Raul Gomez And King Shocks Go Back-To-Back At King Of The Hammers!
Feb. 14, 2023
Off Road Racer Staff
For the second year in a row, Raul Gomez, Gomez Brothers Racing, and King Shocks have teamed up to score the victory in the Race of Kings, the premier race for 4400 class off-road vehicles at King of the Hammers. Gomez and the #83 King Shocks car completed three laps of racing—one desert lap and two grueling rock laps—in five hours, 45 minutes, and 27 seconds, winning the event on corrected time by just under a minute after battling for the lead all day.
“We couldn’t have taken this win without King Shocks!” said Gomez. “Every year, we put our shocks through the worst conditions we can throw at them at King of the Hammers, and every time King gets us through. To have won the Race of Kings twice in a row with King, and especially with them as our biggest sponsor, is just incredible. I can’t wait to go for it again next year!”
Coming from the fourth starting spot on the grid, Gomez shadowed the leader throughout the 202-mile race, getting the gap down to just a handful of seconds after the first lap and continuing to fight all day long. Gomez overcame both brutal rock faces and other mechanical challenges to take the victory, from winching his way through Sledgehammer (with the help of his son Darian, who helped many other racers get through tough sections as well) to handling tire changes by himself in a single-seat car.
“It felt just like we were in a short course race," he told King of the Hammers officials after taking the victory. "Full send on the rock trails. That’s pretty much how it was today. It wasn’t like cruise in or crawl in. When I didn’t see (the leader’s) dust, I knew this guy is really moving fast, so I had to start picking up the pace.
“On the second lap, I was catching him in the rock trails, and I got a flat,” he continued. “I had to jump out and get it myself. I got it changed in less than four minutes, got right back out there and just tried to catch him again the whole race. When I was coming up on Emerson Dry Lake on the way to finish line, I yelled, ‘I got you!’ That was the only thought I had in my mind. I just said, okay, we’re in the desert. It’s my time to shine right now!”
“What an amazing job by Raul Gomez and Gomez Brothers Racing to take their second straight Race of Kings,” said Ramses Perez, King Shocks Senior Director of Marketing. “When Raul broke through in the Race of Kings last year, we knew it’d be the first of many, and backing it up again this year only proves it. To have him take a King Shocks-sponsored car to both of his Race of Kings victories so far only makes these wins even more special. We’re already looking forward to going for the hat trick next year!”
Gomez’s Race of Kings win came after King Shocks racers also dominated the Desert Challenge over the previous weekend. T1 class winner Adam Householder and T2 winner Dustin Grabowski completed a top-six overall sweep and podium sweeps in both classes for King, while Adam Ray Lunn’s B1 win ensured a perfect record atop the Unlimited class podiums. Wins for Ezra Ebberts (Limited overall and B2 class), Darren Parsons (1450 class), and Alex Gonzales (Class 11 Showdown) further cemented King’s dominance of the event.
King Shocks would like to thank all of its racers for once demonstrating the capability of King products to handle King of the Hammers, one of the most demanding off-road events in the world. The entire King team looks forward to returning to defend its victories once again in the 2024 race!
Racing, prerunning or just having fun, whatever your application; King Shocks has the shock for you with the performance, reliability, precise tuning and adjustability you need. King Shocks, The Leader in Off-Road Technology!
About King Off-Road Shocks
King Shocks is a world-class manufacturer and servicer of custom made adjustable and rebuildable automotive shock absorbers and performance racing products for utility vehicles, OEM replacement and professional racing use. For over twenty years King Shocks has taken pride in putting quality, performance and customer service above all. Every product sold is the result of constant testing and development done with top racers in competition worldwide. This real world testing exposes their designs to a level of abuse and destructive forces that cannot be duplicated in a laboratory. King Shocks, The leader in Off-Road Shock Technology.
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Coming from the fourth starting spot on the grid, Gomez shadowed the leader throughout the 202-mile race, getting the gap down to just a handful of seconds after the first lap and continuing to fight all day long. Gomez overcame both brutal rock faces and other mechanical challenges to take the victory, from winching his way through Sledgehammer (with the help of his son Darian, who helped many other racers get through tough sections as well) to handling tire changes by himself in a single-seat car.
“It felt just like we were in a short course race," he told King of the Hammers officials after taking the victory. "Full send on the rock trails. That’s pretty much how it was today. It wasn’t like cruise in or crawl in. When I didn’t see (the leader’s) dust, I knew this guy is really moving fast, so I had to start picking up the pace.
“On the second lap, I was catching him in the rock trails, and I got a flat,” he continued. “I had to jump out and get it myself. I got it changed in less than four minutes, got right back out there and just tried to catch him again the whole race. When I was coming up on Emerson Dry Lake on the way to finish line, I yelled, ‘I got you!’ That was the only thought I had in my mind. I just said, okay, we’re in the desert. It’s my time to shine right now!”
“What an amazing job by Raul Gomez and Gomez Brothers Racing to take their second straight Race of Kings,” said Ramses Perez, King Shocks Senior Director of Marketing. “When Raul broke through in the Race of Kings last year, we knew it’d be the first of many, and backing it up again this year only proves it. To have him take a King Shocks-sponsored car to both of his Race of Kings victories so far only makes these wins even more special. We’re already looking forward to going for the hat trick next year!”
Gomez’s Race of Kings win came after King Shocks racers also dominated the Desert Challenge over the previous weekend. T1 class winner Adam Householder and T2 winner Dustin Grabowski completed a top-six overall sweep and podium sweeps in both classes for King, while Adam Ray Lunn’s B1 win ensured a perfect record atop the Unlimited class podiums. Wins for Ezra Ebberts (Limited overall and B2 class), Darren Parsons (1450 class), and Alex Gonzales (Class 11 Showdown) further cemented King’s dominance of the event.
King Shocks would like to thank all of its racers for once demonstrating the capability of King products to handle King of the Hammers, one of the most demanding off-road events in the world. The entire King team looks forward to returning to defend its victories once again in the 2024 race!
Racing, prerunning or just having fun, whatever your application; King Shocks has the shock for you with the performance, reliability, precise tuning and adjustability you need. King Shocks, The Leader in Off-Road Technology!
About King Off-Road Shocks
King Shocks is a world-class manufacturer and servicer of custom made adjustable and rebuildable automotive shock absorbers and performance racing products for utility vehicles, OEM replacement and professional racing use. For over twenty years King Shocks has taken pride in putting quality, performance and customer service above all. Every product sold is the result of constant testing and development done with top racers in competition worldwide. This real world testing exposes their designs to a level of abuse and destructive forces that cannot be duplicated in a laboratory. King Shocks, The leader in Off-Road Shock Technology.