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Trail-Gear arrived on the lakebed almost a week before the big race to make their final tweaks and get the car fully dialed in. A 9th place finish at last year’s King of the Hammers proved that the 4-cylinder, Ecotec powered engine at the heart of the #17 Trail-Gear Godspeed buggy had what it took to be a contender at the toughest off road race in the world. “I’ll drive fast enough to put that fire out.” Those were the words of Matt Messer, owner of Trail-Gear, regarding concerns of a potential fire if any race fuel were to spill…
Continue ReadingHere lays the list of those who conquered the 2011 Griffin King of the Hammers. It was an amazing battle for all, and 47 drivers stand before us, not as man and machine, but victors! Driver Start Pos Car Number Start Time Finish Time Elapsed Time Finish Position Shanon Campbell 62 5 08:15:00 14:26:54 06:11:54 1 Tony Pelligrino 41 4485 08:10:00 14:52:31 06:42:31 2 Jason Scherer. 36 76 08:08:30 14:58:20 06:49:50 3 Randy Slawson 3 4448 08:00:30 15:01:43 07:01:13 4 Greg Adler 1 210 08:00:00 15:09:40 07:09:40 5 Gary Ferravanti 35 4446 08:08:30 15:35:55 07:27:25 6 Matt Messer 44 17…
Continue ReadingCOLORADO SPRINGS, CO FEB 15, 2011 – After months of anticipation the Baja 1000 of the rockcrawling world went down in grand fashion. A race as wild as King of the Hammers can yield triumph or heartbreak but like most epic races grand adventure is guaranteed. The Lovell Racing crew showed up on Means Dry Lakebed with the best equipment, personnel, and strategy. As soon as the pre-run file was available, the team took to the desert to explore the brutal terrain. Bugs were quickly worked out of the race trucks and everything went relatively smoothly until a vicious wind…
Continue ReadingThe 2010 Whiplash Racing Pro-Mod champions Brian Bush of Rotax Your Rhino, and co-driver Greg Frantz of Lonestar Racing, take home a third place finish in their first running of the King Of The Hammers! In 2010, Brian decided that he, and Lonestar Racing had molded his 2006 Yamaha Rhino into a machine that could not only finish what has been described as the toughest off-road race in the world, but he believed he could race with the leaders (the who’s who of UTV racing), and finish in the front of the pack. Unfortunately, he runs a Rotax V-twin engine,…
Continue ReadingTony Pellegrino in the 4485 GenRight Off-Road Buggy finishes the 2011 Griffin King of the Hammers in the second position! Starting from the 41st position at the 2011 Griffin King of the Hammers Tony Pellegrino and co-driver Bryan Lyttle had their work cut out for them to get to the front of the pack. The strategy was simple for race day, keep the car together and run our own race. After the green flag dropped, the guys were able to make quick work of moving to the front of the pack! When they reached Outer limits on the first lap…
Continue ReadingMESA, AZ – FEBRUARY 3, 2011: FAST-Aid will be trackside supporting racers at this weekends BITD Parker 425 race, the Griffin King of the Hammers and the SNORE Battle at Primm. Wednesday February 9th at the King of the Hammers, the King Shocks Kingdom Party will host a raffle where all proceeds benefit FAST-Aid. “We are all enthusiasts and try to get to as many races as we can to show support for the racers and educate them on what FAST-Aid is,” said Jared Tetzlaff, President of FAST-Aid. “We appreciate companies like King Shocks that are finding ways to help…
Continue ReadingRENO, NV FEBRUARY 3, 2011 The innovators of CNC Cutting Systems for the everyday garage enthusiast gathered key builders and tools to work at their Reno, NV facility to build a one-of-a-kind Ultra4 car that will race in the 2011 Griffin King of the Hammers next Friday. “It has been quite a challenge, but it is amazing the car that this group has been able to assemble,” said JT Taylor, General Manager for the Torchmate Racing Team. “I am excited to be able to compete in this race and the rest of the Ultra4 races in this rig and proving…
Continue ReadingGARDEN GROVE, CA JANUARY 31, 2011: Raceline Wheels was one of the original sponsors of the King of the Hammers in 2008 and continues to be the Official Wheel of the 2011 Griffin King of the Hammers. In this years race 53 of the 148 listed racers are utilizing Raceline Wheels. “Many racers in the Ultra4 class have experienced the Raceline effect: winning races and more importantly finishing races,” said Raceline Offroad Brand Manager Greg Mulkey. Raceline will be in HammerTown the entire week for any technical questions for rock crawlers, tow rigs, trailers, UTVs and race vehicles. During the…
Continue ReadingSHINGLE SPRINGS, CA JANUARY 31, 2011 – The Crowley Off-Road Racing Team will be driving the Monster Energy Kawasaki Teryx in the Pit Bull Tires UTV Race at the Griffin King of the Hammers Thursday February 10, 2011 at Johnson Valley, CA. “We have competed in this race since its inception, and I am looking forward to another challenge. Adding more rock obstacles to the desert course really makes it where we have to work at getting to the finish line,” said driver of record Jon Crowley who has finished every year. After completing the 2010 VORRA race series in…
Continue Readingby Jeff Knoll on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 7:52am:Today we have our BLM course marking inspection. We are behind about two days worth of work due to wind. Our hard working crews of retired guys are just about worn out, so we will see if we pass inspection today as we still have two large spectator areas to mark out. The Chocolate Thunder Spectator areas used a full half a mile of ribbon. We still have tents to build and pits to lay out, but we are doing our best to get them finished. Thankfully wind was light yesterday. …
Continue Reading(January 26, 2011 Camp Pendleton, CA) BroadSword Racing, a team composed primarily of active duty Marines, and Jeff Knoll’s wildcard pick for the 2011 Griffin King of the Hammers, is proud to announce that the United States Marine Corps will be providing a Color Guard detail for the opening ceremonies of the Griffin King of the Hammers race on February 11, 2011. This will be the first time in the five year history of the event that the National Colors will be presented by members of the United States armed forces. Jeff Knoll is particularly pleased to be having a…
Continue ReadingKevin Sacalas of Big Ugly Racing unveiled his new Ultra4 Race Car, “Big Ugly 2.0” out at the Hammers this weekend in preparation for the 2011 King of the Hammers race being held February 11th. This is the 2nd Ultra4 car designed and fabricated entirely by Sacalas. His first Ultra4 car which fans affectionately named “Big Ugly” had several impressive podium finishes including 1st place in the 2009 BiTD Vegas to Reno, 2nd place in Silver State 300 and a 3rd place finish in the King of the Hammers Grand Slam of Offroad Racing series. When asked how he felt…
Continue ReadingOn your mark. Get Set. GO!!!! Once again, dreams cannot be ignored, even in what seems to be the never-ending worst of times. That’s why after building a high performance rock buggy from the ground up in 2009, and racing in 2010, we are heading back to race in the Griffin King of the Hammers – “the toughest single day off-road race on the planet”. We have a great story from last year’s race, which leads up to the excitement for this year, and we want to share it with those of you who have not already been showered with the stories!!! 🙂 Scottsdale resident and local businessman Jeremy…
Continue ReadingIn an effort to give our athletes every advantage possible the FOX Racing Shox FACTORY Race Support Technicians will be onsite at the upcoming 2011 King of the Hammers event in Johnson Valley, CA. FOX Racing Shox will be providing tuning services and support for all FOX Racing Shox-equipped vehicles competing in the LCQ, Side x Side, and KOH races FREE of charge. FOX FACTORY Race Support Information FOX FACTORY Race Support will observe your race vehicle and make adjustments or changes needed to help it perform to its fullest potential. In some cases, teams will need to remove their…
Continue ReadingFrom extreme rock racing and rock crawling to world rally racing, Jose Manuel Ponce has managed to finish 2 WRC MEXICO rally events, without any prior rally experience. The first was in 2008 in a rental where he was named the rookie driver amongst the Mexican Peugeot 206 Class, and last year with his co-driver Bill Bridge where they survived and finished 2nd in Class A6. There were set plans to go compete in Europe but their main sponsor was purchased by a new corporation who does not work with any motorsports due to an internal policy, so their racing…
Continue ReadingVIAIR Corporation offers the most comprehensive line of air compressors & air accessories for both the on-and off-road markets available anywhere. Our quality engineered compressors and components are also used in the OEM segment, and have become the industry standard for both 12- and 24-volt automotive aftermarket applications worldwide. VIAIR compressors are currently deployed to every corner of the Globe; in the world’s harshest environments from arctic climates to the world’s most unforgiving deserts in a multitude of applications. Our products are currently used by 12 of the Fortune 500 Companies (Non-Automotive), in market segments ranging from Oil Service to Aerospace, from Agriculture…
Continue ReadingThe 2010 season for Casey Beach and his team proved to be a challenging one. In January of 2010 Casey finished one of the last of several rebuilds to his custom built competition race buggy and was just about ready for competition. Almost completely self financed with a rig that he designed and built, he was running low on funds but not on heart. Knowing that he had countless friends and family who loved and supported him he needed more than just hugs, kisses and best wishes. Casey began to test their love and dedication in his process of building…
Continue ReadingSocial media helps grass roots race teams promote and market like professional teams. With little more than a cell phone and computer, anyone can create an impressive marketing campaign for next to nothing. Hammerking Productions has asked Shannon Welch, the marketing force behind the Ultra4 team, Big Ugly Racing, to speak to race teams and the offroad community on creative ways to use social media for marketing purposes. Those interested in learning how to effectively use social media are encouraged to join Shannon for a 1 hour seminar in Hammertown on February 9th from 5-6PM in the Pirate Tent. This…
Continue ReadingNever a team that takes breather, the Turner Racing team stayed on the gas after the BITD Parker 250 and quickly prepped the SR-1-powered Rhino for the Soboba Grand Prix. This race, put on by the Soboba Casino just outside of Hemet, California, drew racers from all over the Southwest for one reason: a total purse of $20,000! In addition to the GP, the Casino and Daystar also hosted a long-jump competition the evening before the race. Turner Racing was determined to get their fair share of the prize money and make a big splash in both events. Despite a…
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