king Of The Hammers 2013 - winner Randy Slawson - Photo 49265454

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Randy Slawson got the coveted King of the Hammers crown for 2013. Randy, of Grand Terrace, California, has been a part of King of the Hammers since the race began in 2007. A patient, smart race strategy paid off, as he stayed running while many of his competitiors fell to mechanical failure and various forms of bad luck. Randy chose to run the Backdoor waterfall on lap two, which spared him the traffic jam others found on lap three. He beat Second Place by more than 20 minutes. Congratulations!

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Fast, slow, and everything in between. Just as no two iterations of King of the Hammers have been alike, there’s no single vehicle style that dominates the KOH field. Look closely and you’ll see front- and mid-engine powertrain configurations as well as solid front axles, A-arm IFS, and Twin-Traction Beams. The single common denominator is that they’re all 4x4s.

Fast, slow, and everything in between. Just as no two iterations of King of the Hammers have been alike, there’s no single vehicle style that dominates the KOH field. Look closely and you’ll see front- and mid-engine powertrain configurations as well as solid front axles, A-arm IFS, and Twin-Traction Beams. The single common denominator is that they’re all 4x4s.

Crowd control was virtually nonexistent just a few years ago. Those who watched the race in Sledgehammer Canyon during KOH 2009 can’t deny that the situation was an accident waiting to happen. Here’s Chocolate Thunder, 2013. Despite the fence, almost everyone had a great view, and the jumbotron and mega-watt speakers ensured that fans knew what was happening with their favorite competitors.

The Johnson Valley OHV area has been home to off-roading for decades, but the Hammer Trails exist thanks to the pioneering efforts of the Victor Valley 4 Wheelers. Jackhammer, Clawhammer, Sledgehammer, Sunbonnet Pass, Outer Limits, and Wrecking Ball were all established by the Victor Valley 4 Wheelers. Other hardcore routes, such as Spooner’s, Boulderdash, and Chocolate Thunder, have since been added to the Hammer collection. Not every Hammer trail is named after a type of hammer, but they will all pound you just the same.

Hammertown has its own fire department and medical staff. Law enforcement (BLM Rangers) and security guards are on hand, as well.

Most of the KOH course workers are volunteers, and many are from the off-road industry. Chloe Eady waved the green flag for the Everyman Challenge on race day but doubles as a marketing coordinator for Transamerica.

John Currie of Currie Enterprises and Gerald Lee of Savvy Offroad teamed up to top the Every Man Challenge field for the second year in a row. John and Gerald dedicated lots of time to prerunning the Hammer trails and it showed on race day.

The UTV race had much the same results as the Every Man Challenge. Only three UTVs finished the race, so you were either on the podium or on the DNF list. Mitch Guthrie topped the field in his Holz Racing Polaris RZR XP 900.

The sea of RVs behind Mel Wade’s Unlimited Class entry was just a part of the maelstrom that comprised Hammertown. Mel entered two KOH classes for 2013, but bad luck cut both his race days short. He’s in good company; race director Dave Cole designed the KOH courses to be relentless and punishing. They were. Most of the field didn’t finish. No matter, Mel’s undaunted and will be back again next year.

If your rig conks out in the middle of the racecourse, you risk becoming part of the racecourse. That’s right: They’ll drive right over you if there’s no other way around. Erik Miller lucked out when there was an alternate line past his disabled Grand Cherokee. The attrition rate in the Every Man Challenge was staggering—only one Stock Class rig finished and Modified Class finishers were a mere foursome.

Mel's TJ Wrangler Stock Class
Every Man Challenge entry
bristles with innovation while
still complying with the rules.
The shock mounts are one such
innovation and we want to
make sure he gets credit for this
original design. Stock class rules
prohibit coilover shocks but
allow the shocks to be mounted
anywhere in relation to the
coil springs. as such, these coil
springs are mounted to custom
coil buckets, and the smoothbody
shocks are cleverly (but
legally) mounted inside the
coils. Look closely and you'll
see that the coils are indeed
mounted to coil buckets and not
to the shocks themselves.

Mel's TJ Wrangler Stock Class
Every Man Challenge entry
bristles with innovation while
still complying with the rules.
The shock mounts are one such
innovation and we want to
make sure he gets credit for this
original design. Stock class rules
prohibit coilover shocks but
allow the shocks to be mounted
anywhere in relation to the
coil springs. as such, these coil
springs are mounted to custom
coil buckets, and the smoothbody
shocks are cleverly (but
legally) mounted inside the
coils. Look closely and you'll
see that the coils are indeed
mounted to coil buckets and not
to the shocks themselves.

This fan bucked the trend by showing up in a Mercedes 300D sedan. He proceeded to drive it just about everywhere and put several 4x4s to shame, which was probably the point.

Custom independent suspensions are becoming more common on KOH competition rigs. The right-side CV shaft is missing here, a victim of the local rocks. Broken solid-axle parts were everywhere, too.

Pit crews can only work on their race vehicles in designated pits. Racers must do their own wrenching out on the course with no outside assistance unless from another racer. Look closely at the “lightbar” on Mike Webb’s Unlimited rig. Those are speakers, and Webb’s soundtrack was along for the ride—a light-hearted touch to a serious effort.

Competitors in the Unlimited race had to run up the waterfall on Backdoor one time, but they got to choose which lap to run it. Jim Marsden headed straight for the waterfall in his Land Rover Defender, while Ben Swain opted for the bypass. Note the crowd safely behind the barrier fence. There were three laps in the Unlimited race, and those who put off Backdoor until the third lap had to wait in a long line.

Competitors in the Unlimited race had to run up the waterfall on Backdoor one time, but they got to choose which lap to run it. Jim Marsden headed straight for the waterfall in his Land Rover Defender, while Ben Swain opted for the bypass. Note the crowd safely behind the barrier fence. There were three laps in the Unlimited race, and those who put off Backdoor until the third lap had to wait in a long line.

Ben Napier’s newly finished Unlimited rig is a thing of kinetic beauty. Built by Penhall Fabrication, the meticulous craftsmanship is some of the best we’ve ever witnessed.

Randy Slawson got the coveted King of the Hammers crown for 2013. Randy, of Grand Terrace, California, has been a part of King of the Hammers since the race began in 2007. A patient, smart race strategy paid off, as he stayed running while many of his competitiors fell to mechanical failure and various forms of bad luck. Randy chose to run the Backdoor waterfall on lap two, which spared him the traffic jam others found on lap three. He beat Second Place by more than 20 minutes. Congratulations!

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