King of the Hammers 2015

[TORX]

TORXreport: King of the Hammers
Johnson Valley, California
February 1-7, 2015
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A few months ago Ben (BPB), asked what my plans were for this years King of the Hammers (KOH). I knew at the very least I was in to head down to spectate if we didn't have our car ready to race. Fast forward to a few weeks before departure and we recruited another buddy, Casey, to head down with us. This then lead to an impulse buy of a truck bed camper for the trip. The rest is history, and this was bound to be an adventure!

Friday, January 31st, 9:00PM, we hit the road due South.

Fortunately for us gas was cheap this time of year, because Ben's 8.1L 2500HD was a thirsty pig. We averaged around 200 miles per 30 gallon tank, and logged as high as 8.7mpg, and as low as 6.4mpg. We didn't have any control over these numbers as Ben was set on iron manning this drive.

Heading into the valley of California we ran into some dense fog. Apparently CHP thought we needed an escort through it. Ben tried to pass, but was quickly blocked Mario Cart style.

Casey had some relatives (Aunt Judy and Uncle Rod) near Fresno. We met up with them for breakfast in exchange for a bunch of almond firewood. Score!


Next big stop was picking up some groceries for the week in Bakersfield. ~$400 and ~216 beers chilling on ice later we were back on the road for the final leg of this journey.

Quick pit stop for a group pee break. We weren't in Kansas anymore.

After a short 21 hours after departure we arrived at Hammertown. We quickly unloaded the camper, and settled in.

#cuddlebuddies. While Casey claimed the couch, Ben and I were sharing the queen size bed up top. This was going to be an interesting week.

Stepped outside in the morning, and was greeted with awesomeness.

I'm a PNW'er at heart, but there's just something about the desert that never gets old.

We were anxious to get out and do some exploring.

Walked into Backdoor canyon to size up this infamous waterfall in person. It was pretty impressive. For those familiar with TSF's Waterfall center line, add another vertical four to five feet.

I was waiting for it to either sting me or show its teeth.

#Bros.

From Backdoor we crossed the lake bed over to see what was going on at Chocolate Thunder. This was the starting point of the King of the Moto's race.

 

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One thing I think all of us up here take for granted are trees. What are you doing, Ben?

One of the things I love about KOH week is all the cool stuff you see in unexpected places. For example, Randy Slawson's Bomber rig parked up by Chocolate Thunder.

FJ80 based crawler, some might recognize it from Pirate4x4.

Pretty soon we started to hear the helo approaching the canyon. We weren't even racing, and the goosebumps and adrenaline set in.

The bikes were off with a drop start. Instant insanity with bikes becoming tangled, and riders trying to find a clean line through.

Cool $hit everywhere.

We headed back to camp to wait for our bros to arrive. Life is tough sometimes.

Rod (mojo) and his buddy Mike arrived Sunday afternoon.

Ben was lured in by the sounds of the ice cream truck.

We had yet to venture into Hammertown, so the five of us took some time to go out exploring.

How do you find something in the middle of the desert? Street names and addresses of course.

Need a rig?

Got to check out the "rock bouncer" style of build up close. Not my thing, but impressive to see. This one featured D60's with Rockwell outers.

Genright's $200K "Teremoto" on display. Still a JK.

At this point we began seeing people pouring into Hammertown with chairs, coolers, and Seahawks swag. It was Superbowl time, and Ben was quick to join in on the bandwagon. The rest of us ran over to Backdoor to see if anyone was out playing. Much to our surprise we found a some Rock Bouncers getting some practice runs in for the Monday night Shootout.

 

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We headed back to camp to grab some dinner, and then caught the last few minutes of the game on the Jumbotron.

The next morning we wanted to do some exploring to see where we wanted to watch the races later in the week. Rod and Mike had yet to see Chocolate Thunder so we "raced" up there. Ben's truck didn't like the hill climb race and quickly spit out a front u-joint.

While Ben trouble shot his truck, the rest of us got a front row seat to a marketing photo shoot going on.

Another photo shoot with the Nitro Gear JK.

At the same time though it was cool to see your average Joe rec wheeler out enjoying the trails too.

"Broke my truuuk."

Some rigs out pre-running.


I walked the first part of the trail when the coast was clear, and I was really wishing I had my rig at this point.

Ben and Casey decided to head into Lucerne Valley to find a new u-joint, while Rod, Mike, and I headed over to the Jack / Sledge canyons. CartoTracks offered an App this year that gives you the course map on your phone. It worked great and got us to where we needed to be all week.

Welcome to the Hammers.

Group from Montana playing around on the bottom entrance to Jack.

Hiked up the canyon a ways, and the started to get a bit more serious.

Some rigs trying to get through Jack's "Plaque Line".

 

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Looking over Jack Hammer Canyon. If you can make it to this point, you're home free.

Just before heading down we saw an Ultra4 car coming up the canyon out pre-running. They tried a few lines with no success, and almost flopped.

Got ink? Codriver hopped out, and hooked up the winch.

They eventually broke their front D60 Detroit, and headed back. We chatted for a bit at the bottom, and they mentioned just how different one of these cars acts in the rocks than their usual rec wheelers. 119" wheelbase, window nets, harnesses, and 20 psi is a whole different animal.

Back at camp, we found Ben beginning repairs on the truck.

Rod took this time to put his broken camera out of its misery.

With the Backdoor Shootout coming up we convoyed over to Backdoor Canyon to get a decent spot. Cool old FJ55.

50 drivers signed up to compete for the fastest time up Backdoor. I believe winner took $7500 from Vision-X.

With the canyon packed with thousands of people, Ben and I managed to get a good spot overlooking the trail.

Sometimes people ran out of talent.

Sometimes a small fire was the answer to a problem.

Lots of impressive carnage.

All in all, the title went to Bobby Tanner in Screaming Blue with a 22 second run. The Bouncers were always fun to watch, are built to take a beating. 65 year old Bill Baird also put up an impressive run in his single seat Ultra4 car. Good times!

Good morning, Ben.

Rod an I walked up above our camp one morning. HammerTown was growing by the day.

 

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Qualifying was taking place Tuesday-Wednesday for Friday's main race. Liquid Iron car on deck. Ben and I ran into some fellow member's (KTMracer and VetteBoy) one night who were helping pit for them. These guys didn't have a spot in the main race, so they were running the Last Chance Qualifier, which took the top five times out of the twenty-seven entries.

I made my way up the hill side to get a pretty good spot of the action.

The "John Deere" themed buggy on course. I believe new car gremlins plagued him all week as he stopped on course for a few minutes.

Cars lining up for qualifying.

Old build from back in the day I recognized cruising around the lake bed.

The Phoenix rose from it's ashes from the day before.

Needs upgraded cooling system.

After some lunch the bro's and I wondered up to Chocolate thunder. Typical XJ guy.

Australian IFS/IRS car out pre-running.

Sunsets on the lake bed are pretty surreal.

Atomic Racing's K5 out pre-running.

The old Miller Motorsports 4600 ZJ out with its new owners. It's easy to criticize as a spectator, but these guys looked really green in the rocks.

 

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Back at camp with a full moon rising, and Laser Tom's laser show starting.

Later that night our bro-pack headed into HammerTown. The bonfire was a blaze.

Where else will you find a limo on 40's and propane injection for flame throwers?

Making friends with the security gaurds. "It's all about that bass!"

Wednesday morning I walked into HammerTown to catch the start of the UTV race.

Chopper chasing the leaders down the stretch.

Lots of air time.

I was watching the start from the Monster Energy lounge, and went up to the second level for a better view.

Walking back to camp I found one of the Shootout rigs for sale. ~$40K will get you a turbo'd LS rig on 42's.

No idea who this is.

 

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Watching the UTV leaders come up Chocolate Thunder.

On the winch. The side-by-sides are impressive to watch, but I'll still take a Jeep any day.

Back in HammerTown running some errands. RuffStuff Specialties were working non stop all week repairing rigs.

Rod and I hiked up to the hill above camp to watch Power Hour of qualifying. This is when the big name / fast times are expected to run. While waiting for qualifying to start I heard the sound of choppers heading for us.

The leader for the UTV race was enroute to the finish. Pretty cool to have two choppers buzz right over head.

With qualifying started we watched as one car cut left too early, and nearly drove off the hill side. He was able to power out of it, and finish.

Wayland Campbell finishing his run as Levi Shirley waits on deck.

2013 King, Randy Slawson.

2009 King, Jason Scherer.

Without looking at the clock, it was obvious Jason put down the fastest time so far in his new single seat IFS car.

2008 and 2010 King, Shannon Campbell. Even with a near endo on course, he still beat his son in qualifying.

 

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Tom Wayes peeling out. It's very obvious seeing those who are there to win, and those who are there to finish.

The bros hanging out below.

With qualifying over we headed back to camp for some dinner, and then ventured into HammerTown for the night to see what we could find.

Axial sponsored crawler course.

4WheelParts pit garage was in full service with race prep.

Test drove some PRP seats.

Pit party at the Big Ugly pit. $40 bought you a mug and all access to their bar. All proceeds went to land use.

Amongst the parties and fun of HammerTown teams were busy dialing in the cars for the races.

Jimmy's4x4 pit party.

We wandered into the Indiana team's pit and ended up staying for awhile BS'ing with their crews. Good times.


Poked our head in one teams pit area, and got some good inside info on the EMC's timeline for the next day and where to watch the action.

After making our way back to camp, I decided to hike up the hill over looking HammerTown. Pretty impressive to see from a distance at night. It really is a small city.

The next day was the start of the EMC race, which featured the Spec, Legends, Modified, and Stock classes. We were greeted by Jessi Combs waiting to make her way to the starting line. Rod finally was able to get his picture with her.

Stock class MJ lined up.

 

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The feeling you get on race day is pretty unique.

Starting line, with the 4500 class launching two at a time.

Media lining the pit areas. TORX needs a green vest next year.

We regrouped back at camp, and decided to head up to Jackhammer to catch the leaders coming through.

Looking up into Sledgehammer. The course comes down Sledgehammer, and up Jackhammer canyons.

Looking over toward Jack, this was where the action would be.

The cars started coming through right around 11:00 just as our insider info told us the night before.

Genright 4500 car near the front of the pack.

Ben Napier running his Bomber rig in the Legends class. He'll race the main race the following day too.

Cars arriving at the Plaque Line on Jackhammer.

Co-drivers were quick to get out and start rigging the winch line. I really tried to put myself in there shoes imagining what I'd do different. Hats off to the co-drivers, they have their work cut out for them.

Crawl's Legends class car arriving near the front of the pack.

Quick to winch. The driver was not happy.

 

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Try running around in a fire suit, stacking rocks, and rigging winch lines in 80 degree heat.

Even getting up to the obstacle was tough for some teams. Lots of hung diffs. One team busted out the hi-lift to free their car.

Crawl finally winched their way up the obstacle, but not before losing pretty much all their coolant, and experiencing winch issues.

Enter the bottle neck.

First stock class car running near the front of the pack. These cars are limited to 35's, 12" of travel, and full body.

Crawl's co-driver taking advantage of having a dead car.

Running the obstacle two at a time. In a lot of cases it was a race to use the winch anchor first.

With the majority of the cars running the usual line, it was cool to see Brandon Heyes in the 4558 take an alternative line around the traffic. This is what it takes to finish this race, creativity.

Difficult line for sure, and Brandon ended up winching the entire way. Broken light bar and all.

Things getting sketch.

"How am I going to explain this to the sponsors"

Taking a risky line proved to be worth it. The 4558 gained four positions, and was free to leave the canyon. Brandon finished 12th overall, and 4th in class.

With the bottleneck just getting worse, we hiked down to chase the leaders over to Chocolate Thunder. T-shirt cannon!

Texas Team Gilstrap had a good showing with four cars in three different classes all week.

 

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After Chocolate Thunder we headed back to camp, and then into HammerTown to watch the rest of the race on the JumboTron. Later that night out came the shot_shot_shots.

Friday morning, and we were headed into HammerTown early to see the cars line up.

Race day.

With the wave of the green flag, the cars were off. Poll positions went to Jason Scherer and Erik Miller.

Tom Wayes gettin it.

With over 120 rigs starting the race, we watched a good portion start and then prepared to get out on course to watch them. Jack Hammer was our first stop. We figured they would shave about an hour off the EMC racer's times, and were up waiting in the canyon by 9:30.

Backdoor was an obstacle every car had to run at least once over the course of three laps. Scherer hit it right off the bat on lap one, while Miller opted to skip it for lap two. This proved to be a good move as Miller was able to take the lead on lap one. Miller was first to come into Jackhammer Canyon.

Getting lined up. Miller hit the ledge three times, and his co-driver hopped out to hook up the winch. It was shocking to see how fast his co-driver got out in comparison to some of the teams from the day before. These guys were on a mission.

Adler and Gilstrap were two and three through the canyon. Gilstrap off in the distance en-route to Chocolate Thunder. Both were able to drive the Jack without winching.

Levi Shirley in his single seat IFS car.

Randy Slawson came up to the ledge with his car missing real bad. Later in the day we were told by his family that they lost a sensor, which caused the engine to develop a missfire and run rich. They went from a estimated 2.5mpg down to 1.3mpg!

 

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The cars began filing in. Wayland Campbell and Ben Napier.

Shannon Campbell arrived a bit late from the front runners.

As the more cars piled up at the ledge, some looked at alternate lines. Casey Currie getting a feel for the right side line, but just managed to get diff hung in the rocks.

Rock. It was interesting to watch the drivers navigate the canyon. Some used horsepower to power their way up, as others slowed to find the right line through the rocks.

Currie gave up on the right line, and not soon after others were attempting it. The Gomez Brother's broke a IFS stub trying the lower right line.

Rubbing is racing.

As we watched cars pile up, and winch up the obstacle, we heard a lot of motor coming from the lower right bypass line. It was Jason Scherer, and he was on a mission to gain ground.

Jack was turning into a cluster, but Scherer stuck with his line and winched himself right up the canyon.

His car was in pretty rough shape, with a puking tranny, and a busted front end.

Nonetheless, he gained more than ten positions, and made a fast get away at the top in search of the next car in front of him. I chatted with his Rage4th crew during qualifying, and they couldn't say enough good things about him. True racer at heart.

By the time we left the canyon there were more than 26 cars stacked up waiting to get through it. HammerKing had a situation on their hands.

Jackhammer was the place to be.

After seeing our share of cars in the rocks we wanted to see them out on the flats. We found a spot that we could watch the cars heading back to main pit from lap two, and the cars coming out for lap three.

Our camp neighbors in the 4405 returning to main pit after getting through Jackhammer.

 

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Gilstrap gained the lead on lap two, but experienced an issue after hitting Backdoor on his final lap. This gave Adler the opportunity to take the lead.

Miller lost a few positions, but was back on the hunt.

BennyBro

Shirley running from the helo. It looked as if he was pulling away from it for a bit as he was all out.

OJ Simpson.

Big Ugly returning to main pit.


After getting our tan on for most of the afternoon, we headed back to HammerTown as the leaders were about an hour out.

While the leaders were coming in for the finish, some cars were pitting, and just beginning their third lap.

Media began to gather at the finish.

Randy Slawson crosses the finish line first.

 

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Victory.

Contingency payout.

Started second, finished second, Erik Miller.

Levi Shirley finishing third place, being the first IFS car to finish.

All in all, this was such a fun week to be a part of. There really isn't anything else like King of the Hammers. It's a pretty special event in a surreal place. I can't wait to get back down there again next year. After helping pit crew last year, spectate this year, I have my fingers crossed we'll be racing it next year. With a near 90% attrition rate this race really might be the toughest one day offroad race in the world!

 

[josefxj97]

Dustin, great pics and writeup like always! It was great to hang out with you guys throughout the week.

Cant wait for next year!

 

[Jbh97009]

Great write up, and great photos!

I need to get down there and watch the race myself sometime! Looks like fun!

 

[JeepFreak1234]

Amazing write up. Thanks for this.

 

[yoda4x4]

Awesome write up

 

[mojojojo]

Yeah... Not bad Dustin! I still think it was better in person

 

[kndrewa]

great report, looks like a great time, thanks for sharing!