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King of the Hammers: Undercards give way to the main events
While the competition at the Optima King of the Hammers presented by Ford Performance has seen its share of agony and victory this week, (...)
While the competition at the Optima King of the Hammers presented by Ford Performance has seen its share of agony and victory this week, the next three days of main events are certain to test drivers and machines while entertaining a reportedly record crowd in California’s Johnson Valley.
Indeed, some of the sport’s very best talent will be showcased today in the Can-Am UTV Hammers Championship race. Comprised of six different classes of Polaris, Can-Am and Kawasaki side-by-sides, most of the top names will run in the 4900 Pro Open and Pro Mod categories.
The top five in qualifying showed a portent of what’s to come as longtime Polaris race Ronnie Anderson edged out perennial UTV favorite Kyle Chaney’s Can-Am for pole position by just 0.194s. Just over two second back in third is UTV juggernaut Brock Heger (Polaris, pictured above) in third, then CJ Greaves (Polaris) in fourth and Phil Blurton (Can-Am) in fifth. A total of 100 UTVs will take the green flag.
Friday will feature the Yokohama Tire Every Man Challenge race. Created to offer off-road and 4×4 enthusiasts a way to build production-based machines into the sport, three classes that include Ford, Jeep, Dodge, Chevy, Suzuki, Volkswagen, Mahindra and Toyota-based race cars make for a true fan favorite.
The three weekend KOH extravaganza wrap-up on Saturday with the aptly named Race of Kings. Yesterday the qualifying course proved to separate those looking to push their luck for the Race of Kings all-day endurance test from the front vs those looking to make the show and start from a good position. While all the previous race champions ran at the end of the day for “Power Hour,” the pace was set early by Paul Wolff in a blazing fast run in his single seat Unlimited car to nab top honors. The two factory Ford Bronco unlimited RTR machines of Loren Healey and Vaughn Gittin Jr. were second and third respectively, followed by the Can-Am UTV of Kyle Chaney and then Bill Mcgibbon. Currently 99 entries are slated for Saturday’s KOH finale.
As promising as the King of the Hammers main events will be in terms of top-tier competition, the week’s completed races have proven to be much more than secondary undercards. There is no doubt that spreading this massive show over one week is great for spectators and racers, and those that took on the challenge brought out their very best no matter the category of racing.
Sunday’s Toyo Tires King of the Hammers Desert Race presented by Monster Energy Unlimited race was a points event toward the 2025 Best-In-The-Desert championship. In a dominating repeat of his winning 2024 KOH performance, the No. 94 Optima Ford Unlimited truck of Chris Polvoorde lead from pole to finish after qualifying first. Polvoorde’s Mason Motorsports-built all-wheel drive Ford was untouchable, with co-driver and Fox Shox tuning expert Mike Kim providing impeccable navigation.
“It was a long day and a rough course, but it was a lot of fun,” said Polvoorde. “Mike and I and the team went in with a plan and stuck to it and now we are here. I am thankful. There were a lot of moments where you could make big mistakes. Some spots are super-fast where you are going over 130mph, and in other spots, you are going 2mph, scared you are going to crash off a cliff.”
Kyle Jergensen shocked the field with his second overall and first place performance in the T2 (Trophy-Truck Spec) category. Armed with two-wheel drive and at least 400hp down to Polvoorde, Jergensen and the No. 6175 Beast-sponsored, Camburg-built truck was just six minutes behind the winner on corrected time.
The T1 (Trophy-Trucks) of JP Gomez and Thor Herbst come home third and fourth, with the T2 of Jason Coleman rounding up the top five.
Last Saturday, the Desert Challenge for Limited class vehicles proved to be another showcase for the talents of Polaris factory phenom Brock Heger. Hegar wasted no time picking up where he left off after his win at the Dakar Rally. Once again proving unstoppable behind the wheel of his RZR Pro R Factory, Heger delivered a dominant wire-to-wire performance to secure his second consecutive victory at the event, claiming the overall UTV win in the UTV Open class during the Limited race.
In addition to Heger, Polaris-supported racers dominated the event, securing nine of the top 10 positions, including a podium sweep. Doug Mittag and Dallas Gonzalez claimed second and third places in their modified RZR Pro Rs, while RZR factory racing driver Max Eddy Jr. finished fourth in his RZR Pro R Factory. Fifth place was taken by the Can-Am of Michael McFayden.
Finally, Blake Wilkey continued his dominance of the PRP Seat Class Showdown presented by EMPI, taking his famous lavender vintage stock VW sedan to another KOH victory despite another large field. The exploits of Wilkey have been largely credited for the recent surge in interest in this class, which is a fan favorite wherever they race.
Complete coverage and information of all this week’s remaining King of the Hammers races can be found by visiting www.kingofthehammers.com.
CLASS 11 SHOWDOWN RACE RESULTS
