Dirt – Syndication Server

Spiezia to run RX2e with QEV Technologies

Ellis Spiezia will compete in the World Rallycross-supporting RX2e category this season, joining a long list of American youngsters who have crossed the pond to race in rallycross’ development classes. The 18-year-old New Jersey native will be the …

The 18-year-old New Jersey native will be the the first American since Conner Martell in 2021 to compete in RX2e, and and the ninth overall to compete in World RX’s second tier after Martell, Lance Vacala, Cole Keatts, Christian Brooks, Tanner Whitten, and Mitchell De Jong, as well as 2020 NASCAR Xfinity series champion and 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric, and former IndyCar driver Kyle Kaiser.

“I’m super-excited to take the next step on my electric motorsport journey with QEV Technologies in RX2e this season,” said Spiezia. “Rallycross will be a new challenge for me and is an incredible application for electric powertrain tech. Everyone at QEV was amazing during my first test at Calafat, and I can’t wait to be part of their team, promoting the championship, the technology and the future of the sport.

Spiezia, somewhat uniquely, has focused his career and development on electric categories. After two years in e-karting, he raced in the NXT Gen Cup series last year, placing third overall. However, he has also made appearances in the US F4 winter series, and made his rallycross debut at the Nitrocross season finale in Las Vegas last month racing in the combustion-powered Nitrocross NEXT category. Ahead of the Vegas event, he tested the RX2e ZEROID X1 race car at Circuit de Calafat in northeastern Spain.

“Being my first season in a discipline like this will be a big step up and it’s definitely going to be a very tough challenge, but I’m more than ready for it,” he said. “:Getting sideways and taking jumps, I intend to represent QEV and the championship well and put on a great show for the fans!”

The RX2e season will begin at Essay in France on June 8-9, before heading to Holjes, Sweden on July 6-7, Nyirad, Hungary on July 27-28, Mettet in Belgium on August 17-18, and Montalegre, Portugal on September 7-8.

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Nitrocross adds SxS PRO class for Las Vegas season finale

Nitrocross has announced an additional class for its season finale next weekend, with Side-by-Side PRO joining the bill at the double-header event at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. Running as well as the championship’s usual Side-by-Side class …

Nitrocross has announced an additional class for its season finale next weekend, with Side-by-Side PRO joining the bill at the double-header event at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

Running as well as the championship’s usual Side-by-Side class (pictured) – which features identical Can-Am Maverick X3s – SxS PRO will feature a field of vehicles from Polaris and Yamaha as well as Can-Am.

The vehicles in the class feature a high flow exhaust system and suspension alterations, with 250 horsepower coming from their modified engines fueled by Boostane UTV96 race gas.

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The top two drivers in the standings of Nitrocross’ regular SxS category, Kainan Baker and Tyler Remmereid, will contest the class along with two-time Baja 100 winner, double Crandon and LOORRS Pro Lite champion, UTV world champion and Extreme E race winner RJ Anderson and his brother, 2020 UTV World and 2021 SXS Pro NA champion Ronnie Anderson.

They will be joined by Pro Turbo UTV race winner Jeb Bootle, motocross convert Damon Bradshaw, 2020 Championship Off-Road Pro Lite champion John Holtger, UTV racing champion Cash LeCroy, father-son duo Rodney and Owen Van Eperen, and UTV race winner and vehicle tuner Kory Willis.

Nitrocross’ usual SxS class will also have its biggest field of the season, with 12 drivers entered in the single-make Can-Am category. Regulars Baker, Remmeried, Leticia Bufoni, Donald “Cowbow” Cerrone, Gray Leadbetter, and Travis Pastrana will be joined by Alyanna Baker, Banks Hovey, Zach Lumsden, Amanda and Branden Sorensen, and Adam Thomelius.

Both SxS classes will feature on Nitrocross’ biggest racing bill ever, which will be headlined by the all-electric Group E category, as well as Nitrocross NEXT – racing with the venerable SuperCar Lites cars for the final time – and Class 11 Baja Bugs.

Ekstrom-Gutierrez pairing paying dividends for NEOM McLaren

NEOM McLaren sporting director Gary Paffett says that the team’s new driver pairing of Mattias Ekstrom and Cristina Gutierrez “exceeded expectations” at the Extreme E season opener in Saudi Arabia. The duo – Ekstrom the 2023 runner-up and Gutierrez …

The duo – Ekstrom the 2023 runner-up and Gutierrez the 2022 champion – joined in the off-season as McLaren looked to move on from being underachievers to championship challengers, and Paffet says it was a strong start to the team’s new era.

“My overall feeling from the weekend is really positive,” he told RACER. “We knew what Mattias and Cristina could do from looking from the outside at other teams. Now we’ve got them here, they’ve certainly lived up to and in some ways exceeded expectations.

“They’ve both been incredible in the car – Cristina just with her calmness under immense pressure and her ability to fight so close to people, and the moves that she makes on track. Her racecraft is really good. And Mattias with his creativeness, as always, opens up gaps that you don’t know that are there. They’ve both really done an incredible job.”

While a podium finish on Saturday and a Redemption Race win on Sunday represents a solid return, Paffett admitted that it hadn’t been plain sailing, with the team quietly battling persistent mechanical issues during the event.

“We haven’t had the smoothest of weekends. We’ve had a lot of problems with the car, and we still haven’t got to the bottom of the problem that we have,” he said. “I still don’t think we were at peak performance there with the car, so there was a bit of work to do.”

On Saturday the team grabbed its first podium since last May’s Hydro X Prix in Scotland, thanks to a genius move by Ekstrom who entered the first corner on the opening lap several meters wide, only to use the subsequent momentum to power up the inside in the second phase of the turn. It was a move that Ekstrom had planned in advance, but one that the team didn’t expect to work as well as it did.

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“With Mattias you have someone that looks everywhere,” Paffett said of his former DTM rival. “He doesn’t just look from one waypoint to the next, drive there and look at the next one, he looks at the whole environment and where he can make a difference, where he can find a different line, especially in Turn 1 and things like this.

“I spoke to him after the course walk and it was already in his head; he already knew what he wanted to do. I think the first time he did it in Saturday’s final, it turned out better than he thought it would. We spoke about it and agreed it was worth a go and we were expecting one, maybe two places, and when he came out in the lead it was like, ‘That worked better than we thought.’

“So that’s what Mattias does — he’s creative and that’s going to be really important when you’re fighting against all these really top drivers.”

The team’s subsequent Redemption Race win on Sunday – which it got after missing out on a final berth thanks to a Traction Challenge time result tiebreaker – would have been a somewhat meaningless victory last season, but with it now awarding the same number of points as finishing last in the final, it carries more weight, offering real “redemption.”

“On Sunday we were struggling a lot with performance, so getting the result we did, the win in the Redemption Race, with that being worth extra points now, is key,” said Paffett. “In the final itself, we got the same amount of points as Rosberg, which is really key because they’re obviously going to be championship challengers, so I would say there’s a lot of positives, but I would also say there’s stuff we really need to get on top of if we want to be fighting for a championship. We showed, certainly from Saturday, that we can do that because we can fight with the best.

“It is [crucial] because, like today, we didn’t make the Redemption Race because we were equal on [qualifying] points with Veloce, so it wasn’t a points thing, it was a Traction Challenge pace thing which is sometimes difficult because the circuit changes depending on what heat you’re in, so it’s not always a nice way for it to be decided if you make a final or not. To be in a Redemption Race with a competitive car and to be able to win and get the same points as someone in the final is really important.”

Sainz and McConnell riding high after a strong Extreme E start

Acciona Sainz came within a lap of winning the Extreme E championship in 2023, and with that painful heartbreak still fresh in the mind – after all, last season’s finale was only two short months ago – the team was keen to get this year off to a …

Saturday’s Desert X Prix final brought an unlucky slow roll in deep sand and perhaps wasn’t the best start to the team’s latest crusade, but a victory in Sunday’s final more than made up for it.

“I think it was a fantastic way to start the season for the team,” team boss Carlos Sainz Sr. told RACER. “It’s very good for the confidence of the team, also the way we finished last year was very hard and we were a little bit down. Saturday wasn’t easy, but in the end this victory will give the whole team a good boost, the drivers good confidence, and for the morale, it’s really the best way to start.”

The win was Acciona Sainz’s third in Extreme E, and a repeat of last year when it won the second part of the season opener then, too. A key difference this time around, though, was the addition of Fraser McConnell who joined the team in the off season, replacing Mattias Ekstrom, and the former X44 man is already impressing his new boss.

“Yesterday, obviously he was honestly unlucky… He really did a fantastic job the whole weekend, settled really well in the team,” said Sainz. “I was sure he was going to deliver, but now he delivered a very good race, a very good weekend. Now we just need to keep pushing, keep working. This is only the first step.”

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Joining such a high caliber team and replacing an equally high caliber driver, McConnell knew he had big shoes to fill, but is relishing the opportunity to work with the Spanish outfit.

“Joining a team with everyone who’s so experienced, so knowledgeable with the car, a really professional group of guys and Laia (Sanz) of course is so fast – Last year she proved herself to be the fastest girl bar none – I knew I was filling quite a big role,” he said. “I really prepared as much as I could and gave the team absolutely everything while I was out on track.

“Yesterday, maybe I tried too much, but if I see tomorrow, I’m going to do it again. It was a great feeling to come back again today and finish the weekend high.

“We know we can do it. We’re not here to participate, we’re here to win. Red Bull coming onboard as well, everyone at QEV, Acciona, Sparco have given me this chance to go out there and show that I can do it so I’m living the dream and I’m going to round three even stronger.”

McConnell these days is firmly established as one of off-road racing’s elite, but at Acciona Sainz he’s surrounded by legendary talent in teammates — the multiple trials champion Sanz, and double World Rally and recently-minted four-time Dakar Rally winner Sainz, both of whom he’s keen to keep impressing.

“There’s still such a far way for me to go,” he insisted. “It’s only my fifth year racing internationally, and Carlos was and still is an inspiration, so when you get to race for one of your childhood heroes you almost have to pinch yourself. I’ve been giving absolutely everything to try and make sure I’m going out there and doing what they signed me up for.”

Chip Ganassi Racing departs Extreme E

Chip Ganassi Racing will not take part in this year’s Extreme E championship, RACER can reveal. The American team was one of the first to commit to the all-electric series, and has competed with backing from General Motors via its GMC brand and …

Chip Ganassi Racing will not take part in this year’s Extreme E championship, RACER can reveal.

The American team was one of the first to commit to the all-electric series, and has competed with backing from General Motors via its GMC brand and Hummer EV product for the last three seasons, but speculation regarding its future in the category has been rife since the end of last year. Now, in a statement provided to RACER by the team, it has confirmed it won’t be participating in the 2024 season which begins in Saudi Arabia next week.

“Chip Ganassi Racing can confirm that the team will not be competing in the Extreme E series for the 2024 season,” the statement said. “We sincerely thank Extreme E for welcoming our GMC HUMMER EV entry as part of their innovative series and look forward to following the series’ growth.

“We will be watching closely as the series and its technical partners continue to push motorsports in their move upward and into a modernized off-road hydrogen-powered race car for 2025 and beyond.”

Extreme E’s transition to hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in 2024 is thought to be the leading cause of Ganassi’s decision to withdraw since GM doesn’t currently have a major presence in the hydrogen arena, although RACER understands the team has left the door open for a possible return in the future.

It was a similar story for Abt, which was backed by Volkswagen Group brand Cupra, and formally announced its withdrawal at the end of last season, but is exploring a return with alternative backing. Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team also confirmed its exit from the category on Wednesday, but there will be at least one new team competing this year in the form of SUN Minimeal which will run Timo Scheider and former Abt Cupra driver Klara Andersson.

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“We would like to pay our upmost thanks to Chip Ganassi Racing and General Motors after their three years in Extreme E,” series founder and CEO Alejandro Agag said. “General Motors have been important ambassadors for our electric racing series; however, as we transition towards a hydrogen-powered future it’s a logical move for them to concentrate on continuing their efforts in the electric market. We wish them success in their future endeavours.

“Although Chip Ganassi Racing will not take part in Season 4, we know that they are huge supporters of our unique form of off-road racing, particular with our switch to Extreme H on the horizon in 2025. Chip Ganassi Racing is synonymous with the highest echelons of motorsport and we are hopeful that they will return to the series as we transition to hydrogen-powered racing — a world-first — as an FIA championship.”

Sara Price and Kyle Leduc gave the Ganassi team a win in Sardinia in 2022. Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images

Ganassi fielded Sara Price — who recently became the first American woman to win a stage of the Dakar Rally — and the late Kyle LeDuc for its first two seasons, and was often among the fastest contenders. A run of bad luck and mechanical issues, however, meant that the team had to wait until the first Sardinia race of Season 2 to claim its first — and only — event win.

RJ Anderson replaced LeDuc at the final round of 2022, with Amanda Sorensen coming in from the ’23 opener in place of Price. Anderson and Sorensen immediately set about challenging for the title, with a run of six consecutive final appearances — including back-to-back podiums in Scotland and Sardinia — which was only bettered by eventual champions Rosberg X Racing. In 20 Extreme E starts, the team scored a total of three podiums, including that Sardinia victory, and it finished the 2023 season in fifth overall, having taken fourth in 2022.

Ganassi was also instrumental in bringing FOX dampers to the series, which delivered an overnight improvement to the overall reliability of the series’ Odyssey 21 car, after testing with the brand during Season 1.

Nitrocross makes Calgary weekend a non-points exhibition

Nitrocross has changed its winter event in Calgary this weekend to a non-championship exhibition following concerns over track conditions after a recent spell of unseasonably warm weather. The fan experience will remain the same, however, with gates …

Nitrocross has changed its winter event in Calgary this weekend to a non-championship exhibition following concerns over track conditions after a recent spell of unseasonably warm weather.

The fan experience will remain the same, however, with gates still opening from 3 p.m. as planned. The new format will forgo preliminary rounds in order to maintain track conditions for the condensed racing schedule in the afternoon.

“It’s always been our goal to deliver the most exciting, action packed racing experience for the fans of Calgary and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Nitrocross general manager Chip Pankow told RACER. “With Sunday’s shift to an exhibition format, we have given our track the necessary time to properly freeze and produce the type of racing people have come to expect, whether that’s our Baja Bugs, NEXT class, or the premier Group E electric vehicles that highlight Nitrocross.

“Safety and race integrity are our top priorities, ensuring the best conditions for both drivers and fans. Despite the weather challenges we’ve fought, the success of events like yesterday’s Fan Fest and last year’s race in Calgary made it clear we had to ‘send it.’”

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Pankow detailed the track build process, which began several months ago.

“We create all the contours of the track when the dirt is still pliable, then we wait for it to snow. At this point we compact the snow, and that creates a nice bedding for the ice, and then it’s all about adding water, and you add water millimeter by millimeter, lap after lap.”

While the Calgary area experienced record low temperatures in January, the more recent Chinook winds and sun have massively changed the situation. A last minute reprieve in the form of overnight snow and a significant drop in temperatures on Sunday morning will allow the revised event to go ahead, but in terms of a full championship round, it’s proven to be too little, too late.

“Snow melts pretty quickly, but ice melts very slowly so it’s not like we’re losing centimeters and centimeters of ice. We get a water layer on the top, and then luckily just about every night we’ve been able to go and replace that,” Pankow said of the weather situation. “Our team gets to the track at [2-3 a.m.] and then replaces [the lost layers] with watering and we can get a freeze happening. It’s actually good to have a little period of warm weather; it actually toughens up the ice a little bit, as long as you can get a good layer of ice in there.”

For Nitrocross’ snow and ice events – of which this will be the third after a points-paying visit to Quebec last year as well as another weather-affected exhibition in Calgary – the series uses specially-developed Yokohama tires which have 325 12mm long studs in each, which is another reason why the ice needs to be in peak condition.

“The thing with the ice is people always think it’s slippery or you have to be careful, but it’s actually the opposite,” said Kevin Erikkson, winner of last year’s Nitrocross event at Stampede park. “You have to be more aggressive, you have to carry more speed into the corners because that’s what gives you grip. You don’t really look for the grip, you create the grip yourself by throwing the car in, kind of going backwards and getting the studs to dig in.”

Eriksson emerged triumphant after warm temperatures forced the series’ hand last year, but despite the change, he says the Canadian fanbase remained as passionate as ever.

“This was something else and you could really see the passion that they all had, and also it was something brand new for all of them,” he said. “And that was the grandstand, but also the autograph signing after the race… I think we were signing until 11 p.m. and the queue never ended, so it was so great to see that it was such a big passion for motorsport and Nitrocross in particular up here in Calgary.”

JP Gomez fights through to Race of Kings win at King of the Hammers

The Nitto Race of Kings proved to be an action-packed race of broken parts, crushed dreams, last-minute leader changes and absolute triumph for a select few. From a field of 116 competitors at the tough one-day race that traversed the desert sections and notoriously difficult rock trails of Johnson Valley, Calif., JP Gomez fought his way from the back of the pack to take the win after a dramatic day of racing at the grand finale of the 2024 Progressive King of the Hammers Presented by Nitto Tire and Powered by OPTIMA Batteries.

Heading into the opening desert lap, competitors saw perfect dust-free conditions that allowed them to charge hard. As in the previous day’s Every Man Challenge race, a bottleneck quickly developed in Turkey Claw two miles into the race, letting the leaders separate themselves from the rest of the field. At the end of the fast first lap, Loren Healy was first to the main pits in Hammertown, with Jason Scherer only seconds behind. Casey Currie followed in third, with polesitter Cade Rodd fourth and Raul Gomez in the fifth spot.

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Kings are made in the rocks, and ahead of the competitors were two laps of the infamously boulder-strewn Hammer Trails of Johnson Valley. Heading into the technical terrain, Healy had to stop to change a flat tire, handing the lead to Currie, who had already made his way past Scherer. Healy then had to stop in Pit Two to replace a power steering pump, further setting him back. Two-time King of the Hammers winner Gomez set an strong pace through the rocks, reeling in both Rodd and Scherer in his nimble single-seater. Just before the waterfall on Wrecking Ball, Raul Gomez passed Currie for the lead.

Behind the lead duo of Gomez and Currie, major drama unfolded when third-place Rodd got stuck in a narrow section of Outer Limits. Scherer tried to pass Rodd by driving over the front of his car, but both became hopelessly stuck together. No amount of winching seemed to alleviate the situation, allowing Gomez and Currie to pull further ahead and ending Scherer or Rodd’s hope for a win. Brett Harrell then came upon the pair, trying to winch Rodd out of his way.

Next to arrive was Can-Am UTV Hammers Championship winner Kyle Chaney, who was having a great race competing in a Can-Am X3 on 37-inch tires. Using the narrow width of the X3 to maximum advantage, he squeezed past all three to take over third place.

The third lap proved one of the most dramatic ever in the history of King of the Hammers. Heading into the final lap, Raul Gomez was in the lead, with Currie roughly five minutes behind. Marcos Gomez had fought his way to third in a heavily damaged car, with Chaney right behind him and Harrell in fifth. Marcos suffered a mechanical failure soon after leaving the main pit, bumping Chaney and Harrell up a position. Harrell then rolled onto his lid on a tricky section of Check Me Out, causing significant downtime.

Raul Gomez seemed to be headed to a three-peat King of the Hammers victory, but rolled onto his side at the top of Big Johnson. Righting the car by himself proved impossible, allowing Currie to retake the lead and Chaney to slide into third. Healy, who made a stellar recovery from stopping earlier to replace a power steering pump, was now in fourth. Yet another Gomez brother entered the mix, with JP Gomez making an amazing charge into fifth from the 99th starting position.

The race was now Currie’s to win, but heartache struck when his forward progress stopped in Pit Two with a broken driveshaft and damaged ring and pinion. Chaney then made the pass for the lead, with Healy pushing hard to hunt down the Can-Am X3. Healy finally caught and passed Chaney in Outer Limits. Only a short desert section and the rocks of Backdoor were now between Healy and victory.

However, the constant heartache of the multiple last-lap lead changes struck Healy, too, when his transmission let go only miles from the finish. Healy’s mechanical misfortune returned the physical lead to Chaney, but his front driver-side coilover had failed. Spectators were on edge watching Chaney limp to finish with his front suspension rapidly disintegrating. He crossed the finish first, but JP Gomez’s heroic charge from 99th to second made him the winner of the 2024 Nitto Race of Kings on corrected time.

“Hell yeah!” exulted Gomez at the finish. “My heart sank when Raul was flipped over on Big Johnson. Loren passed me like a bat out of hell, and I was like, ‘Man, I must be driving really slow.’ Oh man, that was a race! I got down to Outer Limits and there was Erik Miller, Jason Scherer, Cade Rodd and some other guys. Thanks to Jason for spotting me and letting me run over his car. Me and Harrell battled at the end, but it was pretty open. This is great!”

Ultimately, Chaney was penalized for missing part of the course, elevating Harrell to third.

“We could have had a better day, but I am happy with this,” said Harrell, who made a remarkable recovery after rolling. “We put the car on its lid on Check Me Out. We lost about 20 minutes or so there. I don’t know. It is a pretty good day so far, I guess. The only thing better would have been to have won it.”

To watch replays of the action at the 2024 Progressive King of the Hammers Presented by Nitto and Powered BY OPTIMA Batteries, click here.

RESULTS

De Ridder joining Nitrocross in second VMV entry at Vegas finale

Guillaume de Ridder will join the Nitrocross field from the season finale in Las Vegas in March. The 2021 RX2e champion will join compatriot Viktor Vranckx at VMV Racing which is expanding to two car team for the first time. “I’m really excited to …

Guillaume de Ridder will join the Nitrocross field from the season finale in Las Vegas in March.

The 2021 RX2e champion will join compatriot Viktor Vranckx at VMV Racing which is expanding to two car team for the first time.

“I’m really excited to be back behind the wheel, and I’m even more excited to be back behind the wheel in Nitro,” de Ridder told RACER. “I’ve been around now for a few races, not driving but working with both OMSE and VMV Racing with Viktor now and it’s been amazing.

“It’s an incredible show and coming from Europe, it’s something really special. Nitro is something like we’ve never seen before so I’m really excited, and on top of that, coming to Vegas will be even better because they will be stepping up the show even more.”

De Ridder was a frontrunner in the World Rallycross-supporting RX2 category, finishing second in 2018 and 2020, before taking the title in 2021, the category’s first season as an all-electric class. Since then, however, he has been focussed on his off-track engineering roles with Nitrocross teams Olsbergs MSE and VMV, as well as Alpine in Formula 1.

“It’s been a long time away from racing for me — two years now. The last time was 2021 when I got the RX2e title so I’m a bit rusty,” he admitted. “I hope it’s not too much, but no, I think the expectation for Vegas is trying to get comfortable in the car.

“It’s quite difficult to know where I stand within the field because all of these drivers have one full season, or even more, in the car and on top of that they’re really good drivers, really top level. I’ve driven against a few of them in Europe and I know that I can compete with them, it’s just my knowledge of the car is quite small.

“I would say our objective is being in the final and trying to see what we can get from there.”

Guillame’s addition to the VMV stable comes as part of a rapid expansion for the VMV team, which only debuted at the last event at Glen Helen Raceway in mid-December. As someone who Vranckx has been working with off-track for some time already, de Ridder’s entry is being seen as a move that will help the team become championship contenders in coming seasons.

“A two car team is always stronger than a one car team, so it’s going to be easier to find the perfect setup and get on the podium together,” Vranckx said. “Having Guillaume by my side since I started my professional career…has helped me to get here and now to give him the chance I had is really awesome and I think he’s the guy that deserves it the most. He’s proven he’s really fast but just didn’t have the luck always, but now he can prove himself again and I’m sure he will be fighting for the championship.

“I think we’re both going to help each other when we find some small tenths. We’re going to [communicate], which is going to be hard because you always want to beat your teammate, but me and Guillaume — our relationship is professional, but we have an amazing friendship as well outside of the racing, so I think that’s just going to grow. I’m going to learn from him and he’s going to learn from me, hopefully.”

Slawson wins Everyman Challenge at King of the Hammers

Randy Slawson rose above 160 competitors to win the Every Man Challenge at the Progressive King of the Hammers Presented by Nitto and Powered by OPTIMA Batteries. The off-road veteran skillfully made his way through the infamous rock trails and flat-out desert sections to claim his first Every Man Challenge title to go with his three Nitto Race of Kings wins.

The action and drama that the challenging and varied terrain of California’s Johnson Valley always produces came almost immediately after the green flag waved. Ken Fults qualified on the pole and was first off the line, but his car caught fire two miles into the race after an oil line failure, ending his hopes. The dramatic departure of Fults handed the lead to Brent Harrell, who was chased by Slawson and Woody Rose Jr. as they headed into the opening desert lap.

Behind the lead pack, even more drama developed as a massive bottleneck formed in Turkey Claw only four miles into the race. The traffic jam quickly grew to over 40 vehicles as more starters arrived on the scene. The importance of qualifying well was on vivid display as the front-runners that started up front and avoided the mess were able to form a sizeable gap.

Harrell ran strong in the lead position through the desert until his pace slowed with a damaged coilover. The suspension issues let Slawson slip by for first, closely followed by Rose for second. Throughout the fast-paced desert section, Rose shadowed Slawson, taking advantage of the dust-free conditions to run only seconds behind.

Rose made the pass for the lead in the main pit while Randy Slawson took over driving duties from his brother Mike. After the driver change, Randy suffered two tire punctures in quick succession. Carrying only one spare tire, Slawson had to limp for over 10 miles through the twisting rock trails on a flat tire before reaching a pit. The slower pace allowed Rose to stretch out his lead.

Slawson’s chances at victory appeared to be dashed as he was now 11 minutes behind Rose. However, Slawson and his brand-new Bomber Fab 4800 truck proved formidable in the rocks. Slawson put on a masterclass in technical terrain driving as he slowly reeled in Rose. After making the pass late in the race, Slawson kept up his rapid pace to take the checkered flag first.

“We had a fun day of wheeling in Johnson Valley. The track was awesome, the rocks were fun, the shocks were great and the tires were killer,” said Slawson after taking the overall and 4800 Branik Motorsports class wins. “We had such a great time. This new car took us the distance and I am really excited about it.”

Rose crossed the finish line in second, with Jeremy Jones completing the podium.

“It was a good day. We ran a good strong pace through everything and didn’t have any big hiccups, so that was a blessing,” said Rose. “The race course was really fun. Through the rocks, I just glided through almost everything, but Randy passed me when I got caught up and had to winch.”

The fight for the win in the 4500 Yukon Axle and Gear Modified class was equally as furious late in the race. A group of five racers were battling at the front so close to each other that they were almost indistinguishable on their trackers. Shad Kennedy crossed the finish line first, but the class win went to long-time-racer Duane Garretson on corrected time.

“It was pretty gnarly. It was a good course, and we had a lot of fun,” said Garretson. Steve Crawford rounded out the top three.

It was a battle of Ford Broncos in the 4600 Currie Enterprises Stock class. Bailey Cole quickly worked his way out of the early bottleneck on Turkey Claw and built a commanding lead. However, a broken CV shaft and power steering issues dramatically slowed his forward progress in the rocks. Loren Healy, driving another Bronco, was closing the gap late in the race. Cole had to winch multiple times and lost a passenger door along with completing the final miles without his co-driver, but eventually crossed the finish line for his first win at King of the Hammers. Healey took the checkered flag for second place 20 minutes later with Alex McNeil claiming third.

“I am on cloud nine right now and everything is awesome,” said Cole. “There is no more passenger door, but we got here. Thanks to everyone and to my co-driver who had to winch way too many times today and worked his ass off.”

Justin Miron was the top finisher from the Rookie Program, which helps mentor and educate racers who have never competed in any King of the Hammers competition.

“I feel amazing. I am super excited to finish,” said Miron. “King of the Hammers is such a wild event. We are from Michigan, and we have nothing like this. Our big goal was to come out and finish and we accomplished that.”

RESULTS