King of the Hammers, held each year in Johnson Valley, California, is ranked as one of the ten most difficult off-road races in the world – and seems to get longer and more technical every year. With a course length of 180 miles and time-limit of 15 hours in 2012, King of Hammers requires you to race through desert terrain as well as rock crawl up brutal mountainsides. While there are multiple racing categories, pro- and expert-motorcycles, UTVs, Jeeps, and Ultra4 – it’s Ultra4 that is one of the coolest classes of race vehicles ever built. Each one is custom fabricated by its team and can travel at speeds upwards of 100 mph through the desert, and be fully capable of rock crawling as well. Starting with only 13 competitors during its inaugural race, the event has ballooned to hundreds of participants with more than 20,000 spectators showing up at Means Dry Lake to see the action. In 2012, only 27 teams would complete the race – with over 100 competitors not finishing or doing so after the allotted time. The rough and remote conditions of Johnson Valley, where King of the Hammers is held, means that many people don’t get the opportunity to see these monsters in action…until now. King of the Hammers: Vindication full-length movie was recently released with a red-carpet premiere which was held at AMC theaters in Rancho Cucamonga - and Driving Line was there to check it out. Attended by at least 15 drivers and teams, and hosted by GenRight Off Road, the event was a sold-out success. More than a half-dozen race vehicles were there, as well as the winning Ultra4 car. Tim and Tony from GenRight started the premiere by introducing Dave Cole, who gave a brief preview of the film. Since 2007, Dave has been getting ULTRA4 racers to come out to the desert and put their machines to the test. Officially known as the Griffin King of the Hammers presented by Nitto Tire, Vindication captured much of the excitement of the races that were held throughout the first week of February 2013. Shot from many different cameras, including UTV-mounted units and several helicopters, Vindication features amazing cinematography and captures many personal stories from the event. Of course, there was a significant amount of racing footage as well as coverage of the huge crowds showing up for the races. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixaZw3vG8Po Randy and Michael Slawson won the unlimited division of King of the Hammers in 2013, and this coming year’s race will be held February 7th, 2014. Catch the 2013 ULTRA4 Nitto National Championship before then, held just outside Las Vegas on September 27, 2013. More racing info can be found at www.ultra4racing.com. -John McCabe
