How Mitch Guthrie Jr. Won the 2019 King of the Hammers UTV Race

Mitch Guthrie Jr. and I won the 2019 King of the Hammers UTV race in a Polaris RZR XP Turbo S Velocity. Mitch handled the driving while I managed navigation, course strategy and spotting from the co-driver seat. We completed the approximately 165-mile race in 4:52:33, finishing more than 26 minutes ahead of Wayland Campbell.

The victory gave Mitch his second consecutive King of the Hammers UTV title. For me, it was my first KOH victory after previously finishing on the podium as both a driver and co-driver.

This is the story of how a year I planned to spend covering the race from behind a camera turned into a first-place finish from the right seat.

2019 King of the Hammers UTV Race at a Glance

• Winner: Mitch Guthrie Jr.
• Co-driver: Jon Crowley
• Race vehicle: Polaris RZR XP Turbo S Velocity
• Official time: 4:52:33
• Second place: Wayland Campbell — 5:19:09
• Third place: Branden Sims — 5:20:22
• Official finishers: 28
• Starting field: 93 UTVs

The course combined a long opening desert loop with many of Johnson Valley’s best-known rock trails, including Boulderdash, Claw Hammer, Full of Hate, Wrecking Ball, Her Problem, Jack North, Jack Hammer, Highway 19/20, Aftershock, Outer Limits and Spooners.

For more context on how the race developed from an exhibition into one of the toughest UTV competitions in the country, see the history of the King of the Hammers UTV race.

How I Became Mitch Guthrie Jr.’s Co-Driver

I have a love-hate relationship with the King of the Hammers UTV race. I love the challenge of building and preparing a UTV to survive the desert and rocks, but competing at the level I expect takes an enormous amount of time.

I had attended every KOH UTV race since the first exhibition in 2009. By 2019, I had already earned several strong finishes:

• Second place as a driver in 2013.
• Fifth place as Blake Van de Loo’s co-driver in 2014.
• Third place as a driver in a Polaris RZR S 900 in 2015.
• Third place with Reid Nordin in a naturally aspirated RZR XP 1000 in 2017.

I sat out the race in 2018 to concentrate on pre-running, photography and video coverage. That was also my plan for 2019.

By the middle of January, I had already made three trips to Johnson Valley. I was gathering content and pre-running with teams representing Polaris, Can-Am and Yamaha, including the Guthries, Ronnie Anderson, Phil Blurton and Jason Weller. You can see more from those early trips in our 2019 King of the Hammers pre-run coverage.

Then Mitch Guthrie Jr. called and asked if I wanted to be his co-driver.

That was not part of my plan, and I didn’t accept immediately. I had media commitments, and I take this race seriously. If I agreed, I needed to be certain that I could give Mitch and the Guthrie Racing team everything I had.

After thinking it over, I went for it. Opportunities to race with the defending King of the Hammers winner do not come around often. I also felt prepared for the job. After spending so much time filming and pre-running in Johnson Valley, I had logged countless hours walking obstacles, studying lines and learning the terrain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Doing Our Homework in Johnson Valley

The addition of a trophy truck race changed the 2019 schedule. The UTV race moved from its traditional midweek date to Sunday, with qualifying on Saturday. The official course was not scheduled to be released until Thursday afternoon, leaving teams very little time to pre-run the complete route.

We already expected the opening desert loop to cover more than 90 miles. The bigger question was which rock trails promoter Dave Cole would include on the second lap.

Before the course was released, we followed course markers and pieced together much of the route. We found that the course went down Chocolate Thunder, through Her Problem, up Jack North and down Jack Hammer. Other sections included Boulderdash, Upper Big Johnson, Claw Hammer, Wrecking Ball, Highway 19/20, Aftershock, Outer Limits and Spooners.

One of the most important discoveries was an either-or split at Claw Hammer. Racers could continue up Claw Hammer or turn onto the more difficult Full of Hate. Full of Hate carried more risk, but we learned during pre-running that it could also be several minutes faster with a clean run.

That information would become critical on race day.

The Winning Polaris RZR XP Turbo S Velocity

Mitch’s race car was a new Polaris RZR XP Turbo S Velocity. The 72-inch-wide platform combined 168 horsepower with long-travel suspension and Walker Evans Velocity shocks. It handled Johnson Valley’s rough desert terrain better out of the box than the narrower RZRs Mitch or I had previously raced at KOH.

The Guthries also followed a preparation philosophy that matched mine: keep the race car as simple as possible. Add the required safety equipment, protect the vulnerable components and avoid unnecessary engine or drivetrain modifications that might introduce new failure points.

Johnson Valley is so rough that suspension setup is often more valuable than adding horsepower. A driver who can maintain speed through chop, whoops and g-outs without beating up the vehicle gains more than a driver with additional engine power that cannot be used consistently.

Major Components on the Winning RZR

Component	Equipment
Vehicle	Polaris RZR XP Turbo S Velocity
Cage and doors	Cognito Motorsports
Suspension	Walker Evans Velocity shocks
Underbody protection	Factory UTV UHMW skid plate, rock sliders and suspension-arm guards
Axles	SuperATV Rhino 2.0
Tires	32-inch BFGoodrich KR2
Wheels	KMC beadlocks
Seats and restraints	PRP seats and harnesses
Window nets and storage	Hostyle window nets and door bags
Communications	Rugged Radios intercom, radio and Bluetooth helmet system
Recovery	Warn 9.0RC winch

The Bluetooth communication system proved especially useful in the rocks. I could get out of the RZR to spot Mitch while maintaining constant communication through my helmet.

Mitch Guthrie Jr. Qualifies First in the Rain

Weather became a major factor during Saturday qualifying. Strong winds and rain arrived as the fastest drivers prepared for the late-afternoon Power Hour.

Kyle Chaney, Ronnie Anderson and Jason Weller posted competitive times before conditions deteriorated. Mitch was the final UTV to leave the starting line. Despite the wet course, he recorded the fastest qualifying lap, beating Chaney by less than a second.

Starting first was a major advantage. One stalled or broken vehicle can create a bottleneck in the rock canyons, so starting near the front was essential for a realistic shot at the podium.

Race Day: “Just Get Me to the Rocks”

Mitch and I started on the pole with Kyle Chaney beside us and Phil Blurton close behind. Chaney jumped ahead when the green flag dropped, but Mitch did not chase him recklessly.

At King of the Hammers, you can lose the race in the desert and win it in the rocks. Too many teams destroy their vehicles early while fighting for a pass that will have little importance several hours later.

My mantra since 2013 had been simple:

Just get me to the rocks.

Chaney initially took a wrong turn toward the qualifying course, temporarily putting us back in front. He recovered and passed us on the wet lakebed, covering us in mud and forcing us to work quickly to clear our visors.

Phil Blurton then caught us from behind. Blurton was a serious threat because of his desert speed and the time he had invested pre-running the Johnson Valley rock trails. He eventually moved into the physical lead, but Mitch stayed disciplined and kept the race car underneath us.

Chaney later stopped with a mechanical problem. We passed him and continued chasing Blurton through the first desert lap.

A Broken Belt Costs Us the Lead

After returning through Hammertown and beginning the second lap, we encountered a series of large g-out-style whoops. Mitch braked hard when one caught us by surprise. The rear tires skipped off one whoop and struck the next, sending a shock load through the drivetrain that broke the CVT belt.

We jumped out, and Mitch changed the belt quickly. Because we were heading into the rocks, he left the belt cover off. Blurton passed us during the repair and reclaimed the physical lead.

In our rush to get moving, we also forgot to latch the spare tire carrier. That mistake would follow us through much of the second lap.

Full of Hate Puts Us Back in Front

Our best opportunity to catch Blurton came at the split between Claw Hammer and Full of Hate. During pre-running, we determined that Full of Hate was faster if we could climb it without getting stuck.

We saw Blurton continuing up Claw Hammer as we turned toward Full of Hate. Mitch executed the climb cleanly, and we headed toward Wrecking Ball without seeing Blurton.

Partway down Wrecking Ball, we encountered Troy from UTV Off-Road Magazine and asked whether we were the first UTV through. His answer was yes.

We had regained the physical lead.

Managing a Loose Spare Tire Through the Rocks

Somewhere before Chocolate Thunder, we realized the spare tire carrier was loose. The tire was banging from side to side, but the next pit was still several rock trails and a stretch of desert away.

We continued through Her Problem and up Jack North. I had filmed competitors struggling on Jack North during the 2018 race, but Mitch attacked it with exactly the right combination of line choice, momentum and throttle.

We descended Jack Hammer and continued toward Highway 19/20. Because the loose carrier could cause more damage, Mitch moderated the pace where possible.

Highway 19/20 contained several virtual checkpoints intended to keep racers in the original canyon instead of using established bypasses. I kept the GPS zoomed in and guided us through the required route. Mitch drove the waterfall obstacle that we expected to winch, saving more time.

At Pit 2B, the team added fuel and secured the loose spare tire.

Clearing Outer Limits Without Winching

After passing through Aftershock and the wet lakebed near the Marine Corps base, we entered Outer Limits—the hardest rock trail on the course.

During pre-running, we expected to use the winch in several places. We initially became bound up in one section, so I got out, helped Mitch reposition the RZR and stacked a few rocks.

I stayed outside for part of the climb, using the Bluetooth helmet system to guide Mitch while he drove. Running through Outer Limits in a two-layer fire suit and helmet is exhausting, but being able to communicate continuously made the job much easier.

When we reached the first expected winch point, additional rocks had been stacked at the bottom. Mitch tried the climb and drove straight up. He cleared the second expected winch point the same way and then made the final climb with a controlled burst of throttle.

We completed Outer Limits without using the winch.

Winning the 2019 King of the Hammers UTV Race

After Outer Limits, we stopped briefly at Pit 2A and then descended Spooners, the final major rock trail. Our focus was no longer on adding to the lead. We needed to protect the RZR and get it back to Hammertown.

Mitch backed the pace down slightly in the final desert section while I watched the mirrors for approaching racers. We reached the finish line at approximately 1 p.m., just under five hours after starting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Officials removed our tracker and verified that we had passed the virtual checkpoints. After several long minutes, they cleared us to drive onto the podium as the winners of the 2019 King of the Hammers UTV race.

Our official time was 4:52:33. Wayland Campbell finished second in 5:19:09, and Branden Sims placed third after a five-minute virtual-checkpoint penalty.

I finally earned my first King of the Hammers victory—just not from the left seat.

What the Other 2019 KOH Finishers Endured

Our relatively clean race did not represent what most of the field experienced. Several competitors originally shared their complete race reports with UTVGuide.net. The highlights below preserve some of their best stories as those individual recaps are consolidated into this article.

Jacob Versey Finishes Fifth After a Radiator Repair

Jacob Versey and Riley started 24th and used a conservative first lap to keep their Polaris RZR intact. Around race mile 100, Versey smelled coolant. By Pit 2B, the radiator had broken away from its mounts and was resting on the engine.

Versey secured it with two ratchet straps while his pit crew cut and spliced the coolant lines, refilled the system and fueled the car. In Outer Limits, Versey’s team helped right Shannon Campbell’s overturned vehicle and later assisted Phil Blurton after broken axles blocked the trail. Despite the delays, Versey finished fifth in 5:48:00.

Anthony Yount Charges From 57th to 17th

Anthony Yount arrived in Johnson Valley with fewer than 20 miles on a newly built RZR XP Turbo S. Testing immediately revealed high belt temperatures, suspension settings that needed work and a driveline failure. The team lost valuable pre-running time and never drove the second lap before race day.

Yount started 57th after breaking two wheels in qualifying. He climbed to approximately 20th on the opening lap but endured repeated belt failures, two damaged valve stems, a compromised winch cable and a steering rack that was coming loose. He still completed the roughly 165-mile course in 7:05:13 and finished 17th.

Michael Lee Battles to 19th Place

Michael Lee’s race became a test of persistence rather than outright speed. A series of problems and delays kept his team working throughout the day, but they continued moving and reached the finish within the time limit. Lee placed 19th with an official time of 7:19:40, including a 2-minute, 30-second virtual-checkpoint penalty.

Hubert Rowland Completes His KOH Goal

Hubert Rowland returned after timing out during his first KOH attempt in 2018. For 2019, he commissioned Wide Open Design to turn a damaged RZR XP Turbo into a custom rock-crawling race car with a revised wheelbase, lower seating position, boat-sided chassis and repositioned fuel tank.

The car was completed only days before departure and initially would not run properly. Rowland drove from Tennessee to Lake Havasu, where Queen Racing helped trace the problem to reversed sensor wires and a fuel-system leak. He reached Hammertown late, completed limited testing and started the race with the simple goal of finishing inside the time limit. He accomplished it.

Reid Nordin Coaches Ronnie Anderson From the Right Seat

Reid Nordin spent months teaching short-course racer Ronnie Anderson how to read Johnson Valley’s rock trails. The pair practiced momentum, throttle control, line selection and winching while also testing desert mileage and planning fuel stops.

Anderson qualified near the front in his Walker Evans Racing-equipped RZR XP Turbo S. Their race showed how quickly KOH can turn on a small mistake: an early navigation error sent them toward part of the qualifying route before Nordin redirected the car into the correct wash. Their preparation and right-seat perspective also reinforced how much a capable co-driver contributes beyond simply operating the winch.

Was the 2019 Course Hard Enough?

Twenty-eight of the 93 starting UTVs finished within the allotted time. Eleven finishers received penalties connected to missed virtual checkpoints.

At the finish, promoter Dave Cole asked what I thought of the course. I told him it was too easy. We were already back in Hammertown at approximately 1 p.m., which seemed early for an event promoted as the toughest one-day off-road race in the world.

That did not mean the race was easy. The individual accounts above make that clear. But compared with years such as 2013 and 2015, when roughly 10 percent of the field finished, the 2019 course allowed more competitors to reach the finish line.

The virtual-checkpoint situation also created controversy. Racers were originally told that leaving the designated lines could result in disqualification. When some checkpoints were not staffed as expected, officials issued time penalties instead. That was difficult for teams that damaged their vehicles while staying inside the required course boundaries.

I would have preferred clearly marked, consistently enforced routes that kept racers on the original obstacles rather than established bypasses.

Why We Won

The victory was not the result of one dramatic move. It came from preparation, vehicle setup, communication and Mitch’s ability to manage the pace.

• We spent significant time learning the desert and rock sections.
• Mitch qualified first in difficult weather.
• He resisted the urge to overdrive the opening desert loop.
• We had already tested the faster Full of Hate option.
• Mitch changed the broken belt quickly.
• Our pit team secured the loose spare carrier before it caused a larger failure.
• Bluetooth helmet communication allowed us to work efficiently in Outer Limits.
• The RZR completed the race without a flat tire, broken axle or major mechanical failure.

I am grateful to Mitch and the Guthrie family for trusting me with the right seat. I have always loved the strategy involved in surviving the rocks at King of the Hammers, and everything came together for us in 2019.

The victory continued Mitch Guthrie Jr.’s rise after his first KOH win in 2018 and marked the 11th consecutive year that a Polaris RZR won the UTV race. The following year brought a major change as Can-Am ended that streak. Read what happened in our 2020 King of the Hammers UTV race recap.

2019 King of the Hammers UTV Race Results

The following table lists the 28 UTVs that completed both laps within the official time limit. Times include listed penalties.

More King of the Hammers UTV Coverage

• King of the Hammers UTV Race History and Winners
• How the Top UTV Teams Prepared for the 2019 King of the Hammers
• 2018 King of the Hammers UTV Race Recap
• 2020 King of the Hammers UTV Race Recap
• History of the Polaris RZR