Brandon Schueler and co-driver Mike West won the 2011 King of the Hammers UTV race for Jagged X Racing in a nearly stock Polaris RZR XP 900. The victory interrupted Mitch Guthrie Sr.’s early dominance of the event and demonstrated the performance potential of Polaris’ new rear-engine sport UTV.
Jagged X Chooses a Nearly Stock RZR XP 900
Jagged X had competed in the first two King of the Hammers UTV races with a heavily modified desert-racing machine. Although the team had been competitive, its larger and heavier race vehicle came up short against the smaller UTVs in Johnson Valley’s technical terrain.
For 2011, the team changed its strategy. Instead of bringing its established desert racer, Jagged X prepared a new Polaris RZR XP 900 that remained close to its original production configuration.
The vehicle received the equipment required to meet race safety rules along with Elka Elite Series shocks. Compared with the highly modified machines commonly associated with off-road racing, the winning RZR retained much of its stock platform.
That made the result especially significant. Introduced for the 2011 model year, the RZR XP 900 brought a new rear-engine layout, an 875cc twin-cylinder engine and substantially more suspension capability than the original RZR. Its King of the Hammers victory provided an early demonstration of how important that platform would become to sport UTV racing.
A Close Battle With Mitch Guthrie
The race was held February 10, 2011, in Johnson Valley, California. Temperatures were reportedly in the low 20s when the field left the starting line for a course of approximately 40 miles combining open desert, narrow trails and rocky terrain.
Schueler and West began behind much of the field in the No. 1919 RZR XP 900. They quickly moved forward and had climbed to third by the first major rock section.
Ahead of them was two-time defending winner Mitch Guthrie Sr., driving another lightly modified Polaris RZR. Schueler and Guthrie ran only a short distance apart for approximately 15 miles as the race moved toward Aftershock.
Schueler found a way past Guthrie in the rocks and took the lead. The two competitors exchanged positions again near the bottom of the canyon, but Jagged X ultimately emerged in front and reached the finish nearly five minutes ahead of Guthrie.
2011 King of the Hammers UTV Results
- Brandon Schueler and Mike West — Jagged X Racing, Polaris RZR XP 900
- Mitch Guthrie Sr. — Polaris RZR
- Brian Bush — Rotax-powered Yamaha Rhino
- Damon Cardone and Nate Copp — HCR Racing, Polaris RZR
- Joanne Gonzales and Brittney Cardone — Polaris RZR
- Brett and Katie Carter — Kawasaki Teryx
The victory was Schueler’s first overall win in the King of the Hammers UTV race. It also prevented Guthrie from winning the event’s first four editions consecutively. Guthrie had won in 2009 and 2010 and would return to the top in 2012.
Why the 2011 Victory Matters
The 2011 race came during the early development of King of the Hammers competition for side-by-sides. Those courses were much shorter and generally less technical than the 100-mile-plus UTV Hammers races that followed, but they still combined high-speed desert terrain with obstacles capable of exposing weaknesses in suspension, cooling and drivetrain components.
Jagged X’s victory showed that the RZR XP 900’s new chassis layout, power and suspension could perform in both parts of that challenge. The platform would go on to influence the design of later high-performance Polaris RZR models and become a common sight in desert and rock-racing competition.
Schueler thanked Polaris Industries, Elka Suspension, Pro Armor, Simpson safety equipment, CR Designs, OMF Performance and Renegade Seats for supporting the winning effort.
For a firsthand account from Johnson Valley, including Jon Crowley’s race in the Monster Energy Kawasaki Teryx, see the complete 2011 King of the Hammers UTV race report.
For results and historical context from every year of the event, visit our King of the Hammers UTV race history.
