King Shocks’ Drivers Conquer 2013 KOH
FEBRUARY 21, 2013 – GARDEN GROVE, CA
After a relatively short life span of existence, the annual King of the Hammers (KOH) Ultra4 Race has quickly garnered international recognition with the likes of Baja 1000 and Dakar as being the toughest off road race in the world. A contributing factor in enduring these extremely grueling events is proven off road shock technology. The 2013 KOH race course featured 184 miles of harsh desert terrain and near impassable obstacles however King Shocks’ drivers Randy Slawson and John Currie conquered all on the way to victory.
King of the Hammers
Randy Slawson of Bomber Fabrication from Grand Terrace, CA. took the overall win with a dominating finish of just over 7 Hours 28 Minutes, and a full 20 minutes ahead of second place. Of the 129 starters only 21 would finish and reveals just how difficult the KOH Ultra 4 Racing Event is on drivers, vehicles, and equipment. 9 of those official finishers were equipped with KingShocks.
Slawson earned his ticket into the KOH event by qualifying 9th during the LCQ with a quick 3 Minute 47 second run through a challenging course. Randy was the winner of 2011 LCQ.
“We knew we were starting 9th, so me and my guys formed a pre-race strategy that would put us out front early,” Slawson recalls. “We chose to go for the rough trails on lap 1. Messer who started ahead of us, got hung up on the Waterfall and I spotted a way around and went right up and around him. After we cleared the Backdoor there was good clean air to run through the desert. Our King Shock package performed great all day through both the rough and open terrain which allowed my rig hit a top speed of 105 MPH.”
“By pit 1, we were well positioned in the top 5 and the only guys in front by time, still had to navigate the bigger obstacles.” Randy goes on, “We encountered many slower vehicles and just had to get creative passing the lap traffic. By lap 3, the visibility and trail congestion was real bad; I used the siren and chrome horns a lot! We just kept the car together and maintained momentum throughout the course to take the win and the $25,000 check!” Randy was also awarded a $5000 contingency from King Shocks.
Every Man Challenge
Before the KOH main event on Friday, the Every Man Challenge (EMC) race was held on Thursday allowing basically stock jeeps a taste of heavy competition. Long time supporter of KingShocks and off road enthusiast John Currie from Currie Enterprises would take the Modified Class win in the KOH Every Man Challenge Event. Currie along with Co-Driver Gerald Lee would also be awarded a $1500 contingency from King Shocks.
Out of 32 starters, only 5 would finish the EMC and 4 out of the 5 including the Top 3 on the Podium, were all equipped with KingShocks.
King Shocks Technical Support
King Shocks was set up in Hammer Town and on Means Dry Lake for over 10 days. Assisting about 50 teams and vehicles,King Shocks offered tuning and technical support. 2 more racers joined the ‘King family’ and one was able to actually finish, an impressive feat considering that this was his first time competing at KOH.
If you want the competitive edge on the racecourse or just the best handling truck on your daily commute, King Shocks has the damping technology that’s best for your needs. When you ride on King Shocks you’ll know, there really is a difference. Nothing rides like a King.