The Griffin King of the Hammers (KOH) race is one of the toughest and most technically challenging off-road races of its kind. The race consists not only of high-speed passes on desert trails and sand dunes, but also vertical rock walls and bone-rattlng rock washes. KOH runs across some of the harshest and most extreme desert terrain and rocky trails in America. Pushing both man and machine to the limit, it is one of the most extraordinary races on earth.
KOH is held on and around the Hammer Trails of Johnson Valley, California. The Hammers are part of the Southern Mojave Desert and sit approximately 124 miles due east of Los Angeles. The trails are also part of the 188,000-acre Johnson Valley OHV recreational area, the perfect place for extreme desert racing. Temperatures here range from 120-plus degrees F in the summer to below freezing in the winter. This year’s participants and spectators experienced that extreme cold at night.
The Hammers are a series of trails in the Hartwell Hills of the Johnson Valley OHVA. Most of the trails are narrow and extremely rocky. They usually start at the base of the hills and wind their way through a maze of passages up to the peaks. Most of the year the area is deserted due to the intense desert heat. However, the King of the Hammers race brings this part of the desert to life every February, with more racers, sponsors, and spectators coming every year. It’s an amazing sight, seeing Hammer Town on the desolate Means Dry Lakebed come alive with thousands of race fans, racers prepping buggies, and vendors and sponsors touting their wares.
Watching King of the Hammers is awe-inspiring, as handmade race buggies fly at high speed down sandy washes, scale sheer rock walls, and descend nearly vertical mountains for approximately 120 miles of race course. Some vehicles only last a few miles into the race before experiencing suspension breakage, blown engines, rollovers, and other mechanical failure. But other racers move on into desert tracing history, such as this year’s First Place winner Shannon Campbell and Second Place winner Tony Pellegrino.
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There are some unbelievably talented racers in King of the Hammers. Veteran KOH racer and
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Some sections of the race course are a mix of soft sand, rocks, and gravel, which makes pr
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The rock wall at Back Door is just one of many obstacles on the course. Skilled and lucky
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Poison Spyder Customs’ Larry McRae and Off-Road magazine’s Jerrod Jones make their way pas
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The fifth running of the King of the Hammers was the largest and most organized event yet.
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Ben Napier and his co-driver made their way through this deceivingly easy-looking rocky pa
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While the winner of King of the Hammers made it across the finish line in just over six ho
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Many industry professionals, such as Brent Goegebuer and Greg Adler from 4Wheel Parts, mad
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Doug Bigelow rolls into Pit Row for fuel and a quick check of his rig by his crew. Breakag
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Shannon Campbell makes his way down a steep hill that’s far more vertical than it looks. T
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Tony Pellegrino, owner of GenRight Offfoad, had a great race and took Second Place. His ri
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The action at King of the Hammers is always intense around any given obstacle. As racers j
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Anyone who has ever raced in KOH or spent a hard day wheeling the area knows that hitting
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Rollovers are common in the race, but due to vehicle design most rigs can be pushed back o
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With a time of 6 hours 11 minutes 54 seconds, Shannon Campbell made his way across the fin