Many of you have heard about the programs we put into place to return money back into your race programs. They’re explained more below and on our website, check them out and let us know what you think. All the competitor programs we talk about are for any competitor in any class, during King of the Hammers, Desert Challenge and King of the Motos – no exclusions!
We recently welcomed our first KOH Rookie Class to the ranch and it was a great reminder of why we do what we do. We are excited about our future, KOH and beyond.
See you on the lakebed,
Dave
Numbers and Registration!
It’s here! Competitor registration is OPEN NOW, on phase one of our new website, KingoftheHammers.com! Although we’ve opened our site for you to see and begin using now, this is just the beginning of what it will become over the next few months. An extensive FAQ section even the most seasoned racers can learn from, all competitor information in one centralized location, easy-to-use navigation and more. Check back often as it evolves!
Head over to the new website and request a number if you need one here. We have compiled a definitive list of number assignments, and are using a database to request numbers, rather than it being a manual process. If you have an issue obtaining or confirming a number, please email Info@KingoftheHammers.com. Review the steps to register and the information you need here.
$$$ – Competitor Payback Program – $$$
King of the Hammers believes we should be helping make racing more affordable for competitors, so we’ve found a way to put dollars back into your race program through the Competitor Payback Program! When you register, participants (formerly called spectators), are able to select your name from a menu and you receive $10 of each ticket sold, paid by check to you monthly! You do not need to do anything special to be enrolled, it’s automatic upon registration for KOH 2023. This is a great time to market yourself and your team while collecting a check for it! Read the details here.
Team T-Shirt Program – More $$$ Back to You!
In-line with the Competitor Payback Program, we’re excited to utilize the relationships we have built as a company to help competitors offer merchandise and brand your race team, while helping put money back into your race program. We will produce and sell your custom shirt on our online store, and you receive $15 back per shirt sold of your art! You may take advantage of this opportunity in registration, there is no cost to enroll, only your set-up fee (art fee if applicable). Shirt sales end November 30, 2022, so register and get your art taken care of right away to maximize the amount of time your shirt is available for sale. Read all the details on our website here.
Randy Slawson Wins The World’s Hardest One Day Off-Road Race & Takes Home His Third Crown
February 8, 2020 (Hammertown, CA)- King of the Hammers has a reputation as the most difficult one day off-road race in the world, pushing team and machine to their breaking point, and beyond. Attrition in 2021 was as high as ever, with only 37 of 84 competitors reaching the finish line within the 14-hour time limit. There were numerous lead changes, mechanical carnage, and drama as the race unfolded over 190 miles of unforgiving terrain in Johnson Valley, the largest Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) area in the United States. In the end, Randy Slawson and his cousin Dustin Emick edged out JP Gomez and Marcos Gomez to join Shannon Campbell and Jason Scherer as three-time winners of the event. For his efforts, Slawson took home a $65,000 pay check and a brand-new Ford Bronco. “My year begins and ends in February. It’s not in January, like everybody else’s,” Slawson explained. “This is the only thing that I live eat, breathe sleep, dream – King of the Hammers.”
While many of the top teams have adopted independent front suspension (IFS) for faster speeds in the desert, Slawson has stayed loyal to the Spidertrax solid axles under his Bomber Fabrication buggy. And unlike other forms of racing where the driver writes a check to buy a race car, Slawson crafted the buggy with his own hands, building not only his own winning car but Chayse Caprara’s Bomber that won the 4WP Every Man Challenge (EMC) the day prior. “The last time I had one of my customers win the Every Man Challenge I won the 4400 race the next day. I was like, just taking it as an omen,” Slawson revealed at the finish line. “And right then Jason Scherer rolled by, and he waved me over to his car, and he gave me a fist bump. He said, ‘you’re gonna win it this year.’”
Fast qualifier JP Gomez and his brother Raul Gomez rounded out the podium in their single-seat UFO Fabrication cars. “I don’t want to start on the pole again, it sucks!” JP joked after crossing the finish line. “It took me about a lap and a half to finally calm down. Just slowly catching up my pace. And then that’s how I went the whole rest of the day.” Raul stopped to assist Tom Wayes after Wayes suffered a violent rollover in the desert, valuing the safety of his rivals over his own success on the track. “When I pulled up, I turn my car off and I yelled for him to see if he was okay. And he didn’t say anything so then I radioed the pit and couldn’t get him out,” Raul Gomez recalled. “Then Cameron (Steele) and Wayne (Isrealsen) pulled up and Tom told us to keep racing.”
Bailey Cole finished in fourth place for the second year in a row, matching his finish on the prior day in the Every Man Challenge the day before. “We really stayed in the zone all day,” Cole shared. “We wanted to just go out and get the hard rocks out the first lap when the car was healthy so we did Backdoor on Lap One. And then we just continued our pace with the desert and we picked off probably ten cars in that desert loop, the car was handling great.” Drift racing superstar Vaughn Gittin Jr. finished in fifth place in his Ford Bronco buggy.
Gittin’s Ford teammates Jason Scherer and Loren Healy finished 9th and 13th respectively, with all three Ford Broncos racing taking the checkered flag. “This race is gonna have like a 70% attrition rate and three out of three Broncos finished,” Scherer exclaimed. “It’s like batting a thousand.” Scherer and desert racer Cameron Steele shared the lead early on in the race, but both had issues that pushed them back in the standings. Fuel management was an issue for not only Scherer but contender Wayland Campbell as well. Scherer’s navigator Jason Berger, known for his physical fitness, ran into the main pit to retrieve fuel, and Andrew McLaughlin pulled Campbell in to the pit. King of the Hammers is a “no chase” race, meaning that racers can help each other but can’t receive other assistance outside of the designated pit locations. Perhaps most amazing is that UTV winner Kyle Chaney and last year’s UTV winner Hunter Miller finished 11th and 12th overall in their Can-Am Maverick X3s against a field of unlimited cars with V8 engines and 40-inch-tall tires.
The OPTIMA Batteries King of the Hammers Presented by Lasernut is the grand finale of nine days of racing in Johnson Valley in front millions of online viewers watching unparalleled life coverage from the desert. The event started with the Toyo Desert Challenge Presented by Monster Energy with $285,000 up for grabs. The event then added rocks to the mix with the All Balls Racing King of the Motos, Can-Am UTV King of the Hammers Presented by PROGRESSIVE, and the 4WP Every Man Challenge. King of the Hammers races combine punishing desert terrain and huge boulders in the notorious Hammer trails. The unlimited 4400 class runs the same two laps as the UTV and EMC races, but ups the ante with a third lap adding even harder trails with ominous names such as King’s Graveyard and Hell to Pay.
Missed the action or want to watch it again? Replay the live broadcast shows at YouTube.com/ultra4racing.
GenRight Off Road is excited to announce that Jordan Pellegrino will be racing in two classes for the 2021 Optima Batteries King of the Hammers presented by Lasernut. Jordan has been chosen by Factory Honda Off-Road Racing to race a Honda Talon UTV for his first UTV race ever. Jordan was selected after an exhaustive search for the right fit of driver for the Talon.
“I’m stoked that Factory Honda Off-Road selected me as a driver for the UTV race at King of the Hammers 2021. The team is great, our practices have gone extremely well, and I’m confident the Talon will get me to the finish line at the front of the pack. What is great is the suspension is similar to the “Unicorn” #98 full independent suspension car I race in 4400 class so the learning curve was minimal.” Explained Jordan.
Jordan will also be racing in the Optima Batteries King of the Hammers presented by Lasernut 4400 Unlimited Class race in his full independent suspension racecar built by GenRight Off Road. This will be Jordan’s second year racing in the “Unicorn” at KOH. The 800 horsepower FIS car is extremely fast in the desert, and works well in the rocks.
The “Unicorn” will be one of the few 4400 cars on 40” tires, but don’t let that fool you because the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss tires are one of the toughest all-around mud terrain on the market. In fact, The “Terremoto” JKU 4485 race Jeep that Tony Pellegrino raced in 2020 still has one tire from the KOH race last year on the Jeep!
In addition to Jordan driving in the 4400 race on Saturday, GenRight Off Road is extremely excited to announce that a fan of Ultra4 Racing watched King of the Hammers LIVE in 2020 and saw Tony Pellegrino racing the “Terremoto” JKU, and was inspired to build his JKU into a race jeep! Tommy Dykstra learned how to weld and fabricate, thanks to many hours of YouTube videos, and turned his JKU into a race jeep. Complete with an LSX motor, GenRight Elite Suspension, roll cage and armor upgrades to pass tech, and he qualified for the 2021 KOH race last fall at the Lasernut Beatdown at BFE in Moab, UT.
The 2021 KOH race will be Tommy’s first King of the Hammers race, and second race of his career in offroad. “Tommy has shown such a huge dedication to Ultra4 Racing in his first few months in the sport that we are going to help him with his pit strategy, and fill in the gaps for his pit crew on race day with our crew from GenRight. It’s tough coming into this sport new, and getting enough help to get you to and through race day. We wanted to help in any way we could, since he is a superfan of the sport. He built a Jeep JKU clone of the “Terremoto” to race in, but his has a bigger motor! I don’t think anyone has ever built a 4400 class race Jeep because they were inspired when they watched the race. This is a first in Ultra4 Racing history!” Explained Tony Pellegrino, owner and founder of GenRight Off Road.
“GenRight has been great to work with on building “Noisy Boy” JKU for the 2021 race, and they didn’t stop with giving me pointers for the build, they had one of their staff that knew Area BFE extremely well, and she helped me qualify for the 2021 KOH race. My co-driver now is Tony’s original co-driver, Matt Perron, who knows Johnson Valley extremely well. We have also done a 4-day intensive training session out at Johnson Valley that really taught me how to drive the jeep and my way around JV since I have only been here once before.” Said an extremely enthusiastic Tommy Dykstra. His goal is to finish the race in time, and hopefully beat Tony Pellegrino’s placement of 32nd in the 2020 race in the “Terremoto” JKU.
GenRight Off Road Racing would like to thank our marketing partners for 2021: Mickey Thompson Tires, R1 Concepts, Rockstar Energy, VisionX, FK Rod Ends, Design Engineering Inc, WARN, Factor 55, Aeromotive, Fox Shocks, JE Reel Driveline, Yukon Gear & Axle, Odyssey Batteries, KMC Wheels, Griffin Radiators, HSPPerforamance, Griffin Radiators, Bulletliner, KN Filters, Torco, PRP Seats, Currie Enterprises, Rockjock, AGR Steering, Rugged Radios, Advanced Adapters, Scosche, SCAT Crankshafts, Fuelsafe.
King of the Hammers race week schedule for Team GenRight is as follows: 2/1/21 UTV Qualifying on– Jordan Pellegrino 2/3/21 4400 Qualifying on– Jordan Pellegrino in the 10AM hour, Tommy Dykstra in the 3PM hour UTV Tech & Contingency – Jordan Pellegrino 2/4/21 UTV Race on– Jordan Pellegrino 2/5/21 4400 Tech & Contingency on – Jordan Pellegrino & Tommy Dykstra 2/6/21 4400 Race on – Jordan Pellegrino & Tommy Dykstra
Josh Blyler earns his first King of the Hammers win with Team Nitto while Erik Miller and Marcos Gomez round out the top three spots at the opening race of the Ultra4 Racing season on Friday, February 7, 2020.
Cypress, Calif. (February 10, 2020) – Nitto Tire U.S.A., a leading manufacturer of off-road and street performance tires, has announced that Team Nitto drivers Josh Blyler, Erik Miller and Marcos Gomez have swept the podium at the 2020 Nitto King of the Hammers race in Johnson Valley, California.
The King of the Hammers race marks the beginning of the 2020 Ultra4 Racing series and is widely regarded as the toughest single-day off-road race in the world with over 212 miles covered in less than 12 hours. In the race’s unlimited 4400 class, the drivers pilot custom race buggies through a course that includes both high speed desert running and highly technical rock crawling. To win, a competitor must display remarkable stamina, skill and have the proper equipment to withstand the rigorous conditions.
2020 marks both Blylers’ first win at King of the Hammers and the second time that Nitto Tire has swept the podium at the King of the Hammers, with the last sweep taking place in 2017. Taking second place was longtime Team Nitto driver and two-time King of the Hammers winner Erik Miller with Nitto Driver Marcos Gomez securing the podium sweep with a third-place finish. All drivers and teams were competing on Nitto’s capable, durable and race-proven Trail Grappler M/T tire.
“The entire team at Nitto Tire is extremely proud of our amazing drivers and their incredible accomplishment at one of the toughest off-road races in the world,” said Chris Corbett, Nitto Tire U.S.A.’s events and motorsports manager. “This race pushes competitors and their rigs to the extreme, so a reliable, durable and race-proven tire like the Nitto Trail Grappler M/T is crucial to success. Speeding through the desert and navigating countless rock obstacles, the right tire is one of the single biggest factors in determining whether or not you end up on top of the podium.”
About Nitto Tire® Nitto Tire (www.nittotire.com) develops performance tires for all uses, including racing, off-road and street. Using state-of-the-art manufacturing and testing facilities in both Japan and the United States, Nitto provides innovative and high-quality performance tires for the most demanding automotive enthusiasts. For more information about Nitto or its products, visit the company’s web site or contact the company directly. Nitto is a registered trademark of Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc., located at 5665 Plaza Drive, Ste. 250, Cypress, CA 90630
That’s right ladies and gentlemen! Registration for the 2020 Nitto King of the Hammers Powered by Optima Batteries is now open!
You can access registration, as well as rent YellowBrick trackers, purchase garage locations, and pay for your tech fees and qualifying (for those classes in which qualifying is optional) right under the “Racer” tab of the Event Page HERE!
**Note** USAC for the 2020 race season will be available at Ultra4License.com starting Wednesday, November 20th.
Remember, just like in previous years, you need to be logged into your driver profile to register. If you don’t remember your username and password, shoot Lindsey an email at Lindsey@Ultra4Racing.com with your name and car number, and she can get you into your account.
Be sure to register for KOH 2020 before December 10th for the best prices, regardless of which race(s) you will be competing in.
Spectator tickets and camping passes for friends and family will be available soon, so keep an eye out for that as well. As always, we’ll announce when these big items go on sale via social media and email.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! You can contact us at Info@ultra4racing.com.
— True North Racing – Supplied with Roadian MTX Extreme Off-Road Tires – Earns Second-Place Podium Finish in Grueling Off-Road Race —
DIAMOND BAR, Calif. (Feb. 19, 2019) – Nexen Tire America, Inc., a worldwide leader in high-performance, passenger, SUV/light truck and winter tire technology, took its premier Roadian MTX Extreme Off-Road tires to the 2019 King of the Hammers off-road racing event and earned a second-place podium finish in the 4WP Every Man Challenge with racing partner True North Racing.Nexen Tire made its first-ever appearance at the event by partnering with True North Racing and its driver, Alex McNeil, who pilots the #4675 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Alex finished second-place in the Spidertrax 4600 Stock Class with an elapsed time of 8:48:13. The well-established Canadian racing team set out to showcase how well Nexen Tire’s Roadian MTX Extreme Off-Road Tires perform under demanding off-road conditions. True North Racing competed in the 4WP Every Man Challenge, a race consisting of a two-lap course designed to test the limits of its competitors and their equipment. The race dictates each competitor must use the vehicle’s factory frame, engine and transmission, as well as 35-inch DOT approved tires, single 2.5-inch diameter shocks on all four corners and mechanical-type steering.
“It’s a challenge just to even finish the course, so Alex’s second place was a pretty amazing accomplishment. We were confident in the MTX’s ability to tackle these conditions, and it was great to be able to back that up with a podium finish,” said Paul Jho, motorsport senior manager for Nexen Tire. “The Roadian MTX is designed for both casual off-roaders and tough competitive conditions and that is exactly what Alex and the True North Racing Team needed to finish one of the most demanding off-road races on the planet.”
Nexen Tire’s Roadian MTX Extreme Off-Road Tire was an early front-runner at this year’s King of the Hammers. Many teams who enter the race do not finish within the allotted time frame — let alone finish at all — due to mechanical failures, rollover risks and especially tire failures. With confidence in Nexen Tire’s Roadian MTX, McNeil and the team completed the race with a podium finish on the exact same set of 35×12.5×17-inch tires they started with. This illustrates the tough-as-nails reputation the Roadian MTX Extreme Off-Road Tire has earned in the competitive-racing sector and overall off-road community.
The Roadian MTX Extreme Off-Road Tire sports top features such as:
Available in more than 35 different sizes including 33-, 35- and 37-inch
Roadian MTX’s aggressive design embraces on- and off-road versatility
Distinctively designed dual sidewalls – Beast and Machine – giving the customer the freedom to choose the look that best represents their lifestyle and vehicle
Standard 3-ply construction and F-Load rating- weight rating makes the Roadian MTX perfect for towing and heavy loads
Max 80 PSI to support high-load conditions
Tread-block design helps to eliminate noise, harshness and vibration transferred into the cabin
Exceptional low-air qualities for maximum performance in off-road and mud terrain environments
“These tires surpassed all of our expectations in terms of performance and durability,” said McNeil, driver of the Nexen Tire Sponsored #4675 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. “We are beyond impressed with the Roadian MTX’s ability to handle the most tortuous conditions that a tire can be subjected to with ease and we are very excited about our continuing partnership with Nexen Tire.”
Inspired by Nexen’s global family of drivers to engineer superior performing tires – from championship-winning Formula DRIFT drivers, rock-climbing off-road enthusiasts to everyday commuters – Nexen Tire utilizes proprietary technology and the highest quality standards in the industry to guarantee world-class products backed by unrivaled customer support for the life of each tire. As a worldwide leader in high-performance, passenger, SUV / light truck and winter offerings, the company is second-to-none in research, development and state-of-the-art manufacturing. And as part of a select group of tire manufacturers worldwide that are specified as standard fitment on original equipment vehicles, Nexen delivers premium products at a sensible price. Find out more about how Nexen has your back at nexentireusa.com – and join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. #WeGotYou #NexenTire #NexenRacing
