2014 GBC Heartland Challenge SxS / UTV Endurance Racing Carlisle, Iowa August 15, 2014

In the 900cc class, the I love Hooters team took home the class win. The team did exceptionally well and not only claimed their class win, but also finished in third overall. The race was very close and they finished with 18 laps, and just 23 seconds ahead of second place.

In their fourth year racing the Heartland Challenge, Team I love Hooter earned the win in the 900cc UTV Class in their Polaris RZR XP 900

“I’ve been racing this event since 2010. I brought the 900 out this year, and I am tickled to get first. The track was awesome. It was technical and tight and really fun. The Challenge section was tricky at first, but it was worth it to take it.  We had a great time and definitely plan on returning next year,” said pilot Dan Prindle.

The Vanderford Construction team, who was making their Heartland Challenge debut, did remarkably well for a first year team, charging their way to second place in the 900cc class and taking fourth place overall, finishing just seconds behind first place.

In their first year racing the Heartland Challenge, the Vanderford Construction Team finished second in the 900cc Class

“The race was fun and it was really close. I realized I really need shocks though, they were getting pretty hot out there. We had a really good race, the course was challenging and we had a blast. We definitely want to come back next year and do this again,” said Brett Vanderford.

Kratofil Racing had two teams enter the 900cc class and take consecutive finishes, with their #017 team taking third place and the #126 team taking fourth place.

Heartland Challenge 900cc UTV Class Podium (left to right) Kratofil Racing (2nd), I Love Hooters (1st), Vanderford Construction Racing (3rd)

In the 800cc class, brothers Nick and Wade Vitale in the # 035 out of St. Mary, MO claimed the win with 17 laps in a time of 04:05:55.203.

The Vital Team of Nick & Wade Vitale won the Heartland Challenge 800cc UTV Class

“Nick started out and got a great start in second. We made a pass in the Challenge section for the lead and went back and forth a couple laps, but we eventually stayed out front. Once it got dark, we switched and Wade took over. This was our first time racing the SxS in this type of race and we had a great time. We had read about it a lot and decided we would do it this year. We had a great time and definitely plan on coming back next year,” said Wade Vitale.

While Nick Vitale raced their Polaris RZR XP 900 during the day, his brother Wade Vitale took over for the night shift