Open Letter, News, and Announcements from Dave Cole

ULTRA4 Racers, Partners, and Fans,
I hope this Memorial Day finds you well and enjoying time with Family and Friends. With pride and honor, we remember the men and women who have served and fought for our Nation’s freedoms. As we near the half-way point in our calendar, I wanted to send a few words to address some recent events as well as let you know about some exciting things in our future.
As some of you aware, we did have a fatal accident at our San Felipe race. I have gotten a few calls from people concerned in general, but unfortunately a few more in response to fictitious internet garbage. In the 15 years I have been promoting races, the events that transpired in San Felipe have been my biggest fear. While all of us that were involved will carry the weight of it for quite some time, I am buoyed by the knowledge that the way our organization reacted onsite and the days after were as on point as we could have hoped. I am thankful to the State and Local Authorities for the immediate and professional response. No race staff or racers were detained, and everyone returned home safely without delay. While both the organization and racer were found to be not responsible for the accident from a legal perspective, the moral responsibility is a different story. We have stayed actively involved in the care of the gentleman that survived as well as working with the family of the deceased. It is our primary responsibility as Race Promoters to provide a safe and fair place for our racers to race and our fans to enjoy the show. We will continue to look for new ways to improve our service and look forward to racing in Mexico again next year.
For the most part, the online ‘rumoring’ around San Felipe was subdued, but it did bring another issue to bear that is not just affecting our race series, but our culture as a whole. To be blunt, it seems social media is less and less real by the day. When we first started KOH and Ultra4, if you participated in our events, you not only knew your peers on a first name basis; but quite literally, you knew their crew, families, and friends as well. To both our credit and detriment, we have somewhat grown past that. While it is a blessing of both hard work and fortune that over 3 million unique people watch our races annually, it makes it nearly impossible to have the same personal connection. While it is not practical to think we can affect change across society in general; I am encouraging you, if you care about our small subset of the off-roading culture (and I would assume you do, if you’ve continued reading this long), don’t lose that connection. If you have a question, comment, praise, or critique of any of us (racers, fans, or partners), take the time to communicate with them directly. And if social media is still the medium you choose, do so with the same integrity that you would hope in return. Thank you for your understanding and doing your part to keep Off Road Racing genuinely the coolest and most family-oriented segment of motorsports.
News and Announcements
* We are just a couple short weeks away from our race in Broadview, MT, the Big Sky 200 (June 11 – 12). I am personally excited to visit Montana for the first time and work with our friends at Yellowstone Off-Road Racing. With the North Series sharing events with the West (Sturgis) and East (Crandon), I hope others will join us for what I’m sure will be an awesome race. Expect a 50-mile loop with 200 total race miles (150 for Stock). There will be a main pit where camping is available and one remote pit. Please register online early to avoid late registration fees. Registration is now open online: www.ultra4racing.com/registration You can find additional information via our Quick Links page:https://www.ultra4racing.com/june-racing-quick-links-mt-and-tn-races
* Two weeks later (June 25 – 26) we head back to South Pittsburg, TN, and the AOP Park for the 2021 Method Race Wheels Tear Down in Tennessee. Stay tuned for total race length but expect similar mileage as last year with harder and more rocks. Please register online early to avoid late registration fees. Registration is now open online: www.ultra4racing.com/registration You can find additional information via our Quick Links page:https://www.ultra4racing.com/june-racing-quick-links-mt-and-tn-races
* There are still a few spots open for our non-series event, Visions 2021 at Mid- America Motorsports Park in Jay, OK. If you are interested in racing this event, please contact me (dave@kingofthehammers.com or 909-273-0216). Hammerking will be doing the Live broadcast of the entire event (8 Days of racing) and JT Taylor will be the Competition Director. We will be partnering with Joey Beck, Clyde Bynum, and Dennis Anderson to bring you a diverse selection of Motorsports and Concerts. The owners of the park have built the premier off road destination from the ground up. It is an honor to be a part of the inaugural event and look forward to a lot of fun on and off the track.
* As many of you know the owners of the Wild West Motorsports venue in Sparks, NV, had a change in business model that necessitated the closing of the track. I am proud to announce that we have purchased the grandstands and will be opening a new venue before the end of the year. It will be an all new, permanent, west coast short course venue that also connects to several miles of natural rock canyons. We hope to be racing Short Course there by the end of the year and ULTRA4 in 2022.
* We have been working with other desert race promoters and the OEM’s to solidify and unify UTV tech rules. Expect that information by the end of the June. If you would like to participate in those conversations, send me an email and I will send you what we have so far. I would sincerely appreciate the feedback
There are many more big things on the horizon. I am thankful for the commitment of our racers, passion of our fans, and engagement from our partners. As always if there is anything I can do, please drop me a line.
Look forward to seeing you around the country this summer and, if not, see you on the lakebed in February.
Dave Cole
Dave@Kingofthehammers.com
(909) 273-0216