Organizers of the “King of the Hammers” off-road event are estimating attendance at 45,000, up from last year’s 40,000. The annual event has grown exponentially at the Johnson Valley ORV area over the past 12 years. The event started when 12 friends got together for a light-hearted competition. Today, (Tuesday, February 6) drivers will have a last chance to qualify for the big race. There are a variety of ways to qualify for the King of the Hammers race, including past performance, but for others, there’s the Last Chance Qualifier, a race that’s a short course near Hammertown that contains all of the elements of King of the Hammers, just in a bite-sized package.
Tomorrow’s race at King of the Hammers is for utility vehicles, also called side-by-sides. The average Ultra4 vehicle uses 40-inch tires; the average UTV uses 29-inch tires, and they race on many of the same trails. Few UTVs finish each year, but that hasn’t stopped the UTV class from exploding in popularity.
UPDATES WITH RESULTS: https://mailchi.mp/a5e4ead6e2d5/2018-holley-efi-shootout-results-story?e=bd048d1a1f
