KEYS TO CROWN UNLOCKING THE HAMMERS

KEYS TO THE CROWN

Unlocking the Hammers

Story By: LaChelle Halliday Photos By: Shaun Ochsner, Dave Arnold, High Rev Photo, Redline Projects, Nicole Dreon

Winning the King of the Hammers isn’t for the faint of heart, or a weak mentality. The Hammers is a race beyond comparison as it stands as its own beast, ready to devour the next car who assumes they can conquer the legend. In the fourteen years of its existence, only seven individuals have championed the vigorous trails. Multiple times they have won but only those seven. Within the offroad community, it’s been questioned if there are cheat codes to the Hammers race, a key that unlocks a reasonably straight path to the finish line. Dave Cole has yet to unveil such mysteries.

KING OF THE HAMMERS One of those seven, Shannon Campbell, is a threetime champion, leading the pack of 4400 class cars through the trails and pathways designated as the years course. For many years Shannon has battled through challenges headstrong running into the battlegrounds, but recently he has slowed down his approach. Rather than charging the bull head on, he now has a steadier mindset to keep his car in one piece throughout the race as he steadies himself where necessary. Not only is Shannon competing against the other racers, but he is also racing against his children who’ve shown as top contenders pushing their father to the limits. This family rivalry tends to get heated during the race but when one Campbell needs assistance, they all pitch in to help one another. Often you can hear Shannon troubleshooting from the driver’s seat in his own vehicle over the radios. Shannon, competing in KOH in its entire existence, has made drastic changes since the beginning to the cars that he builds to tackle the challenges that one may face on course. One thing he has continuously improved outside of small adjustments from previous years, is the ease to work on each car without tearing it fully apart. With creating a chassis arrangement that is simpler to work on, that ensures more time to continue racing and having fun.

Shannon Campbell’s Keys to the Hammers: 1. Never give up 2. Take care of your car 3. Finish

From Waylon Campbell’s perspective, rather than a slow and steadied pace, he prefers a versatile approach knowing when to push and when to let off. Learning mainly from his father, Waylon has yet to win a crown but was recently close until his father beat him on corrected time. Although the inner family tension can get tense while racing there isn’t an issue with strapping parts to the car to deliver to another family member on course. Battling with his father, sister Bailey and now his future brother-in-law Bryan Crofts, the Campbell family is heavily competitive against one another on course but still celebrate each win together. Waylon Campbell’s Keys to the Hammers: 1. Attrition 2. Take care of your stuff 3. Know when to push and let off

Between brothers JP and Raul Gomez, the trash talking never ceases from the lines in tech, over radios during the race and even on the podium. Another multi family member team with three brothers and a nephew all racing in the prestigious 4400 class. The Gomez clan spent the last year researching and updating their racing program not basing the changes solely off one style of racing, rather gaining insight from different sanctions including street, F1, and other off road entities. This allowed for added blocks of time allocated for fine tuning, testing, pre-running the course and shaking down each vehicle prior to the main event comparative to last year’s jump in and drive model. Even with all of the trash talking the Gomez family openly has, each member of their family is a key player in their overall success. They have a plan to help one another out by having the right people in the right places, with the right people putting on the right parts. JP & Raul Gomez’ Keys to the Hammers: 1. Don’t roll 2. Smooth & consistent 3. Fast pace running at 70-80%

Nearly six months ago, Kevin and Brittany Williams didn’t own an Ultra4 car, nor had they raced at King of the Hammers. The Williams’ decided to jump in headfirst and chose the hardest race, the longest race, and ultimately the race that could kill them. Originally as newlyweds, they purchased a Jeep JL upon its release and began to record their off-roading adventures on rigorous trails while exploring their new home of Colorado. This however launched the couple into becoming YouTube influencers, which has gathered exponential amounts of attention as the quirky couple showcase their unbelievable talents in racing. Stemming from drifting, no one expected the couple to race off-road, but the duo showed promise as Bilstein Shocks brought them on for a full factory sponsorship early last year. The couple has an abundance of patience with one another and fluid communication that helps them navigate challenging trails and courses which showed helpful as the couple crossed the finish line in 24th place. Unless Brittany’s passenger door is dented inwards.. we know what happened Kevin!

Kevin & Brittany Williams Keys to the Hammers: 1. Attrition 2. Keep moving forward 3. Race your own race

king of the hammers desert challenge

STORY BY: SHAUN OCHSNER PHOTOS: Shaun Ochsner & Dave arnold

Bryce Menzies wins back to back Unlimited T1 Desert victories.

It all began last year when the Unlimited Desert trucks were invited to be part of “Hammers Week” at the King of the Hammers. They were given a fun, fast desert course to run on. Bryce Menzies won the event with no issues. This year, promoter Dave Cole decided to step things up and invite more classes of desert vehicles. The party got started a whole week early with two full days of desert racing.

ABOVE: Kyle Chaney finished the UTV class in a Can-Am Maverick X3.

Buggy vs. UTV Grudge Match

The weekend of desert racing events kicked off with a buggy vs UTV “Grudge Match.” The race, made up of mostly Class 10 cars, faced off against a stacked field of UTV’s. The UTV class has long-bragged about beating desert buggies and we have seen some of the fastest drivers racing ahead of the buggy classes at other desert events. King of the Hammers is all about bragging rights and this race was no exception. The vehicles were put on a 306-mile course to see what they could do. Out of 39 starters in the B2 buggy class, only seven would finish before their eighthour cut off time. The UTV’s could have had a significant advantage in some of the siltier terrain with their 4-wheel drive capabilities, but the recent rains helped the buggies right through. Wheeler Morgan in his single seatbuggy took home the victory along with a $60,000 paycheck. Forty-five minutes later, the first UTV crossed the finish line. It was Kyle Chaney driving a Can-Am Maverick X3. While Chaney said he had hoped to win the overall, he did settle for a $10,000 paycheck and still got a class victory.

BELOW: Wheeler Morgan cruises to a grudge match victory in his single seat Raceco-USA buggy.

Class 11 bugs are one of the most exciting classes to watch. Their builds are simple and relatively cheap to run. Put them in front of spectators on a short course track and run them at night and you have quite a show. Sixteen bugs showed up to run 25 laps of the showdown event. Racing was tight and competitive. Cisco Bio, in his bright pink Class 11 bug lead

passing Bio. Just off a jump, Bio regained the lead from Wilkey. The back and forth would last a couple laps before Wilkey pulled away. Bio would eventually pull into the pits with a mechanical issue. Blake Wilkey went on take the victory, winning $20,000 in prize money. Bryan Crofts finished second and Ryan Rodriguez finished third.

BELOW: Blake Wilkey celebrates after winning the Class 11 shootout.

All-Out Desert Fun

Other classes racing the Desert Challenge included Class 1 buggies (B1) and 6100 trucks (T2). Cody Parkhouse qualified first in the B1 class but on race-day faced mechanical issues early on. Ray Griffith took the lead and won the victory. Casey Currie finished second in the same vehicle he raced later in the week in the main King of the Hammers event. The only damage Currie had to repair was a broken sway bar. Driving a new racer engineering buggy, Adam Lunn and RJ Anderson split driving duties. They would finish third in the B1 class. The T2 trucks finished ahead of the B2 class. Dustin Grabowski had an early lead to take the victory. Pierce Herbst and Brad Lovell finished behind Grabowski. Many of the racers reported a fast, fun and rough desert course. Rough is exactly what Johnson Valley is known for.

Bryce Menzies cruised to an easy victory in the T1 Desert Challenge race. King of the Hammers is all about four-wheel drive vehicles and Menzies proved his truck had what it takes to win in the desert. Having a four-wheel drive truck can have its advantages in desert racing. In sandy and silty sections, the truck has no problem powering through. Menzies won the first T1 Desert Invitational in 2020. His payday then was $100,000. This year he took home just over half of that. Cameron Steele, who raced almost every class at the King of the Hammers, finished second, 14 seconds ahead of Kyle Jergensen. Steele almost didn’t make it the podium, but his truck held together. Steele lost oil pressure during the last 20 miles of the race. Steele’s never give up attitude kept him going. It was insane out there this year! This course was so rough, it threw everything at us and to come away with a back-to-back win is unbelievable.”

-Bryce Menzies

ABOVE: Cameron Steele finished the T1 Desert race in second.

KING OF THE HAMMERS: A RACE FOR EVERYONE

Story: Shaun Ochsner Photos: Redline Projects, High Rev Photo, Nicole Dreon

When King of the Hammers started in 2007, no driver had a custom vehicle that was built specifically for the Hammer trails in Johnson Valley. As the popularity of the race grew, so did the rock buggy. Some had a straight-axle while others had an independent front suspension. As the rock buggy continued to evolve, the price tag went up. To compete with the elite, one had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. Winning King of the Hammers instantly became unreachable to many. A stock Jeep was just not going cut it to be competitive.

The Everyman Challenge Class was created to allow stock Jeeps and four-wheel drive vehicles the chance to compete in the King of the Hammers. Those vehicles have their very own race-day. As the event grew, the week would get longer. Motorcycles and UTV’s were also introduced into the King of the Hammers, each with their own race day. These vehicles conquer some of the very same Hammer trails as the big name 4400 class teams. The King of the Hammers is designed to be challenging and push the limits of your vehicle.

The Everyman Challenge has been running for nine years. The Everyman Challenge is a mix of three classes. Legends (4800), Modified (4500), and Stock (4600). Rules for the Legends class include only one single shock per corner with a front mounted engine and two seats. Modified class vehicles can have an additional shock per corner. Modified vehicles also must keep mechanical steering while the Legends class is allowed full hydraulic steering. Modified and Legends classes can also have up to a 37-inch DOT tire while the Stock class is restricted to a 35-inch DOT tire. One-hundred fifteen competitors started the race. In past years, some EMC race courses have been more challenging than the main KOH race. Many of the obstacles quickly became jammed up, testing driver skill to find a way around the mess. Chayse Caprara was out front early in the race. This was the nineteen-year old’s first EMC race. Caprara is no stranger to the Hammers. He raced for three years in a UTV. Caprara managed to finish eleven minutes ahead of Brad Lovell. Lovell, a veteran to the Hammer trails, gave it everything he had. Over in the Modified class, Dan Fresh claimed another win with an hour and half lead at the finish line over second

KING OF THE HAMMERS second place Duane Garretson. Fresh passed sixty-six competitors on race-day. Justin Reece won in the stock class in his 1985 four-cylinder Toyota pick-up truck.

The King of the Motos event is just as difficult. Some people may think there is an advantage to climbing over rocks on two wheels. Ninetyfive riders started the race. Trystan Hart finished the King of the Motos in second place in 2020. This year he won the overall victory and crown. Colton Haaker, who has two previous KOM wins, finished behind Hart in second. Five-time King of the Moto champion Cody Webb finished third. Webb decided to stop for fuel during the race which cost him valuable positions.

ABOVE: Dan Fresh cruises to another King of the Hammers EMC victory in the modified class.

RIGHT: Justin Reece celebrates on the podium after winning the stock class.

The attrition rate of King of the Hammers was just as great in the King of the UTVs. Over one-hundred racers started the event and only forty-six finished. These popular small, nimble four-wheel drive recreational vehicles were put to the test on Johnson Valley’s most punishing Hammer trails. Kyle Chaney got the job done in his Can-Am Maverick X3. Chaney who already won the grudge match during the Desert Challenge, added another check to his bank account. Last year, Chaney’s UTV rolled over on top of him, dislocating his toe. He went on to finish the race in second before seeing medical attention. This year he was back with one goal on his mind¬– win the event. Chaney completed the brutal 121-mile course in three hours and forty-seven minutes. Cody Miller finished in second. Miller is the brother to 2020 winner Hunter Miller.