiliary port for tasks like tire inflation. Arriving in dealers this month, the Polaris XPEDITION is priced from $40,499. The RZR Pro R Boost starts at $49,999 and hits dealers in November.