THE TRIPLE CROWN

While Scot Harden and Johnny Campbell have been leading the charge for Baja/Desert Motorcycle racing, the Martelli Brothers and Dave Cole from Hammerking/King Of The Hammers have expanded their focus to include the burgeoning UTV market (without neglecting motorcycle racers). To that end, Cole has teamed with The Mint 400 and The California 300 owners Matt and Josh Martelli to create the “Unlimited Off-Road Racing Triple Crown Championship” — a three-race series.

“It’s time to shake things up again,” exclaims KOH CEO Cole. The announcement comes as King of the Hammers racers are undergoing their preparations for intense race action beginning the last weekend in January, of 2023. P.S. King Of The Motos returns to kick off a full week of extreme off-road racing.

“When we initially added desert classes, it was to give these Unlimited Trucks a fresh event and new course to shine on in front of our massive online audience and race fans. That had already grown to include quite a few more desert classes (including UTVs). Then when we sat down with the Martelli’s recently it became clear that what we both wanted was to propel the entire sport forward.”

Collectively, King of the Hammers, The Mint 400 and The California 300 will be the best covered series on the 2023 event schedule with unprecedented media coverage to sponsors and race teams through their combined live stream and social media channels, according to Cole. “There’s no denying that if you come and compete at these three events you’ll get more exposure and earn more prestige than with any other series next year!”

This is actually the second time that Cole has collaborated with the Martelli Brothers to cross-promote races. The two groups produced a triple crown series together in 2018 in conjunction with Crandon. This time around the promoters have expanded their offering to include the entire lineup of KOH and Desert classes. King of the Hammers will host all of the traditional Desert classes and The Martelli brothers will host all of the KOH classes at both the Mint and the CA 300.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be teaming up with Dave and the KOH family once again,” adds Mint 400 CEO and Co-Owner Matt Martelli. “Their addition of desert classes to King of the Hammers these past few years has been great for the sport of off-road racing and they are driving excitement for the entire off-road industry!

“We want to do the same for their racers and allow everyone racing in this new points series to benefit from the amount of coverage both of our groups bring to the table. It’s no secret that King of the Hammers, The Mint, and now The California 300 are the three toughest races in America. If you can tame all three, in one year, then you will be a champion among champions!”

“If you’ve ever wanted to compete at KOH —now’s your chance. If the Mint has been on your bucket list, next year is THE year. And by all accounts the California 300 was brutal,” concludes Cole. “Anyone who can tame these three races next year deserves special recognition.” kingofthehammers.com

Scot Harden is recognized as one of the best off-road racers ever produced by the United States. From 1971 until his final professional race in 2007 — at the age of 51 — Harden excelled at the toughest races in the world including the Baja 1000, Baja 500, Las Vegas 400, Mint 400, Dakar, B to V and the ISDE. He is a Desert/Baja specialist and the first American to win an African Raid Rally. He also possesses an impressive executive management resume as a brand builder, race team manager, sales professional and product planner with such companies as Husqvarna, KTM, Zero Motorcycles and Best in the Desert. Harden owns and operates Harden Offroad, a Powersports business consulting practice. He has been inducted into the AMA(2008), Trailblazers(2020), Hot Shoe(2021) and MRAN Hall of Fames(1996).