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When you are the CMO of Polaris and you decide to go racing, you better believe everyone expects you to have the best of the best when it comes to your race vehicle. Craig Scanlon is not a rookie, he has been a part of the Jagged X Racing team since 2012 and in 2016 launched his very own program, the Scanlon Motorsports Group (SMG). Scanlon took his years of experience both as an off-road racer and as part of the team that gave birth to the RZR platform back in 2007, and applied it to create not only one of the nicest race RZRs we have ever seen, but one of the most complete programs in total.

Scanlon knew what he wanted out of a new race machine and to accomplish his vision of a fresh and innovative design he turned to arguably the best builder in the sport of UTV today, Mark Holz of Holz Racing Products (HRP). Mark Holz has been building championship and race winning UTV chassis’ for as long as we can remember. His designs are always weight conscious and always serve function before form. With that said, Holz has never built a race vehicle we haven’t gone head over heels for. His simplistic designs scream performance, and every part, tube, panel, and widget you can bet is there to serve a specific function. Never does a detail go overlooked and by crawling on this new SMG Polaris RZR you can see that what I am typing is 100% true.

Mark & Craig collaborated on the build and then Scanlon let the team at Holz Racing Products do what they do best and thats build a machine that will not only look great but perform. A low center of gravity was achieved by mounting as much of the vehicle accessories as low as possible. Billet aluminum parts machined by Holz are used everywhere from the shifter and steering hub to the front mounted steering rack. Everything from the fuel cell, radiator, intercooler, exhaust, suspension, chassis, oil cooler, spindles, front differential and more was hand crafted or modified in house at Holz Racing Products to meet Holz’s specific design requirements. The rest of the accessories and parts were hand selected and supplied by some of the best companies in the industry.

Walker Evans Racing custom tuned a set of Velocity Series 2.5 shocks and supplied their 15″ race wheels. The bead lock wheels are wrapped in 32″ tall Tensor Tires making it one of the lightest and strongest combos on the market while maintaing the diameter and size that most of the top teams now run. All lighting was set up by title sponsor Rigid Industries and features an SR-40 light bar up top, a 10″ E-Series on the bumper, and Rigid’s factory Polaris headlight replacement kit. Shell seats are made by SPARCO while Impact harnesses keep both Craig and his co-driver Keith held in tight. PCI Race Radios supplied the communications and navigation as well as the race-air set up. PCI also personally tuned and dialed in the coms for the SMG program.

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The chassis itself is entirely made of chromoly and is tig-welded to perfection. No tube was placed without a specific purpose as weight is always at the forefront of Holz’s designs. The custom HRP long travel suspension does increase wheel travel but exact numbers are being kept under wraps. The front mounted steering rack that Holz included helps improve the agility of the vehicle and the reliability of the steering system. HRP also installed HD tie-rods and rear radius rods and the vehicle sports their custom sway bar components both on the front and rear.

Power wise, SMG will run the 2017 Polaris RZR XP Turbo drivetrain which puts out 168hp. Clutching was tuned in house and all prep will be performed in house by the SMG team.

With the vehicle build complete, the machine was sent out to JM Collision in Arizona to have a custom “Race Red” paint scheme applied and ProLineWraps.com finished it off with a fantastic graphic package designed by Six Speed out of Minnesota.

There is no denying that this is one of the most innovative and best looking race RZRs to ever have been built. With a fleet of support vehicles worth of their own features to chase the machine through the desert, the SMG program is ready for battle in 2017!

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Photos by Vincent Knakal // Mad Media – UTVUnderground.com

SPECIFICATIONS

Owner: Craig Scanlon
Vehicle: 2017 Polaris RZR XP4 Turbo
Chassis: Custom 4130 tig welded by Holz Racing
Body/Sheet Metal: Custom fabricated by Holz Racing
Suspension: Holz Long Travel Desert Spec
Shocks: Walker Evans Racing Velocity Series 2.5 Coil Over Shocks
Springs: Eibach
Axles / Half Shafts: RCV Performance modified By Holz
Wheels: 15” Walker Evans Racing Bead Lock
Tires: 32”x10”x15” Tensor Tire
Steering: Howe rack modified by Holz, Polaris EPS
Steering Wheel: SPARCO Quick Release Hub: Holz Racing
Seats: SPARCO
Restraints: Impact Racing
Gauges: OE Polaris Digital Dash & Autometer
Switches: SwitchPros
Fuel Cell: Holz Racing by Fuel Safe
Brakes: Stock OE Polaris
Spindles: Holz 4130 heat–treated
Front Diff: Holz Racing
Transmission: OE Polaris modified by Holz Racing
Exhaust: OE Polaris header, Holz Muffler
Radio & Intercom: PCI Radios
GPS: Lowrance HDS7 PCI
Helmet Fans: PCI Race Air
Radiator/Intercooler: Custom Holz
Oil Cooler: Setrab / Holz Racing
Plumbing: XRP / Holz Racing
Wiring: Holz Racing
Fire System: SafeCraft
Lighting: Rigid Industries
Engine: 2017 Polaris RZR XP Turbo 168hp
Clutching: Polaris OEM Tuned by SMG
Hood: 4WerxCarbon Carbon Fiber OEM Replacement
Paint: JM Collision
Graphics: ProLineWraps.com