131 1106 King Of The Hammers 2011 - toppled Rig And Jeep Jk - Photo 30757208

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Poison Spyder Customs’ Larry McRae and Off-Road magazine’s Jerrod Jones make their way past Derek Trent’s toppled rig in a Jeep JK wrangler, one of only three full-bodied Jeeps in this race of tube buggies. When a rig is broken down and blocking the trail, it risks being run over by passing buggies.

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There are some unbelievably talented racers in King of the Hammers. Veteran KOH racer and champion rockcrawler Tracy Jordan kept his rig from flipping over during this wheelstand and then proceeded to make it up and over the rock waterfall at Back Door.

Some sections of the race course are a mix of soft sand, rocks, and gravel, which makes progress difficult. JT Taylor in Torchemate’s unique Car 13, equipped with a custom Twin-Traction Beam independent front suspension, blasts through the rocks and sand in a tough section of the Hammers.

The rock wall at Back Door is just one of many obstacles on the course. Skilled and lucky racers with horsepower to burn and a knack for picking the perfect line are able to make it over the wall without winching, while others burn critical time running out winch line.

Poison Spyder Customs’ Larry McRae and Off-Road magazine’s Jerrod Jones make their way past Derek Trent’s toppled rig in a Jeep JK wrangler, one of only three full-bodied Jeeps in this race of tube buggies. When a rig is broken down and blocking the trail, it risks being run over by passing buggies.

The fifth running of the King of the Hammers was the largest and most organized event yet. The Johnson Valley OHVA makes a great location for such an extreme event, giving drivers the chance to race on high-speed sand washes and boulder-strewn trails and to climb rock walls and make their way up and over nearly vertical hills. Third Place winner Jason Shear opens up his buggy just before he takes the Back Door obstacles slow.

Ben Napier and his co-driver made their way through this deceivingly easy-looking rocky pass without any problems. A couple of other racers didn’t have it so good and laid their cars on their side, drastically extending the finish times.

While the winner of King of the Hammers made it across the finish line in just over six hours, some of the racers are out late just trying to finish. The race started at 8 a.m., and the dark of night brings a whole new meaning to finishing the race.

Many industry professionals, such as Brent Goegebuer and Greg Adler from 4Wheel Parts, made a good showing in King of the Hammers and gave it their best. Most roll across the starting line never intending to win, their main goal being just to finish the extreme race.

Doug Bigelow rolls into Pit Row for fuel and a quick check of his rig by his crew. Breakage is common, and while some racers are lucky enough to limp their vehicles into the pits for repairs, others have to fix their rigs on the course with no outside assistance. For that reason, you must carry spare parts in case carnage occurs and you can’t get to the pits. You don’t see drivers fixing their own cars at any fancy NASCAR stadium!

Shannon Campbell makes his way down a steep hill that’s far more vertical than it looks. The trail here is covered with loose gravel and sand, and some of the racers almost lost vehicles heading into the large rock below the turn.

Tony Pellegrino, owner of GenRight Offfoad, had a great race and took Second Place. His rig performed flawlessly throughout the race.

The action at King of the Hammers is always intense around any given obstacle. As racers jockey for position, they perch like vultures waiting to make their move around drivers who can’t make it over the tougher hurdles.

Anyone who has ever raced in KOH or spent a hard day wheeling the area knows that hitting a soft sandy wash for a few minutes is a welcome relief to running the bone-jarring Hammer Trails at speed.

Rollovers are common in the race, but due to vehicle design most rigs can be pushed back over and continue on.

With a time of 6 hours 11 minutes 54 seconds, Shannon Campbell made his way across the finish line. This was Campbell’s second win at King of the Hammers, and it confirms his incredible driving skills and talentespecially since he started around the middle of the pack, at number 62.

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