MOORESVILLE, NC – The Progressive King of the Hammers powered by Optima Batteries is the motorsport version of Burning Man – 100,000 people live for two weeks on a desolate lake bed in the Mojave Desert in the unincorporated community of Johnson Valley, California.
The base camp for the event is about two hours outside of Palm Springs and is known as Hammertown. It is a temporary city that emerges every year in the middle of the lake bed. There are no permanent structures, but there are streets, a pit area, a media center, manufacturers’ centers and live concerts every night. There is everything that fans are used to from a permanent racetrack. However, it’s all brought in and out by the staff and competitors of King of the Hammers.
King of the Hammers is the gnarliest off-road race in the United States, but this isn’t your standard off-road race where competitors race across the desert trying to dodge cactus and other obstacles. In Hammers, vehicles must be able to hurtle across the desert floor at speeds of up to 150 mph, but also be able to climb the mountains where things get challenging and the race is won or lost.
The racers must also be able to crawl up and down boulder-strewn gorges with names like Sledgehammer, Jackhammer, Chocolate Thunder and Turkey Claw. Vehicles resemble high-horsepower spiders as they inch up, over, and around massive rock formations.
An Ultra4 vehicle navigates the Mojave Desert during King of the Hammers. (Photo by Ralph Sheheen)
When the vehicle’s massive bumps and sticky tires don’t provide enough grip to climb to the top, the passenger jumps off and attaches a winch, pulling the machine past the combative obstacle. Winch points are laid out by the track workers and discovered and tested by the racers as they advance the track.
The worst, fastest and most technologically advanced category competing at Hammers are the super trick Ultra4 4400 Unlimited machines with engines pumping out between 900 and 1,000 horsepower. Suspensions have 24-26 inches of travel mounted with 40-42 inch tires. These behemoths can cost up to $250,000 new and are ready to be thrashed in the desert.
The race consists of three laps around a course that is just under 100 miles per lap. It’s a day-long physical battle for the racers, with the first machine leaving the start area at 8:00am. The last finisher crosses the finish line in Hammertown at around 10:00 p.m
There’s a category for everyone from motorcycles and side-by-sides to the Everyman Challenge, which is exactly what it sounds like – a Run-Whatcha-Brung class for the budget-conscious racer. It all ends with the Nitto Race of Kings, won by Raul Gomez for the second year in a row.
King of the Hammers has a way of getting under your skin, and I don’t mean the dust. There’s something about the desert and energy of Hammertown that draws you back year after year. Give it a try if you are looking for a different type of racing experience that you will never forget. I’ll see you at the bottom of the lake.
■ A 180 degree inversion of the King of the Hammers is the Rolex 24 At Daytona. I have competed twice 24/7 in numerous events at the World Center of Racing and it remains the largest and most important sports car race in North America.
This year’s race was spectacular! A record crowd moved unhindered from the paddock to the grid, grandstands and infield to see the action from every angle IMSA and its competitors could offer. Not only was the crowd big, but there was incredible energy throughout the week.
The stunning new IMSA GTP machines looked fantastic whether sitting still or racing along the high banks of the Superspeedway section of the 3.56 mile road course. Bringing the new class of hybrid prototype cars to the track took a lot of hard work from IMSA leadership, the ACO, the teams and the manufacturers.
Sports car racing fans have much to look forward to this season with the Mobil 1 Sebring 12 Hours and Le Mans 24 Hours still to come.
■ Ken Clapp has done literally everything in motorsport, from working as a gopher for race teams as a teenager to a long tenure as NASCAR’s vice president of Western Operations. He is also a mentor and dear friend of mine.
Luckily for those of us who are passionate about racing history, Clapp sat down with SPEED SPORT’s preeminent columnist Bones Bourcier to produce Sea to Shining Sea.
Not only is this book extremely entertaining, it is one of the most important books I have read in recent years. I know that’s a big statement, but here’s why: Clapp was literally there alongside Bill France, Bill France Jr., Brian France and many of NASCAR’s top executives as this country’s main sanctioning body rose from humble beginnings and eventually expanded from country to country as “Big Bill” envisioned. It was a dream that would never have been realized without Clapp’s leadership role on the West Coast.
Not only will readers learn how NASCAR has grown, they will laugh at the hilarious stories that have happened along the way. You’ll also get tremendous insight into industry visionaries like Bob Barkhimer and Margo Burke who, along with legends like JC Agajanian, helped develop the motorsport industry in the western part of the country.
Congratulations to Clapp and Bourcier for putting all of this incredible history into one book to keep these stories alive. Get an annual copy from the great folks at coast181.com.
This story appeared in the March 8, 2023 issue of SPEED SPORT Insider.
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