2017 King Of The Hammers Preview

The King Of The Hammers is one of the biggest, best and most unique off-road races in the world and it is set to return this week, February 3rd-11th in Johnson Valley, CA. This will be our 8th year in a row attending this awesome spectacle some call the "Burning Man" of off-road. Tens of thousands of enthusiasts, racers, teams, companies and fans attend from around the world making the King Of The Hammers one of the years most exciting racing events. As we prepare for our own departure to #KOH2017, we wanted to bring you some information on the event. All week long we will bring you stories and information surrounding the King Of The Hammers and we will continue our coverage on through the UTV KOH race which takes place on Wednesday February 8th! This year KOH is offering pre-sale of Spectator tickets online. Purchasing tickets in advance will save you money and time at the gate on Boone Rd. More than 460 competitors have registered making this by far, the largest event week to date. Hammers week is now 7 full days of racing. The front gates of Hammertown open at Noon on Friday February 3rd. To get through the line quickly, it is recommended you pre-order your spectator bands. This new system works similar to just about any concert venue or sporting event. Bring your QR Code/Receipt to the gate and they will exchange it for a wrist band! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS Weather at KOH can be everything from warm, dry & dusty to cold & wet! You must be prepared and this extended forecast looks to show that attendees will be in for some moderate temps with some extremely cold evenings! Make sure your propane tanks are full, batteries are charged and you have lots of firewood! King Of The Hammers WEATHER If this is your first time to Hammertown then take a moment to review the information laid out in the link below. It will be helpful for everything from directions to camping. Of course if you can't find what you need you can always contact Ultra 4 directly but it may already be too late! So jump into our KOH forum thread by CLICKING HERE and post your questions there! First time to Hammertown? Click the link below and make sure to read up and make notes! FULL KOH SPECTATOR / RACER INFORMATION King of the Motos - 2 Day Race New for 2017, The King of the Motos race will begin on Saturday February 4th at 6PM and riders will race in the dark. This first leg of the race is brought to you by Baja Designs. More than 90 riders are already registered which is going to make this our largest Motos race to date. Read Jimmy Lewis' latest Motos letter for riders Vision X Shootout Returns to Back Door The Vision X Shootout presented by KMC, King, and Nitro Gear & Axle returns to back door on Monday night. February 6th, 2017. Top 10 drivers in this qualify into the KOH Race on Friday. All the sponsors will be doing give-a-ways online and on site throughout the shootout. Some of the prizes include, Vision X 4.5 Cannon LED, KMC $500 gift certificate, Nitro Gear Diff covers, and King Bump Stops. Can-Am KOH UTV Race Presented by RCV Performance Products More than 70 UTVs have already registered for the UTV race to be held on Wednesday February 8th, 2017. Qualifying for UTVs will take place on Saturday February 4th at 1PM. Wednesday's race starts at 8AM. We are still awaiting details on course and mileage but heres what we do know! 6-Time UTV KOH winner, Mitch Guthrie returns without the help of his longtime co-dog and son, Mitch Guthrie Jr. "Mitchie" will take on the 2017 event as a teammate of his dads, piloting his own Factory Polaris RZR machine in hopes of capturing his first KOH win as a driver! 2016 King, Blake Van De Loo, also returns to KOH to defend his title and looks to repeat behind the wheel of a brand new Factory Polaris RZR machine. Blake has been preparing for this race for months and his story will be premiered this week in a "Race Life" piece right here on UTVUnderground.com. True KOH royalty is joining the UTV ranks this year. Shannon, Wayland and Bailey Campbell are competing as part of the Factory Polaris RZR effort behind the wheel of brand new 2017 Polaris RZR XP Turbo's. Each has a new machine which adds a lot of competition and excitement to this years event. UTVUnderground.com was proud to play a role in attracting the Campbell's to this years UTV race and look forward to watching them compete in this years UTV race. Can-Am has taken on title sponsorship of this years UTV race and will also field some of their own factory racers including former Factory Kawasaki driver Casey Currie. Casey has been prepping what looks to be many new Maverick X3's including one for brother Cody who will also be competing once again in the UTV race. Yamaha is back with Jason Weller who put on a fantastic performance last year in his Yamaha YXZ1000R. This year they will be joined by fellow Yamaha factory racer Dustin Nelson who will also compete in his own YXZ. Arctic Cat is back once again with Robby Gordon who will likely pilot one of his new SpeedCat machines. Many other UTV KOH race veterans such as Branden Sims, Jon Crowley, John Duckworth, Chris Barnett, and Sara Price will also return for this years epic battle!! UTV Entries (NOT COMPLETE) WESLEY GRYNER 7 UTV LANSE CHOURNOS 1929 UTV DUSTIN NELSON 994 UTV ERIK MILLER 21 UTV AUSTIN WEILAND 4927 UTV CRAIG HONNOLL 1908 UTV CASEY SCHERER 79 UTV PAUL WADLINGTON 1948 UTV DAVID MIZE 5585 UTV CLINT SCRUGGS 727 UTV CONNOR FULTS 4906 UTV RICKY FARMER 4959 UTV BLAKE VAN DE LOO 1919 UTV BRENT ZIMMERMAN UTV AARON CLARK 1002 UTV GARISON CALLAWAY 1914 UTV CHRIS ARMSTRONG 706 UTV RYAN BERGAMINI 1933 UTV STEVE SCHNEIDER 933 UTV BAILEY CAMPBELL 35 UTV CHRIS BARNETT 1961 UTV KYLE ANDERSON UTV PHIL CAGLIERO 21 UTV RON SCHAEFER 4911 UTV MATTHEW WILSON 1903 UTV BRANDEN SIMS 1913 UTV CHAD HUGHES 1295 UTV SARA PRICE 123 UTV TONY COSTA 1904 UTV JAMI PELLEGRINO 485 UTV JESSE JOHNSON 1947 UTV ROSANNA DUPRAU 808 UTV PAULY HART 1911 UTV COLTIN HOBACK 7075 UTV GEORGE LISENBERY 1966 UTV MITCH GUTHRIE 6 UTV CODY CURRIE UTV LABRONN OSBORNE 1609 UTV JASON WELLER 1910 UTV DUSTIN NELSON 994 UTV ERIK MILLER 21 UTV WESLEY GRYNER 7 UTV LANSE CHOURNOS 1929 UTV AUSTIN WEILAND 4927 UTV CRAIG HONNOLL 1908 UTV CASEY SCHERER 79 UTV DAVID MIZE 5585 UTV PAUL WADLINGTON 1948 UTV ALAN CLARK UTV DANIEL PARKER 01 UTV AARON BURTON 191 UTV CHASE BRIDGMON 1975 UTV JON CROWLEY 1965 UTV JEFF PALHEGYI UTV RICK MARKLEY 777 UTV SVEN ELLSTROM 16 UTV DARIAN GOMEZ 90 UTV GIULIA MARONI 4986 UTV Smittybilt Every Man Challenge Expected to be Largest KOH Week Race 127 drivers are registered for the Smittybilt Every Man Challenge. This will be the 6th year for this race. Drivers were given the option to qualify and the 4600 Pro Comp Stock class qualify on Saturday, the 4500 Rubicon Express Modified Class, and the 4800 G2 Legends Class qualify on Tuesday. Starting order for Thursday February 9th, 2017 will be determined by the average of the 5 fastest qualifiers. Expect to see some exciting qualifying on the Jeep Proving Grounds on Tuesday February 6th. See when your favorite drivers are qualifying 11th Annual Nitto Tire King of The Hammers Powered by Optima Batteries The race that started it all. More than 110 drivers are already qualified and registered to race. 10 more may earn a spot through the Vision X Shootout and another 5 will gain entry through LCQ on Tuesday. 4400 drivers will be qualifying throughout the day on Tuesday with Power Hour from 4PM to 5PM. The remainder of 4400 qualifying will take place on Wednesday in the afternoon. Qualifying will end with another 15 drivers in Power Hour on Wednesday from 4-5PM. Will one of the two-time Kings 3-peat or will we have a new King crowned for the first time since 2013? Stay tuned to UTVUnderground.com all this week and through next weeks UTV KOH race for non-stop coverage and race updates with COVERAGE PROVIDED BY CageWRX! Huge thank you to the team at CageWRX for sponsoring our KOH coverage for 2017!! 2017 KOH Week: Johnson Valley, CA This is a tentative schedule and subject to change 2017 KOH Week Schedule by Day Friday 2/3 - Hammertown Opens Saturday 2/4 – UTV and 4600 Qualifying/King of The Motos Part 1 Sunday 2/5- King of The Motos Parts 2 and 3 Monday 2/6 - Vision X Shootout Presented by King Shocks Tuesday 2/7 – Qualifying – 4500, 4800 and 4400 Wednesday 2/8 – Can Am KOH UTV Race Presented by RCV & Qualifying (4400 Only) Thursday 2/9 - Smittybilt Every Man Challenge Friday 2/10- Nitto King of The Hammers Powered by Optima Saturday 2/11 - KOH The Experience/ Axial R/C Trail Run 2017 KOH Week Schedule Friday February 3rd, 2017 o 9:00 AM Registration Opens – Means Dry Lake Bed o 9:00 AM Pre-Running Opens o 9:00 AM Tech Opens - All new cars need to be teched by close of tech on Monday Saturday February 4th, 2017 o Continue Registration and Pre-Running o 8:00 AM 4600 and UTV Qualifying Driver Meeting o 9:00 AM 4600 and UTV Qualifying o 3:30 Registration Closes o 4:00 PM Mandatory King of the Motos Riders Meeting - All Motos Riders must be checked in o 6:00 PM King of the Motos Part 1 Sunday February 5th, 2017 o 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM King of the Motos o 5:00 PM Event Kickoff/Party - KOM Awards Ceremony Monday February 6th, 2017 o Pre-Running Day o 9:00 AM Shootout Meeting - o 12:00 PM Vendor Show opens o 4:00 PM Mandatory Drivers meeting for Qualifying – 4500 4800 4400 o 6:00 PM Vision X Shootout Presented by KMC Tuesday February 7th, 2017 o 8:00 AM Start of Qualifying for limited classes and any 4400s o 12:00 - 6:00 PM UTV Tech and Contingency EMC may tech as well o 12:00 - 8:00 PM Vendor Hours in Hammertown o 3:45 PM Awards Ceremony for Shootout Participants before Power Hour o 5:00 PM Close of Day 1 of Qualifying o 6:00 PM Mandatory drivers meeting for all KOH UTV racers o 6:00 PM Outlaw KOH R/C Rock Racing at Axial Booth (for spectator handout only) o 7:00 PM KOH University - Marketing, Safety, Radio Classes provided by Wasserman, PCI, Mastercraft, Warn Winch Wednesday February 8th, 2017 o 8:00 AM Start of Can-AM KOH UTV Race Presented by RCV o 9:30 AM Start of Day 2 of Qualifying o 12:00 - 6:00 PM EMC Tech and Contingency o 12:00 - 8:00 PM Vendor Hours in Hammertown o 4:00 PM End of KOH UTV Race o 5:00 PM End of Qualifying o 6:00 PM Mandatory Drivers meeting for Smittybilt Every Man Challenge Race o 6:00 PM Outlaw KOH R/C Rock Racing at Axial Booth (for spectator handout only) o 7:00 PM Volunteer Meeting o 8:00 PM Vendor Meet and Greet Thursday February 9th, 2017 o 8:00 AM Start of Smittybilt Every Man Challenge Race o 6:00 PM Close of EMC Race o 12:00 - 7:00 PM KOH Tech and Contingency in Hammertown o 12:00 - 8:00 PM Vendor Hours in Hammertown o 6:00 PM Raceline Volunteer Dinner presented by Extreme Wheelers 4 Christ o 6:00 PM Outlaw KOH R/C Rock Racing at Axial Booth (for spectator handout only) o 7:00 PM Mandatory Drivers meeting for Nitto King of the Hammers o 8:00 PM Volunteer Staffing meeting Friday February 10th, 2017 o 6:00 AM Driver Line Up 2017 Nitto King of the Hammers Powered by Optima o 8:00 AM Start of the 2017 Nitto King of the Hammers Powered by Optima o 10:00 PM Close of the 2017 Nitto King of the Hammers by Optima Saturday February 11th, 2017 o 9:00 AM Awards Ceremony UTV – KOH – EMC o 10:00 AM KOH The Experience o Axial R/C Trail Run

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