February 7, 2012 (Johnson Valley, CA) – After the dust settled on two days of qualifying for the 2013 Griffin King of the Hammers, 2009 champion Jason Scherer posted the fastest time in the No. 76 Rubicon Express / Nitto Tire car. Last year Scherer arrived on the lake bed with a brand new single seat race car and suffered in qualifying as a result, having to get out of the car and stack rocks in order to complete the qualifying course. After a year of fine tuning and fresh off a victory at the PSC Brawl at Blackwell Nitto Tire Nationals, it is clear that Scherer has all of the bugs worked out. “That was incredibly fun! The Rubicon Express / Nitto car is perfect for KOH and we are ready for the race. We know the pace and the strategy we need to win. Now it’s time to execute our game plan.” Scherer commented.
Of the 174 competitors, 18 posted times under four minutes, with Scherer being the fastest at a blistering 3:19 around the one-and-a-half mile 4Wheel Parts qualifying course. The course consisted of loose hill climbs, rutted off-camber turns, and huge boulders to whet the appetites of both drivers and spectators alike for Friday’s main event. Finishing just behind Scherer was the only two-time KOH winner: Shannon Campbell in his Monster Energy IFS car. Third, qualifying, just one second behind Campbell, was desert racing veteran TJ Flores in his Trent Fabrication Top Shelf buggy.
Flores was one of a growing contingent of desert racers trying their hand at King of the Hammers, including BJ Baldwin, Curt LeDuc, and Robby Gordon, who qualified fourth. Several of the top times, including the top four, were laid down during King of the Hammers’ “Power Hour,” where the biggest names in Ultra4 racing put their talents on display for a live video audience on the official Ultra4 Racing website. Rounding out the top five was relative unknown Marcos Gomez.
In addition to determining starting position for the 185-mile King of the Hammers race, 62 of the competitors were fighting for one of the 100 coveted slots for the big show. While the bulk of the field had pre-qualified as a reward for strong finishes at 2012 Ultra4 events, fifteen lucky racers were fast enough to earn their way into the 2013 King of the Hammers, including JT Stephens and Randy Slawson, who placed in the top ten in qualifying. Stephens held the fastest qualifying time at the end of Tuesday and well into Wednesday, earning him a spot on the main stage hot seat, providing live commentary.
Stephens and the rest of the field will have to back up their words on Friday when the green flag drops. Traditionally, only one-third of the field has finished what is dubbed “The Hardest Week of Racing In The World”. On Thursday, the HCR UTV King of the Hammers race and Smittybilt Everyman Challenge will take place in wide open deserts and the infamous boulder strewn Hammer trails. The winners of those two races will be invited to join the select few who are tough enough to race in the Griffin King of the Hammers presented by Nitto Tires.
Dave Cole has confirmed that fifteen LCQ drivers will make it into the King of the Hammers 2013 due to KOH no-shows. The 15 drivers are:
Class | Order | Number | Name (First) | Name(Last) | Elapsed Time
LCQ 5 4454 JT Stephens 03:47.31
LCQ 63 4448 Randy Slawson 03:47.75
LCQ 136 117 Jason Fish 04:09.13
LCQ 87 4494 Chris Garrison 04:20.19
LCQ 89 257 Warren Thomas 04:26.19
LCQ 148 313 Dustyn Friesen 04:26.59
LCQ 145 968 Jason Weidhuner 04:29.66
LCQ 71 74 Matt Rager 04:38.22
LCQ 129 509 Mike Hoffman 04:38.79
LCQ 111 4440 Travis Cook 04:39.68
LCQ 13 9901 Brian Caprara 04:42.25
LCQ 127 96 Larry Gipson 04:42.94
LCQ 17 4423 Chad Wheeler 04:43.00
LCQ 26 4459 Keith Xavier 04:43.34
LCQ 36 49 Matt Burkett 04:44.81
Overall Times for KOH Pre-Qualified Times
Griffin King of the Hammers Pre-Qualified Times:
Class | Order | Number | Name(First) | Name(Last) | Elapsed | Time
KOH 166 76 Jason Scherer 03:19.07
KOH 175 5 Shannon Campbell 03:24.66
KOH 172 80 TJ Flores 03:25.82
KOH 165 77 Robby Gordon 03:41.03
KOH 97 4486 Marcos Gomez 03:41.78
KOH 176 67 Loren Healy 03:43.10
KOH 177 4417 Matthew Messer 03:44.31
KOH 173 4420 Derek West 03:47.97
KOH 117 4438 Scott Ward 03:49.25
KOH 169 4404 Nick Nelson 03:51.63
KOH 164 5252 Bill Baird 03:55.18
KOH 79 4435 Kevin Sacalas 03:55.25
KOH 146 4461 Ben Napier 03:55.41
KOH 81 4421 Erik Miller 03:56.31
KOH 167 4414 Jason Shipman 03:56.37
KOH 62 4415 Larry McRae 03:58.46
KOH 61 8 Nick Campbell 04:01.12
KOH 74 81 Levi Shirley 04:02.41
KOH 120 55 Eddie Peterson 04:05.94
KOH 179 18 Brian Shirley 04:05.97
KOH 161 53 Chris Hoyt 04:06.53
KOH 128 144 Chicky Barton 04:08.85
KOH 4 4464 Corey Kuchta 04:10.32
KOH 174 4441 Darren Henke 04:10.97
KOH 51 4466 Ivan VanOrtwick 04:11.28
KOH 171 97 BJ Baldwin 04:11.72
KOH 137 27 Jon Cagliero 04:13.41
KOH 45 3 Wayland Campbell 04:13.94
KOH 92 26 Clay Gilstrap 04:14.31
KOH 68 4427 Jeff Russell 04:14.35
KOH 80 4446 Gary Ferravanti Sr 04:14.75
KOH 156 4444 Jason Pickett 04:17.68
KOH 34 966 Jason Blanton 04:19.09
KOH 70 302 Tony Rietdorf 04:20.58
KOH 72 4482 JP Gomez 04:21.44
KOH 30 4485 Tony Pellegrino 04:21.84
KOH 76 210 Greg Adler 04:22.97
KOH 99 321 Tom Wayes 04:23.22
KOH 75 4418 Mike Colville 04:25.01
KOH 59 707 Michael Kelly 04:25.06
KOH 113 4138 Craig Ross 04:26.50
KOH 47 4472 Dustin Isenhour 04:28.00
KOH 134 4403 Ben Dinkins 04:28.50
KOH 149 4411 Ryan Hagel 04:29.66
KOH 10 816 Lucas Murphy 04:30.22
KOH 155 524 Mark Danzo 04:31.25
KOH 112 4478 Les Figueroa 04:33.28
KOH 54 929 Michael Feagins 04:34.15
KOH 135 2228 Nick Finch 04:36.62
KOH 46 890 Jonathan Terhune 04:37.62
KOH 78 4419 Jeremy Dickenson 04:37.69
KOH 23 4450 Dave Bovich 04:37.72
KOH 9 4580 Jordan Townsend 04:40.31
KOH 119 4488 Stephen Watson 04:42.53
KOH 153 701 Greg Lundeen 04:43.75
KOH 139 4505 Jeff Rector 04:44.00
KOH 27 697 Dave Ashman 04:44.97
KOH 77 4481 Alex Hardaway 04:45.00
KOH 95 4471 Dave Schneider 04:49.84
KOH 106 914 Sean Rose 04:50.94
KOH 6 36 Ben Swain 04:54.66
KOH 150 4108 Tim Smoluk 04:55.12
KOH 96 4476 Kevin Gamble 04:55.19
KOH 40 13 JT Taylor 04:58.13
KOH 65 16 Jason Carner 04:59.31
KOH 57 245 Chris Reid 04:59.50
KOH 69 4473 Brent Goegebuer 05:02.09
KOH 22 4493 Andrew McLaughlin 05:03.19
KOH 178 4422 Curt LeDuc 05:04.81
KOH 160 197 Ragnar Robertson 05:09.16
KOH 2 911 David Buchberger 05:11.62
KOH 21 4408 Stan Haynes 05:12.29
KOH 144 4469 Jack Childers 05:12.63
KOH 37 23 Scott Porter 05:14.69
KOH 56 4445 Hal Deschamp 05:15.13
KOH 125 4413 Doug Bigelow 05:17.28
KOH 55 83 Raul Gomez 05:22.31
KOH 12 100 Fabio Manno 05:25.16
KOH 163 4455 Andy Brown 05:27.07
KOH 114 1272 Stephane Zosso 05:28.22
KOH 138 4431 Mike Klensin 05:28.56
KOH 102 4434 Kevin Yoder 05:40.19
KOH 100 4468 John Webb 05:46.78
KOH 14 51 Masanori Tsuda 05:46.94
KOH 64 66 Eric Anderson 05:54.87
KOH 132 4343 Tim Diekmann 05:54.94
KOH 11 68 Axel Burmann 06:23.25
KOH 16 429 Troy Stone 06:35.53
KOH 91 420 George Kane 07:17.72
KOH 82 4489 Pier Acerni 07:18.76
KOH 1 4474 Richie Carter 08:25.41
KOH 154 4680 Cody Addington 09:00.72
KOH 41 4487 Matt Nieman 09:25.71
KOH 109 4463 Rob Lynch 10:39.93
KOH 24 69 Jim Marsden DNF
KOH 25 104 Jim Brown DNF
KOH 48 4499 Jesse Haines DNF
KOH 118 28 John James DNF
KOH 170 4407 Cottin Rodd DNF
KOH 29 4455 Andy Brown DNS
KOH 33 4680 Cody Addington DNS
KOH 44 4451 Mel Wade DNS
KOH 50 58 Dan Guyer DNS
KOH 52 107 Carlos Banegas DNS
KOH 53 4475 Gary Ferravanti Jr DNS
KOH 58 451 Ragnar Robertson DNS
KOH 73 77 Robby Gordon DNS
KOH 83 4441 Darren Henke DNS
KOH 84 17 Matt Messer DNS
KOH 85 4407 Cottin Rodd DNS
KOH 105 24 Chip Cross DNS
KOH 107 327 Jim Lambert DNS
KOH 115 4451 Mel Wade DNS
KOH 121 2 Casey Currie DNS
KOH 123 338 Matthew Peterson DNS
KOH 124 927 Doug Kahlstrom DNS
KOH 168 1 Brad Lovell DNS