While the front-lining Nitto King of the Hammers powered by Optima Batteries is definitely the headlining event of the big King of the Hammers off-road-and-rock-crawling week in Johnson Valley, Calif., each day leading up to it has its own star attraction.
Toyo Tires Desert Invitational presented by Monster Energy
First was a new event this year featuring the same Trophy Trucks you see bashing through Baja in the annual 1000- and 500-mile races down there –- the Toyo Tires Desert Invitational presented by Monster Energy. The race is a $125,000, 280-mile high-speed blast across the desert, minus the slow and technical rock crawling of the KOH competition. Since it’s an invitational, it’s limited to 25 trucks. While there were no steep rocky sections where Trophy Trucks would likely have been stopped, the course did have some rocky canyons, along with high-speed dry lakebeds, deep silt and three-foot-deep whoops. Seasoned desert veteran and three-time Baja 500 winner Bryce Menzies qualified first but was soon passed by four-time Baja 1000 champion Andy McMillin, of the racing McMillin family. Andy McMillin lead until the 110-mile mark, when he lost a rear ring and pinion. Broken differentials littered the course as other competitors dropped out. Only eight of the 25 starters would finish. When Andy dropped out it was his cousin Luke McMillin who took over the lead and held it till the end.
“It’s funny, this course is different than other desert races we do. It’s hard to describe,” Luke said. “It’s extreme rock and ditches. It’s a good old fashion desert race like we used to do in Barstow and Plaster City. That’s kind of what it felt like with the gnarly rock climbs. It’s very different than Baja or anything else, but I loved it. It was an awesome course.”
4WP Every Man Challenge
While the headlining King of the Hammers and the Toyo Tires Desert Invitational feature big-buck trucks with large sponsorship deals and big rig haulers, there is an event that the average Joe or Jane can enter during KOH week –- the 4WP Every Man Challenge. The 165-mile course covers much of the same ground as the King of the Hammers, so there is rock-crawling aplenty. But the rules for race vehicles make it open to less-expensive rigs. And to make it even more accessible, the EMC is broken up into three classes, so there’s something for everyone.
This year there were 130 entries in the EMC, lead by polesitter Casey Gilbert, a longtime entrant in Ultra4 Racing. Gilbert battled with Levi Shirley for much of the day until Shirley’s transmission quit, leaving Gilbert the win in his Miller Motorsports Jeep.
“Starting in the pole position, it’s hard to pace yourself because you know everyone behind you has time on you,” Gilbert shared at the finish line. “It’s really a Catch-22, though, because I like clean air, and I race better when I’m out front in the fresh air. When Levi got around us for about 30 miles, following behind him was tough.”
The 2016 and 2017 EMC winners Brad and Roger Lovell finished second in their Ford Ranger. Colorado’s Lovell brothers completed the race in the same vehicle they have raced at Nitto King of the Hammers for the past decade. Riverside’s Jason Bunch qualified second for the EMC race and physically finished third, but Bailey Cole beat Bunch on corrected time to round out the podium in the frontrunning 4800 Class. Only 48 of the 130 starters completed the race in the allotted time.
Holley EFI Shootout
If there is such a thing as rock crawling drag racing, that’s what you’d see at the Holley EFI Shootout presented by KMC, King and ASC. The event started out as the Backdoor Shootout, named after a steep rock crawl up a cliff that was known as Backdoor. Rock crawlers would bring their rigs to the spot and then see who could race up it the quickest. Well, it turns out it still isn’t easy, even with purpose-built rigs. Fewer than half the 32 entrants even made it to the top of the course, with some toppling backwards onto their roofs in the attempt. One-by-one competitors roared up, and one-by-one they were spat off the rock face. But a few made it. An early fast time was just under a minute, held by Kyle Hathaway. Then Anthony Yount did a remarkable 22 seconds, which seemed unbeatable…until Texan Will Stewart zipped up the hill in a remarkable 19 seconds in his Southern Rock Racing Bouncer for the win.
Can-Am UTV
The Can-Am UTV King of the Hammers presented by HCR is for those ever-more-popular side-by-sides you see out in the desert. The little vehicles can really scoot. As race organizers said: “UTV technology is improving in leaps and bounds each year, just like Ultra4 cars. To rise to the challenge of increased horsepower, bigger shocks, and larger tires from the manufacturers, Hammerking promoter Dave Cole promised to make the 2019 Can-Am UTV King of the Hammers presented by HCR the toughest in history. Just four years ago, only five UTVs finished the race. In a testament to the sport and vehicle progression, despite a course that was longer and more difficult than ever, twenty-eight vehicles finished the 2019 Can-Am UTV King of the Hammers race within the nine-hour time limit.”
Last year’s winner Mitch Guthrie Jr. set the fastest qualifying time on Saturday, ahead of Midwest short course racer Kyle Chaney by only 2/10ths of a second. On race day, when the green flag dropped, Phil Blurton passed both Guthrie and Chaney in his turbocharged Can-Am Maverick X3 to take the physical lead in the 91-mile desert loop. When the race moved to the infamous Hammers rock crawling canyons though, everything changed. 22-year-old Mitch Guthrie Jr. grew up in Johnson Valley, where his father has won the King of the Hammers UTV race six times.
“We’ve been doing a lot of pre-running this week. The rocks are where it counts, and we had some great lines through them. We never even had to wrench,” Guthrie said.
And that's what helped the younger Guthrie win this year’s race. Wayland Campbell was second and Branden Sims third. Wayland’s dad, Shannon Campbell, finished fourth.
King of the Hammers is just the first race of the year for all these guys. You can watch the rest of it online at ultra4racing.com/live. Hammer down!
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