For 6 years now, UTVUnderground.com has supported UTV racers from all over the United States and abroad. UTV racing is at our core and we are proud to be the home for UTV racing! Every year since 2009 we have helped teams and racers gain sponsorships, exposure and notoriety. This year will be no different. However, this year we want to go a step further and introduce you to this giant team we call the UTVUnderground Race Team by doing individual racer bio’s and features on our site giving you a better understanding of just who these competitors are and where they come from.
To kick off our new UTVUnderground Race Team feature we have chosen to introduce you to our newest official race team member, Mike Gardner of GMH Motorsports. Mike Gardner is 25 years old and is a Southern California native living in Orange County, California. Mike began his racing career as a teenager competing as a downhill & slalom mountain bike racer while dabbling in some motocross events. After a successful but brief run as a mountain bike racer, Gardner decided that the risk was not worth the reward and hung his helmet up choosing to go learn the family business at Gardner Manufactured Housing (GMH). Soon the itch of competition would be too much to fend off and Gardner quickly began to seek out his next competitive challenge.
If you live in Southern California, or anywhere with an active off-road community then you have seen or at least heard of off-road racing. Mike was immediately attracted to the sport and after learning of the UTV racing scene immediately knew where he wanted to take his passion for racing competition. In 2012 he purchased a Polaris RZR XP900 with a goal to compete at round 1 of the 2013 WORCS racing series. Mike and his newly formed team at GMH Motorsports quickly learned what it would take to become a competitive UTV racer and began working closely with some of the sports top companies in hopes of putting himself in a position to take his racing career to the next level. After a fun yet challenging rookie season competing at WORCS in the Production 1000 class, Mike and his team were ready to go all out for 2014 and challenge for the WORCS season championship in the Production 1000 class.
With full media support from UTVUnderground.comfor the 2014 race season, the 1st thing GMH Motorsports did was call on team sponsors Mission Motorsports and purchase the newest platform to hit the market, the 2014 Polaris RZR XP1000. Inspired by the UTVUnderground viral video XP1K, Gardner knew he needed the newest machine out to go head to head with the fastest on the track. Next he partnered for his second year with Magnum Offroad. Magnum helped GMH through their rookie season and so without a doubt Magnum was going to be the builder to prepare their machine for war in 2014. GMZ Race Products signed back on to ensure GMH had the wheel and rubber they needed to compete and the team was thrilled for Walker Evans Racing to come back on board offering shock support for the program. PRP Seats would supply the race machine with their competition suspension seats, harnesses and window nets and Assault Industries would join on to supply those all important chassis components to make the GMH / UTVUnderground RZR XP1000 as strong as possible. Alba Racing and Muzzys Performance are the teams power prospectors, making sure this machine has the extra HP it needs to get those ever important hole shots! Oakley, a longtime affiliate of Mike’s past racing career has come on board for 2014 making sure he and the team look good and close team friends at Smitty Built have been a huge asset in making sure the machine is prepped and ready for battle at round 1. PCI Race Radios is the communications sponsor providing the sports best comms! To top off the new build, ProLineWraps.com came on to give the new race machine a professional look and we can’t wait to unveil this new beast at Taft this coming weekend during round 1 of the 2014 WORCS Racing Series!
UTVUnderground.com couldn’t be more happy to have Mike Gardner and his team at GMH Motorsports on board as the newest members of the UTVUnderground Race Team. 2014 is going to be a fun and exciting year, and we look forward to not only keeping you up to speed on how this program progresses throughout the 2014 season, but keeping you all posted on the entire UTVUnderground teams successes.
Words by Joey DiGiovanni // UTVUnderground.com
Photos by UTVUnderground.com
Team Sponsors:
UTVUnderground.com – https://utvunderground.com
The worlds fastest growing all inclusive UTV site contributed too by both enthusiasts and manufacturers alike. UTVUnderground is the go-to site for all the latest news and insight surrounding the UTV industry. Thousands of monthly visitors from over 100 different countries around the world go to UTVUnderground for their daily dose of UTV news and information. UTVUnderground brings together recreational enthusiats, racers, manufacturers, retail companies, and industry professionals all into one website to discuss, learn, and share everything surrounding the UTV sport and hobby.
GMZ Race Products – http://gmzraceproducts.com/
GMZ Race Products has a history of knowledge in wheel and tire manufacturing. We test and do our own research and development on all of our products. We test all of our tires and wheels in a lab and through different types of racing series to ensure the quality and durability of everything we build and manufacture. The racing experience and testing creates a real life scenario in the most demanding of terrains and rough conditions. This proves the products can survive the test of time and performance that they needed to win races and championships. This testing is important because it shows the products are sound and can work the best for recreational and racing enthusiasts alike. GMZ has over 20 years of racing experience and over 15 years in wheel and tire and wheel manufacturing. GMZ’s goal is to provide the best customer service experience and build products that are quality and performance at a superior price.
Our branded ATV/UTV wheels and tires have been thoroughly tested and approved by many extreme enthusiasts and have withheld the pressure and terrain of the rugged outdoors. Try them for yourselves.
Scott Gordinier, co-founder of GMZ Race Products Inc, has been associated with the off-road racing industry for over twenty years and counting. Products provided by GMZ are worthy of winning yourself a championship.
Mission Motorsports – http://www.missionmotorsports.com/
GMH Motorsports has had a relationship with Mission Motorsports for 20 years. They have one of the nicest motorsports facilities around and have the most positive/friendly staff you will ever come across. From the sales office to the parts department, every employee there wants to put a smile on the customers face!
Walker Evans Racing – http://walkerevansracing.com/
If you read the two bio’s of our owners, you’ll get all of the history you need.We’ve been around the off road industry for a long time and have the knowledge, equipment, technology and staff to make quality performance products. Our mission is to design and manufacture quality, performance, race-proven products that can used for aftermarket applications.The very same product we produce is the very same product used on numerous race winning vehicles.
PRP Seats – http://prpseats.com
In November 2001, the Wedeking family purchased PRP. The new owners have brought to PRP over 20 years of off road experience, both in competition and recreational sport. They have participated in every form of off roading, from racing to weekend trail riding, buggies to quads, jeeps to motorcycles, if you can take it off road, they’ve done it! They have brought “hands on” knowledge and expertise to PRP. They feel fortunate to have such a great activity be the focus of both their professional and personal life.
In addition the family has operated a service-oriented business for over 70 years in southern California. They understand the importance of longevity and customer service in successfully operating any business. Therefore, in January 2002, they implemented sweeping changes to PRP. The Company focus is very simple; build high quality, suspension seats for the off road enthusiasts, while providing excellent customer service. So when you’re ready to buy an off road seat, go to an “Off Road Company” go to PRP.
Muzzy’s Performance – http://muzzys.com
Our goal at MUZZYS is to share with the consumer the high quality products that we develop and use in our Championship racing efforts. We will endeavor to provide our customers with products that work as advertised, enhance the performance of your machine and never fail to give you the value for which you have paid. We will always try to dispense the most reliable technical information, uncluttered with sales hype and meaningless claims. Our goal is to be as successful in our retail organization as we have been in our years of racing and winning.
Oakley – http://oakley.com
Oakley was created for world-class athletes, those who see the limits of possibility as just another challenge. Their dedication drives us to look beyond the conventional ideas of industry standards. It’s in our DNA to identify problems, create inventions, and wrap those inventions in art. And simply to make things better than anyone thought possible.
Alba Racing – http://teamalbaracing.com/
Alba Racing caters to everyday off-road enthusiasts in the United States and around the world as well as the hardcore racers of the SCORE, WORCS, GNCC, and BITD series. On a daily basis we ship parts to customers in Australia, Canada, Europe, Africa, South America, Mexico and any other place in the world where people need quality parts and expert advice. Buying from TeamAlbaRacing.com not only guarantees that you will get the best part available but also the personal customer service and technical advice that has brought customers back to us time and time again.
Assault Industries – http://assaultind.myshopify.com/
Assault UTV is a leading manufacturer of superb quality products for your UTV. A branch of well-established Innovative Metal Designs, Assault has access to state-of the-art machining technologies. We supply aftermarket parts for POLARIS, CAN-AM, YAMAHA, KAWASAKI, ARCTIC CAT AND JOHN DEERE. We currently are proud of our polaris rzr xp 1000 HD radius rods and our Arctic Cat HD radius rods.
ProLineWraps.com – http://prolinewraps.com
Proline Wraps is the leader in Digital Graphics. Our custom designs and Installations give our graphics a Paint like look and Quality. ProLineWraps.com is the leading custom large format digital printing company. Ranging from to all types of vehicle graphics to gallery quality mounted prints, our attention to detail is second to none. Having an in house design team makes our wraps have a fresh new look people are trying to reach for their personal car or business. Using state of the art technology, we house the latest in super high resolution printers that can produce lifelike color and clarity. Latest generation laminators give us the ability to produce up to 70” wide. Cutting edge infrared plotters enable us to cut any digital graphic with extreme precision.
Smitty Built Engineering
Tim at Smitty Built is best known for vehicle electronics customization and installation. Ranging from UTVs to various race vehicles, Smitty Built has a keen eye for detail. Tim has been an invaluable asset to several Professional off road racers such as Jerry Whelchel, Roger Norman, and Larry Roeseler. GMH Motorsports is very honored to add Smitty Built Engineering to their 2014 race program.
PCI Race Radios – http://www.pciraceradios.com/
PCI Race Radios is a family owned business where we make the time to race and play. Our test equipment includes a Kreger built four seat buggy, Trophy Truck #7, Newline Ford F150 prerunner, Trophy Kart, Currie Enterprises built Jeep rock crawler, three Quads and a Honda 650L Motorcycle. Because we use these vehicles for work and play, we have a thorough understanding of your needs, wants and desires. We support the American Sand Association, CORVA and the San Diego Off-Road coalition. The point is, the dollars you spend at PCI are kept working in the sport.
