First off UTVUnderground wants to say congrats to Mitch Guthrie in his #555 Polaris RZR for winning the 2010 Pit Bull Tires King Of The Hammers UTV race. This is the second year in a row Guthrie has won this grueling event and for that he deserves some major props for this accomplishment.
I have been to many different types of race events in my day from Nascar to NHRA, Baja to CORR, and even seen some air racing but nothing compares to these last 3 days we spent in Johnson Valley, CA watching the King Of The Hammers. Well ok, maybe Baja compares, but Baja is not as spectator friendly. The UTV race was no where as long or as difficult as the actual KOH race on Friday but there is also no way any UTV in the world could get through a tenth of what those rock buggies go through.
The UTV course looked like a ton of fun. You had some FAST sandy whoop sections and then you had some tough uphill rocky and sandy sections that really tested your will, your machine, and your driver skills. This is a race that any desert built UTV with a winch and 4wd could get through but if you are worried about your paint, body, and UTV in general like I am then this is not the race for you! This race is for the hardcore, for those who want to push their machines to the limit. It is hard to imagine that this years course was easier than last but those who raced last year said it was definitely a bit less challenging.
I wish I could explain to you guys the excitement we felt as fans running around during both the UTV and Buggy races. Like Baja it’s all about chasing the vehicles from spot to spot but here you can get from one amazing spot to the next in minutes. From the trail they call the "Backdoor" to the trail they call the "Sledge Hammer" was only a short run of haul ass away and both these trails had fans lined up like it was a gauntlet from the days of gladiators. When a vehicle would conquer an obstacle the crowd would roar like Maximus Decimus Meridius had just decapitated a giant in the Coliseum. At the same time if a vehicle was sissy footing around the crowd would also let the drivers know to “put it in a man gear” or “hey get out and let me show you how to drive that thing!”
This is not a race for the weak or the overweight! The hiking to get into some of the prime viewing locations is ridiculous! I commend my partners Rusty5150 and Dan (OffRoadSwapMeet) for hiking into the belly of the beast at Sledge Hammer. Dodging falling rocks and falling people all while snapping some amazing photos that I am sure we will all see soon! I chose to drink beer and shoot picturess from a more comfortable location at the top of these canyons which was awesome in its own way. Yet I couldn’t help but wish I was in the guts of those vehicle torturing trails when I would hear a 500+ hp motor hit the rev limiter trying to get up a 15 foot sheer rock face then hear that crowd stacked all around erupt with cheers and yelling as the vehicles would either accomplish their goals or fail in pure carnage.
For those that went and that we met in the middle of Hammer Town or out on the trail it was awesome sharing this experience with you. For those who didn’t make it I urge you to quickly mark your calendars for next year. This is a race and an event that you do not want to miss and it’s held in a place that will make you believe that God is actually an off roader!
Thank you to Jon Crowley (Crowdog) and Reid Nordin (Team Green) in the Muzzys/Monster Energy Team Green Kawasaki/MFS Teryx and the entire RZRs Edge Racing Team for representing UTVUnderground.com! Thank you to Pit Bull Tires for helping support the UTV's in this awesome race and all the people at KOH that put this amazing event together! And special thank you to Rusty (UTVUnderground.com), Dan (OffRoadSwapMeet), Todd (10KT UTVUG Member), Schannon (scmo777 UTVUG Member), Mike L. (Off Road Press), Charlene (KOH Staff, UTVWeekly.com), Wally (SXS Outfitterz), Troy and Don Merrifield (UTV OffRoad Mag.), and all the others we got to spend time with for making this trip one of my top 5 off road related adventures EVER!!!!! Next year we definitely will be out there in one giant camp!!!
Till 2011…………….
2010 PIT BULL TIRES UTV KING OF THE HAMMERS FINISHING POSITIONS
1 555 Mitch Guthrie
2 11 Kyle Knosp
3 1919 Brandon Schueler
4 2 Casey Currie
5 1909 Pierre Perret
6 1664 Nolan Remlinger
7 44 Nick Bulloch
1940 Nicholas Casler
1965 Jon Crowley
20 Grant Hedblom
1912 Mike Cook
911 Rick Len Damouth
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2010 King of the Hammers - UTV Guide
http://offroadpress.com/2010/02/king-of-the-hammers-utv-race-photos/
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