2013 King of the Hammers UTV Race: A 16-Second Finish

By Jon Crowley

The 2013 HCR King of the Hammers UTV Race changed what competitors thought was possible in a side-by-side. What had previously felt like a desert race with a handful of rock obstacles became a 115-mile test through Johnson Valley’s rough desert and some of its most difficult rock-crawling trails.

Only three UTV teams reached the finish line. After nearly eight hours of racing, Mitch Guthrie defeated me by just 16 seconds. Matt Enochs finished less than three minutes later.

This is the story of how Blake Van de Loo and I survived the hardest UTV race I had entered—and came within seconds of winning it.

For more race history, winners and major milestones, visit the History of the King of the Hammers UTV Race.

Building a Polaris RZR XP for the 2013 King of the Hammers

The road to the 2013 race began shortly before the 2012 Sand Sports Super Show. This would be my fifth year competing in the King of the Hammers UTV race, and the first four attempts had given me plenty of reasons to question my sanity.

I raced a nearly stock Polaris RZR XP in 2012 and finished fourth overall and third in the Production 1000 class. That experience convinced me that the RZR XP was well suited to the combination of desert racing and technical rock crawling found at King of the Hammers. It was fast in the open desert, nimble in the rocks and supported by a large aftermarket with parts capable of improving durability.

My 2013 Polaris RZR XP demo unit arrived around the same time several manufacturers introduced new 30x10R14 tires at the Sand Sports Super Show. That immediately accelerated my race planning.

The original goal was to keep the RZR as close to stock as practical. It was still intended to be a recreational vehicle rather than a dedicated race car, so the build focused on safety and durability while retaining the factory suspension geometry.

Before the end of October, I completed a round trip over the Rubicon Trail during our 2012 Rubicon Challenge. The RZR was then used for an extensive 30-inch UTV tire comparison. Those trips proved that it could handle 30-inch tires in both the desert and rocks—an advantage that would become important during the race.

By December, the vehicle was largely finished, but I still needed a co-driver. That changed during a Grand Canyon trip with UTVUnderground and Jagged X. After a long day on the trail and a few cocktails at Bar 10 Ranch, I enlisted Blake Van de Loo and the support of Jagged X.

What began with a few jokes ultimately developed into a cohesive and well-prepared race team.

A Much Harder King of the Hammers UTV Course

Rumors had circulated that race organizer Dave Cole planned to dramatically increase the difficulty of the 2013 UTV race. Those rumors proved accurate when the 115-mile course was announced.

The UTV field would start one hour behind approximately 60 Every Man Challenge vehicles. The opening section included roughly 50 miles of rough desert before returning to the main pit. Racers would then travel another 20 miles before reaching the rock trails.

The course included:

• Aftershock
• Highway 19/20
• Fissure Mountain
• Jackhammer
• Chocolate Thunder
• Wrecking Ball
• Clawhammer
• Lower and Upper Big Johnson
• Boulderdash
• Elvis

After Elvis, competitors still faced approximately 12 miles of desert before reaching the finish line. The course was not simply a little harder than the previous year. It felt at least ten times harder.

Pre-Running the Johnson Valley Rock Trails

My friend Dave and I drove approximately 10 hours to Johnson Valley on the Saturday before the race. By Sunday night, Jagged X founder Bill Schueler and Blake Van de Loo had arrived, and we developed a plan for the week.

Blake and Bill brought capable rock buggies, while Blake also had his 2011 RZR XP. We installed a set of 30-inch tires on Blake’s RZR so its performance would be closer to the race car. Our goal was to pre-run all the major rock trails while skipping most of the desert sections.

On the first day, we climbed Aftershock and Highway 19/20, traveled around Fissure Mountain, descended Jackhammer and climbed Chocolate Thunder.

On the second day, we tackled Wrecking Ball, Clawhammer, Lower and Upper Big Johnson, Boulderdash and Elvis.

Blake’s RZR XP performed exceptionally well. Other than its 30-inch tires and Jagged X stock-width suspension arms, it remained largely stock. It was even running its original drive belt with approximately 2,000 miles on it. The only problem during two days of difficult rock crawling was a damaged valve stem.

Pre-running confirmed that completing the course within the eight-hour time limit would be extremely difficult. It also shaped our race strategy: the race would be decided in the rocks.

I expected some competitors to overdrive their UTVs in the opening desert section while fighting for track position. Our motto became simple: Just get to the rocks.

Once there, we planned to drive carefully and use the WARN winch whenever necessary instead of beating the RZR into submission. That proved to be the correct decision. We used the winch more than 20 times, and it never let us down.

Surviving the Opening Desert Section

On race morning, we started in approximately the fifth or sixth row behind Mitch Guthrie. Competitors left two at a time in 30-second intervals.

We did not get the holeshot from the outside lane. The next 38 miles were a dusty, punishing run through large desert whoops. We passed several competitors but were passed by more. I resisted the urge to increase the pace and kept repeating our strategy: just get to the rocks.

At one point, another racer tapped the back of our RZR in an area with several optional lines across the whooped-out desert. Before we had an opportunity to move, the other vehicle hit us much harder. Our RZR continued to run properly, so we pressed on.

We did not see the in-car video until after the race. Fortunately, the impact did not take us out of contention.

When we reached the first pit, the RZR was running well. We continued without stopping and gained several positions.

A Critical Pass at Mile 48.5

At approximately mile 48.5, competitors faced two routes. The left line climbed a rocky trail with several difficult obstacles. The right line went up a steep sand hill and through a narrow rock pinch point.

Most of the Every Man Challenge vehicles were taking the rock trail, so we chose the sand hill.

Branden Sims was ahead of us with a broken rear axle and was attempting to winch up the hill. Casey Currie was next, followed by us. Currie went high around Sims and became tangled in his winch line before getting through.

I waited for an opportunity to take a line to the left. UTVs were stacking up behind us, creating one of those high-pressure situations where waiting too long can allow another racer to cut in, but moving too early can leave you stuck and winching.

When the opening appeared, I shifted into low range and committed. We passed Sims, hit the rock pinch point and bounced through it. With nearly all our momentum gone, the rest of the climb depended on traction and power.

The Muzzys dual exhaust, Digitune, K&N air filter, EPI clutch components and Benchmark cylinder-head work helped keep the 30-inch GBC Mongrel tires turning. The tires continued throwing sand, and the RZR clawed its way to the top.

That move advanced us to approximately fourth overall. It proved decisive because many teams behind us were forced to winch up the sand hill or wait in a long line at the rock route.

Closing on the Leaders at Aftershock

At the main pit, the Jagged X crew quickly added fuel and inspected the RZR. We returned to the desert with approximately 20 miles remaining before Aftershock.

We settled into a sustainable pace. At that point, I believed we were running third behind Casey Currie and Mitch Guthrie.

By the time we reached the main waterfall on Aftershock, we had passed Currie and were behind Guthrie, although several Every Man Challenge vehicles separated us. Currie used a bypass around the congested obstacle and may have saved approximately 30 minutes. We could not remember whether that route was legal, so we waited rather than risk a penalty.

The delay was long enough for Jared from Destination Polaris to interview Blake and me. Waiting was frustrating, but preserving our race result mattered more than gambling on an uncertain line.

A Broken Front Axle on Highway 19/20

Shortly after clearing Aftershock, we reached Highway 19/20 and experienced our only significant mechanical failure of the day: a broken front axle.

The next pit was at the top of the climb. We could hike up, retrieve an axle and replace it on the trail, or struggle to the top and let the pit crew handle the repair. Blake and I chose to continue driving.

The climb took much longer with a broken axle, and we had to winch more frequently. We passed Currie, who was stopped with a mechanical problem, but Matt Enochs and Kelly Kaiser passed us in their RZR XP.

We eventually reached the remote pit, where the Jagged X crew began replacing the axle. Blake and I climbed out to rest and eat. The course was physically punishing for both of us, especially for Blake, who repeatedly had to climb the trails while wearing a fire suit and helmet and pulling winch cable.

Limping to the pit proved to be the correct choice because the damaged inner axle shaft did not want to release from the front differential. The repair took time, and Guthrie was more than an hour ahead when we finally returned to the course.

At that point, I doubted we could finish before the cutoff. We continued anyway.

The Fight Through Chocolate Thunder and Wrecking Ball

After leaving the pit, we crossed Fissure Mountain and descended Jackhammer. Somewhere along that section, we began to realize that finishing within the time limit might still be possible.

Chocolate Thunder was packed with spectators and featured a large video screen showing live coverage from around the course. We arrived under a yellow flag because a competitor was working through an obstacle with the co-driver outside the vehicle.

We waited at the gatekeeper until the other team winched over the obstacle. We quickly followed, then took a line to the left and moved ahead. The crowd erupted, although the celebration was brief when I failed to make a clean climb at the next ledge. We winched again and continued.

Blake was exhausted, so I suggested switching roles before Wrecking Ball. He refused. In addition to his desert and rock-crawling experience, Blake had the determination required to finish King of the Hammers. He simply said he had it covered.

Wrecking Ball was only a few minutes away. We followed the lines we had practiced while pre-running and began making good time. About halfway through the trail, we spotted Guthrie’s yellow RZR XP.

We were back in the race.

A 16-Second Race to the Finish

We cleared Wrecking Ball and closed slightly on Guthrie. During the descent through Clawhammer, we could also see Enochs and Kaiser ahead of him.

We chased both teams through Lower and Upper Big Johnson and down Boulderdash. Rather than stopping at the remote pit again, we continued toward Elvis.

Enochs and Guthrie maintained a strong pace through the desert. When we reached Elvis, Guthrie was winching. His winch line broke, and Blake helped his team get through the obstacle. We then winched through and continued directly behind them.

At approximately mile 107, we passed Enochs and Kaiser while they finished changing a tire. That moved us into second place.

Guthrie had started 30 seconds ahead of us, so the overall victory would be decided by corrected time. I pushed hard through the large whoops in an effort to close the gap. After several mistakes put the RZR out of shape, I backed off slightly. Throwing the car away only a few miles from the finish would have erased everything we had accomplished.

We climbed the same sand hill we had encountered on the opening lap and chased Guthrie—and the setting sun—to the finish.

Race officials brought both teams onto the stage while they calculated the corrected times. Guthrie completed the course in 7:51:52. Our elapsed time was 7:52:08.

After 115 miles and nearly eight hours of racing, Mitch Guthrie won by 16 seconds.

2013 King of the Hammers UTV Results

Every other UTV in the field was recorded as a DNF. Finishing second by 16 seconds was initially disappointing, but completing the course at all soon became the bigger achievement.

During the drivers’ meeting, Dave Cole said his ideal result would be for only three UTVs to finish. That would indicate the course was difficult enough to qualify as the hardest off-road race in the world. Three teams ultimately proved it could be completed.

What Made the 2013 Race Significant

The 2013 event represented a turning point for the King of the Hammers UTV race. It demonstrated that side-by-sides could handle a course combining sustained desert racing with many of Johnson Valley’s most difficult rock trails.

Our strategy of protecting the RZR in the desert, using the winch instead of forcing obstacles and focusing on reaching the rocks kept us in contention. The RZR suffered only one broken front axle, and the Jagged X crew completed the repair that allowed us to continue.

I could not have finished without Blake Van de Loo, the first-class pit support from Jagged X and the meals my friend Dave prepared throughout race week. Blake’s work outside the vehicle was every bit as important as the driving.

To see how the RZR was prepared for Johnson Valley, visit the complete 2013 Polaris RZR XP 900 EPS Orange Madness/Blue LE build.

Race Build Support

Special thanks to the companies that supported our 2013 King of the Hammers effort:

Polaris, Axia Alloy, Cognito Motorsports, Desert Molding Concepts, EPI, Factory UTV, FOX, Fullerton Sand Sports, GBC Motorsports, HiPer Technology, High Lifter, K&N, Lonestar Racing, Magnum Offroad, Muzzys, Pro Armor, ProLine Wraps, PRP Seats, Rhino Parts & Performance, Rigid Industries, Rugged Radios, SDR Motorsports, SSV Works, Summers Brothers Racing, TMW Off-Road, UTV Inc., WARN, Yoshimura and SxSPerformance.com.