2019 KOH

Team Green

Reid Nordin - UTVUnderground Approved
Jun 30, 2009
341
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Riverside, CA
www.WalkerEvansEnt.com
Cool news is Trophy trucks are coming to KOH in an invitational race for big money but the bad news is (in my opinion) they moved the UTV race to the first Sunday of the week (Feb 3). This opens up a host of questions like: When can you pre-run, when is qualifying, when is tech, when will the map get released.

This will make it an easier in and out for the racers who may find it hard to be gone all week but it pushes the huge UTV class farther away from the mainstream public.
 

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
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UTVs are a nice paycheck for the organization, but we aren't Trophy Trucks.. lol I like the addition of TT's, I feel bad for both what might happen to Parker 425 & of course the UTV race being moved to Sunday. I see both sides, good and bad, but ultimately from the perspective of Ultra 4, I know the masses attending their event would rather witness TTs then UTVs.
 

dmcmark

Active Member
Apr 20, 2012
268
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28
in a very short span of time the UTV class has become one of the biggest. Top UTV manufactures have come in and sponsored the event yet nothing for us. It has been said from the beginning that the top dog does not like UTV's. Thought it might change with many of the 4400 guys running UTV's also, boy was I wrong.
 

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
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in a very short span of time the UTV class has become one of the biggest. Top UTV manufactures have come in and sponsored the event yet nothing for us. It has been said from the beginning that the top dog does not like UTV's. Thought it might change with many of the 4400 guys running UTV's also, boy was I wrong.
I don't think Dave doesn't like UTVs, its just not what the focus has ever been and ever will be. The majority of people attending KOH come for the big vehicles and thats just reality. It doesn't make it sting any less to the UTV community to face that fact, UTVs do bring in a ton of press, entries (money), sponsor dollars, etc etc etc. But you won't find any major desert racing series in the USA or Mexico today that treats UTVs like we all wish they would. We are just another class, albeit the biggest other class and the one that usually brings in the most money when you factory entries and sponsor dollars. But thats just the way it is. I for one am excited to watch this TT race at KOH though. I think its cool. Just wish it didn't have to push UTVs further away. I think UTV racers, most anyway, go to KOH to race KOH. They don't go for TV or fanfare or exposure and if your goal is to be King Of The UTVs then this doesn't really affect you so much. Less spectators for sure, but I bet the car count will be the same and hopefully a UTV OEM will still give a car away.
 

Rusty5150

UTVUG PHOTOG
Jan 9, 2009
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Moving the UTV's to Sunday is a bummer. Hammertown will still be under construction at that point. But we are still there and that is what counts.
 

American Rock Rods

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Jan 27, 2012
120
9
18
Denver, Colorado
Hammertown is always finished by at least the Thursday before hammertown opens, usually earlier, so it won't be under construction. Maps get released Friday at registration, Thursday if you have cartotracks. Qualifying is Saturday. Basically, we have two days of prerunning minus the time it takes for registration/qualifying/driver's meetings.

Dave called me and spoke to me at length on moving the race earlier this week. His thoughts:

1, he can't move the 4400 race as it is always the Friday race. He doesn't want to do TT's after 4400 because crowd control will be nearly impossible. After the Friday race, the spectators take over. That has been the case since KOH started. Educating spectators might work, but if it doesn't, and someone gets hit by a truck going 130 mph, KOH as an event could be over forever. So logistically he needs TT's to happen before Friday. I agree with this point.

So that means TT's have to race sometime before Friday. Tuesday? Possibly, but that brings up point 2:

2, UTV's probably do not want to race after the trophy trucks do multiple laps on the desert lap, which will be the same 80 mile first lap we do. They will tear the course apart. I am fine racing before them.

So that means either EMC gets shifted, or we both get shifted, which is what happened. So he debated letting us race Tuesday, or letting us race Sunday. Which brings us to point 3.

3, for California/Arizona based teams(of which there are MANY), qualifying Saturday and racing on Sunday would be easier than waiting til mid week, especially for pit support. This might be true, but somewhat overlooks anyone not in the southwest US.

I told him that for teams outside of the southwest US, racing Sunday is harder. We are in Colorado, and it's a full one day drive to the lakebed, usually split into two days. Guys on the east coast have it worse. So they will need to leave earlier to have pit crew in place Sunday AM, meaning guys have to take time off their work on either side of the weekend. For anyone that has pit crew fly out, this change is actually easier, but for the rest of us, I am not sure yet.

He did assure me that if moving the race to Sunday does not increase the car count, he will consider moving it to Tuesday for 2020 if the trophy trucks come back, which I expect they will.

He did consider Parker, but since no one(?) races Parker in their KOH UTV, in theory you could do still do both. You just need a codriver or alternate driver to qualify your KOH car for you while you are racing Parker. This doesn't change, since qualifying was Saturday this year.

Honestly I don't care what day it is. I show up and race, even if I always seem to have the worst luck.
 
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JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
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All good points and its easy for us on the outside to bitch and moan without really knowing all of the factors the promotor has to deal with. Dave is a smart guy, this isn't an off-the-cuff decision simply to slight UTVs. He is running a business after-all.

Parker only affects the TT's as there are no UTVs at the Parker 425, UTVs race earlier in January at the Parker 250. Interesting to see how this will affect BITD's first major race of the season.

It does present an interesting and potential future for off-road racing. I know many who race TT have wanted something like this new invitational for a long time. Many in off-road racing including TT drivers have also expressed their desire for a series within the current series' that included the big races from BITD & SCORE to equal out as some other level of a championship (Mint, 500, V2R, 1000).

If I play out a doom & gloom scenario here (hypothetical), the real guy/s behind the idea of this event in conjunction with Dave have a widely succesful resume of athletes whom they represent and brands for which they work with to place these athletes with as sponsors. Could this be the start of a potential TT only type series that places the elite class of off-road racing into its own league of sorts and breaks them out of the constraints of the current off-road racing format as we know it today? Is it possible that over the coming seasons we see 3-5 of these stand alone type of events leaving TT racers to choose to race for bigger money, TV and exposure and / or then race select current series events as side efforts for the glory of winning the existing prestigious events?

If the stars of TT were to leave to this hypothetical series, what would the affect be on SCORE & BITD? Do you think it would affect it, hurt it, help it?

Its an interesting thought to think that this could be the start of something new, or rather, the end of off-road racing as we currently know it in its current format. (Not the end of it entirely, the sport is bigger than just TT, I mean just the format as we know it)

The guys who are all a part of this new invitational, Dave Cole included, are very creative, big thinkers who know off-road racing very, very well. BITD & SCORE have somewhat remained on cruise control, simply adapting or should I say reacting to make changes / improvements only when neccesary. Of course, I don't mean to entirely discredit the positive that these series' and their directors have made over the course of many many years, off-road racing at BITD and SCORE isn't all bad of course. But to say they have been progressive is also not true for the most part either.

Its an interesting time. I think this new TT invitational, from a fans perspective, is very exciting and cool. But its hard not to think at what might become of this should it spawn some very big success which I and many others think is inevitable. The biggest names in TT, some massive sponsors backing, the largest off-road venue in the United States, and a well planned media and promo package that is just kicking off, is all a recipe for success.

Thoughts???
 

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
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POSTED BY DAVE COLE ON RDC....


Wow... I was hoping it would be a big deal, but the response has been overwhelming. I want to address a couple questions, and then I have our Entry List so the bench racing can begin upload_2018-8-1_14-38-14.gif

This has been in the works for a couple years, but the game breaker was generating enough revenue to also bump the purse for my core racers. Between Nitto Tire and Monster Energy, that has happened. We announced last week 100k to KOH. By the time we announced the desert race, that amount went up for both races. 100K to the winner...125k total purse for both Thursday and Friday. We are also working on increased purse for EMC and UTVs. That is my priority and will happen. I am thankful to the drivers, sponsors, and staff that have made KOH what it is. We would not be where we are without them. Special shout out to Nitto Tire for not only providing the professional and monetary support to grow our series but being supportive of this endeavor as well.

Unfortunately we aren't doing Motos. We didn't abandon motos in favor of Trucks. The decision to go a different direction with bikes was made back in February. Discussions are in the works to bring Factory backing and make King of the Motos a stand alone event.

I am not trying to hurt BITD. When we started KOH, no one thought we'd last a year. It never occurred to either Casey or myself that it would ever matter. We are both baked into our dates by Land Use Calendars. Of all the guys I've talked to, none of them are abandoning Parker to race this race. I have a great deal of respect for Donald as well as the Martellis and Roger. I have not spoken with Donald but had significant conversations with Matt and Roger prior to making this announcement. I hope to make this good for the entire sport.

The coverage will be world class...For ALL races. We are finalizing the TV contract and have some new tricks up our sleeves for the Live show.

Now on to the main reason we are all excited... the racers.

We initially intended to cap it at 20. We are at 31 invited and 30 committed. There will be a 3 mile qualifying course the morning of the race. I intend to open qualifying to those guys who didn't get an automatic invite. Top 4 'LCQ' guys get into the main race. Race starts 30 minutes after qualifying ends.

Here's your list.

Allen Ampudia
Andy McMillin
Apdaly Lopez
BJ Baldwin
Brett/Christian Sourapas
Bryce Menzies
Cameron Steele
Casey Currie
Dan McMillin
Gary Weywrich
Harley Letner
Jason Voss
Jesse Jones
Josh Daniel
Justin Lofton
Justin Matney
Kyle Leduc
Larry Roeseler
Luke McMillin
Nick Nelson
Ricky Johnson
Rob McCachren
Robbie Pierce
Robby Gordon
Ryan Arciero
Shannon Campbell
Steve Olliges
Tavo Vildosola
Tim Herbst
Tracy Graf/Justin Bean
Troy Herbst

Jason Voss is the only guy not verbally committed. Shannon Campbell is the only one not in a 'truck'....but when you win KOH 3 times, he can enter on a tricycle as far as I'm concerned. Have fun, anyone know how to get sports book to cover this upload_2018-8-1_14-38-14.gif ?
 

dmcmark

Active Member
Apr 20, 2012
268
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28
Joey, sure hope your right. Guess I got the wrong impression 2 years ago when the prior years winner of the western and national champion in the Ultra4 UTV class tried to introduce himself to Mr. Cole. His first words were who the F are you. When he explained that he had won his series, he simply turned his back and walked away with no acknowledgment. Then at this years drivers meeting he made a quick thanks to the sponsors, seemed to be put off by 1 question and walked off the stage and left it to JT to do his best to get through the rest.

Now that being said I have a lot of respect for what it takes to put on a week long event like KOH. And I only have good to say about the army of volunteers that come to help (could not happen without them). The history of Ultra4 is a brief one, but has blossomed into something that I think that even the promoters could never imagine. Remember the OG13 raced for bragging rights and a case of beer. It was really about 4x4's and even the Moto guys have to run the rocks (that's the race).

If Ultra4 comes up with even half of the purse that is laid out for the Elite classes, they will absolutely be over run by UTV's. One could predict that it will be the largest class at KOH.
 

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
18,569
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North County San Diego
www.utvunderground.com
Joey, sure hope your right. Guess I got the wrong impression 2 years ago when the prior years winner of the western and national champion in the Ultra4 UTV class tried to introduce himself to Mr. Cole. His first words were who the F are you. When he explained that he had won his series, he simply turned his back and walked away with no acknowledgment. Then at this years drivers meeting he made a quick thanks to the sponsors, seemed to be put off by 1 question and walked off the stage and left it to JT to do his best to get through the rest.

Now that being said I have a lot of respect for what it takes to put on a week long event like KOH. And I only have good to say about the army of volunteers that come to help (could not happen without them). The history of Ultra4 is a brief one, but has blossomed into something that I think that even the promoters could never imagine. Remember the OG13 raced for bragging rights and a case of beer. It was really about 4x4's and even the Moto guys have to run the rocks (that's the race).

If Ultra4 comes up with even half of the purse that is laid out for the Elite classes, they will absolutely be over run by UTV's. One could predict that it will be the largest class at KOH.
I don't think Dave hates UTVs, but I know Dave can be rather grumpy at times lol
 

sonicstage

New Member
Jul 2, 2018
12
0
1
52
POSTED BY DAVE COLE ON RDC....


Wow... I was hoping it would be a big deal, but the response has been overwhelming. I want to address a couple questions, and then I have our Entry List so the bench racing can begin View attachment 14933

This has been in the works for a couple years, but the game breaker was generating enough revenue to also bump the purse for my core racers. Between Nitto Tire and Monster Energy, that has happened. We announced last week 100k to KOH. By the time we announced the desert race, that amount went up for both races. 100K to the winner...125k total purse for both Thursday and Friday. We are also working on increased purse for EMC and UTVs. That is my priority and will happen. I am thankful to the drivers, sponsors, and staff that have made KOH what it is. We would not be where we are without them. Special shout out to Nitto Tire for not only providing the professional and monetary support to grow our series but being supportive of this endeavor as well.

Unfortunately we aren't doing Motos. We didn't abandon motos in favor of Trucks. The decision to go a different direction with bikes was made back in February. Discussions are in the works to bring Factory backing and make King of the Motos a stand alone event.

I am not trying to hurt BITD. When we started KOH, no one thought we'd last a year. It never occurred to either Casey or myself that it would ever matter. We are both baked into our dates by Land Use Calendars. Of all the guys I've talked to, none of them are abandoning Parker to race this race. I have a great deal of respect for Donald as well as the Martellis and Roger. I have not spoken with Donald but had significant conversations with Matt and Roger prior to making this announcement. I hope to make this good for the entire sport.

The coverage will be world class...For ALL races. We are finalizing the TV contract and have some new tricks up our sleeves for the Live show.

Now on to the main reason we are all excited... the racers.

We initially intended to cap it at 20. We are at 31 invited and 30 committed. There will be a 3 mile qualifying course the morning of the race. I intend to open qualifying to those guys who didn't get an automatic invite. Top 4 'LCQ' guys get into the main race. Race starts 30 minutes after qualifying ends.

Here's your list.

Allen Ampudia
Andy McMillin
Apdaly Lopez
BJ Baldwin
Brett/Christian Sourapas
Bryce Menzies
Cameron Steele
Casey Currie
Dan McMillin
Gary Weywrich
Harley Letner
Jason Voss
Jesse Jones
Josh Daniel
Justin Lofton
Justin Matney
Kyle Leduc
Larry Roeseler
Luke McMillin
Nick Nelson
Ricky Johnson
Rob McCachren
Robbie Pierce
Robby Gordon
Ryan Arciero
Shannon Campbell
Steve Olliges
Tavo Vildosola
Tim Herbst
Tracy Graf/Justin Bean
Troy Herbst

Jason Voss is the only guy not verbally committed. Shannon Campbell is the only one not in a 'truck'....but when you win KOH 3 times, he can enter on a tricycle as far as I'm concerned. Have fun, anyone know how to get sports book to cover this View attachment 14934 ?
Can’t wait for KOH! Best event of the year and whoever organizes the logistics is a hero beyond words can’t wait to see Casey Currie and Bryce Menzies looks like I will be getting there early this year for the utv races don’t want to miss out on that


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450grl

The First Lady of SXS - UTVUnderground Approved
Mar 15, 2009
917
104
43
I'm super bummed they moved UTVs to Sunday......no matter what the reason is behind it. Oh well....we will still be there, but my excuse for staying partway through the week just went out the window. Now Jason will make us all go home Sunday night and get back to work.....lol!
 
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sonicstage

New Member
Jul 2, 2018
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Im going to be there all week I love watching the ultra 4


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dkiewicz

Space Cadet - UTVUnderground's La Familia
Nov 28, 2009
1,582
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48
66
Hesperia Ca
I'm super bummed they moved UTVs to Sunday......no matter what the reason is behind it. Oh well....we will still be there, but my excuse for staying partway through the week just went out the window. Now Jason will make us all go home Sunday night and get back to work.....lol!
We can tie him up and hide him in a Sea Van for a couple of days, no? LOL!!!!
 

sonicstage

New Member
Jul 2, 2018
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Anyone planning rides while at KOH? I will be there from Tuesday on unfortunately I can’t make it to the UTV finals on Sunday

Or a meet and greet?


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Rusty5150

UTVUG PHOTOG
Jan 9, 2009
3,527
332
83
Anyone planning rides while at KOH? I will be there from Tuesday on unfortunately I can’t make it to the UTV finals on Sunday

Or a meet and greet?


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I will be there 1st though 9th. If you see us, feel to say hi or jump into the group.



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sonicstage

New Member
Jul 2, 2018
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I will be there 1st though 9th. If you see us, feel to say hi or jump into the group.



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Thad great I’m there from feb 3-9 I will definitely try and seek you out and do a ride

IMG_1475.jpg


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sonicstage

New Member
Jul 2, 2018
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I want to congratulate fugawe racing Scott Pfister who won the LCQ at KOH on Tuesday to run in the main event on Friday, he finished 23rd so proud and honored to be a part of Fugawe racing! IMG_1601.jpgIMG_1607.jpg


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