Double podiums in Pro Mod and Open classes include wins for Phil Blurton, Casey Currie
The 2023 UTV Hammers Championship at King of the Hammers was no match for Monster Energy athletes, who laid down some of the most dominant performances of the annual pilgrimage to Johnson Valley. When all was said and done, though less than half the field was able to complete both laps of the course, Monster-backed racers were many of the top finishers—including two separate class victories in Pro Mod and Open UTV classes.
Phil Blurton paced the group with the second-fastest overall time and best result among the Pro Mod division, finishing the race in 3:44:16. Blurton, who qualified sixth overall, climbed into an overall podium position by the end of the first lap and survived as others fell out around him. It was Blurton’s second podium of the event, after he finished third in the Desert UTV Pro Mod class of the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge presented by Monster Energy that ran last weekend.
Blurton was joined on the Pro Mod podium by Dustin Jones, whose time of 3:48:32 was good enough for third in class and just over three minutes short of an overall podium. Like Blurton, Jones rode the momentum of a podium finish in the Desert Challenge—first place in Desert UTV Stock—to bring home more hardware as the racing action continued from Hammertown.
In the Open UTV class, meanwhile, Casey Currie persevered where other competitors couldn’t, surviving the two-lap challenge to take a satisfying class win and place 10th overall. Currie’s 4:47:52 was joined on the class podium by Shannon Campbell, who made it a Monster Energy 1-2 with a time of 5:27:25.
Other Monster Energy athletes to post strong results in the UTV Hammers Championship included Cameron Steele, whose annual quest to tackle as many King of the Hammers events as possible saw him take a stellar eighth place in Pro Mod and 12th overall with a time of 5:04:51. In addition, Brian Deegan grabbed fourth in Pro Stock UTV, finishing the race in 5:30:46.
King of the Hammers continues all week from Hammertown in Johnson Valley, CA, culminating with Saturday’s Race of Kings. Be sure to follow along with live coverage as Monster Energy athletes will be going for race wins all event long!
