2009 King of the Hammers winner is: Jason Scherer
“It’s like Baja Racing in 1972″ shouts a spectator in excitement as the first wave of rigs approach one of the road crossings. What he probably saw was less sophisticated suspension and straight front axles on Jeeps bouncing over the open desert in rather slower speeds then your average class 9 car.
However can a 9 car or any common desert race vehicle successfully conquer 4 foot vertical rock walls? Exactly. The winning formula is a purpose built Rock-Crawler that can also drive fast in the wide open. However what works well for high speed doesn’t help in the rocks and vise versa. Balance is key.
The hot ticket was last years winner Shannon Campbell (5AZ) and he looked extremely fast until a transmission failure forced him into an early DNF. Desert and Short curse racer Casey Currie (2x) had better luck in Shannon’s old rig. He was able to finish 3rd place with ease.
After all was set and done Jason Scherer (76) proved to be the top dog of the 2009 King of the Hammers. We caught up with him at the finish line and he shared his day with us (See upcoming RDC Video of the Month for that and more). Congratulation Jason.
This years King of the Hammers event was multiple times larger then last years. The Johnson Valley dry lake turned into a temporary city as thousands of people set camp for multiple days. Jeff (KOH Producer) admitted after the event that this was probably his biggest undertaking ever. “Last year our budget limited us to a couple of hours of helicopter usage while today we have the bird for 3 days” shares Jeff proudly with us.
We liked the event and feel that most desert racers would feel the same. It’s far from the slow paste Rock Crawling you may have seen on TV and we predict that by next year it will be even more of a success.
Top Ten Finishers
1 – Jason Scherer
2 – Randy Slawson
3 – Casey Currie
4 – Rick Mooneyham
5 – J.R. VanOrtwick
6 – Brad Lovell
7 – Rob Mc Kinney
8 – Adam Woodlee
9 – Joachim Schwiesow
10 – Greg Hussey
2009 King of the Hammers Last Chance Qualifier
The 2009 King of the Hammers started with a blast…actually several rollovers, breakdowns, and broken hopes for those less fortunate that didn’t make the cut. The King of the Hammers promoter set up today’s “last chance qualifier” where over 34 contestants competed for the coveted 14 spots to race Friday’s race. That means that almost half of the contestants would get sent home packing.
Unlike Best in the Desert’s qualifying where an unlimited amount of vehicles compete for a top ten starting position, the entrants today had to put everything on the line to be allowed to race the main event.
The Last chance qualifying course was about 3 miles long and included a smooth desert section to show off the speed of their vehicles and wild whoops for fun, soft dune-like sand, and a rock crawl section with refrigerator sized rocks that required some contestants to use winches to complete. Because of the difficulty and awe inspiring course, only a maximum of 3 rigs were permitted at any time on the course. New qualifiers were only allowed out on the course once the previous rig cleared the rock section in order to prevent bottle necks and provide a fair competition.
We hung out among thousands of excited spectators at the “waterfall” of the back door trail. Awesome scenery and atmosphere to watch the competitors battle it out. It seemed like every other competitor picked a slightly different line over those refrigerator sized rocks with various outcomes. Some looked like huge desert creatures made to combat even the toughest of terrain and some looked like a chihuahua lost in the desert rocks. We witnessed no less then 3 rigs roll over (see our pictures below for a visual) as they attempted to drive over a section we had a very hard time walking through! No physical harm was done in all cases other than shattered dreams of those that had to withdraw because the rules call for a DNF once outside assistance is applied.
Tomorrow at 8am no less then 90 rigs will attempt to dominate the awesome miles long course filled with go-fast desert sections and rock crawling. Last years winner Shannon Campbell is the people’s favorite, however he is entering a completely new and less proven rig with IFS and 4WD. What will become of Shannon Campbell?
Stay tuned for the conclusion of the 2009 King of the Hammers by tomorrow evening.
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BFGoodrich Tires Looks for Second Straight Victory at King of the Hammers
February 23, 2009 by RDC
Filed under Press Releases
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Feb. 23, 2009 – As the official tire of the second annual King of the Hammers, BFGoodrich® Tires looks to secure its second straight victory in Johnson Valley, Calif. on Friday, February 27. In 2008, BFGoodrich enjoyed capturing the top two podium positions in the ultimate off-road event.
Roger and Brad Lovell at King of the Hammers
This year’s King of the Hammers has nearly quadrupled in popularity with more than 150 drivers competing for 92 spots. The 100-mile course includes some of rock crawling’s most technical courses combined with wide-open off-road racing. More than 60 drivers will compete in a last chance qualifier that will take place on the infamous two-mile loop in Johnson Valley, Calif. known as the “Backdoor.” The last chance qualifier will take place on Thursday, February 26 and fill the remaining 10 spots.
For the second year straight, BFGoodrich teams will compete on a variety of tires, including the BFGoodrich Krawler™ T/A®KX tire and a newly redesigned BFGoodrich Baja T/A®KRT tire, which is a combination of the Baja T/A and Krawler designed specifically for rock racing and King of the Hammers.
“Similar to the Baja 1000, we believe King of the Hammers is a great platform for showcasing BFGoodrich Tires’ support of off-road racing and rock crawling,” said Frank DeAngelo, off-road motorsports manager for BFGoodrich Tires. “This year’s King of the Hammers is going to be one of the toughest courses that off-road racing has ever seen with two very different types of terrain. BFGoodrich Tires takes pride in providing specialized race tires such as the BFGoodrich Baja T/AKRT tire to respond to specific types of terrain. The technology we learn through motorsports is transferred directly to the tires, and this race is the ultimate.”
Last year, Shannon Campbell took the checkered flag after starting 43rd out of 44 total racers. Campbell, who raced on BFGoodrich Krawler T/AKX tires in 2008, will begin the 2009 race in the 65th position. Casey Currie, who finished second overall on BFGoodrich Krawler T/AKX tires, will begin in the 35th position.
Along with Campbell and Currie, other drivers to watch out for are the Lovell brothers, Brad and Roger, who will be driving in separate rigs. Roger looks to improve on his 17th place finish from 2008. Additional drivers to follow are Dean Bulloch, who finished eighth overall in 2008, and Tracy Jordan and Jason Scherer, who with both be driving new vehicles in 2009. Other notables include Jason Paulie and Joachim Schwiesow of Rock Runner Racing, 2008 W.E. Rock Pro Modified National Champion Derek West, female driver Nicole Johnson and Jeff Mello, who will kick off the event by starting first overall.
In addition to being the official tire for the race, BFGoodrich Tires will be lending pit and communications support to teams through its fleet of off-road motorsports vehicles. This immense undertaking involves more than 40 off-road enthusiasts and volunteers who donate their time to help King of the Hammers live up to its “ultimate desert race” status.
BFGoodrich Tires is also proud to be hosting an on-site media/hospitality area during the event. Located immediately opposite from tech and contingency and within close proximity of the start/finish, the hospitality area will serve as place for media to cover the race while enjoying complimentary snacks and beverages. Real-time race tracking and updates provided by RallyTrack.com will also be available at the media/hospitality area. Event officials and supporting sponsors will post press information and results for use in developing stories during the race.
Using motorsports as a proving ground for more than 30 years, BFGoodrich Tires is involved in every type of racing, including oval, sports car, drifting, drag, desert, dirt, rally, and extreme rock-crawling. BFGoodrich Tires combines technological expertise with vast motorsports experience, delivering a high-performance tire for every type of vehicle. Visit BFGoodrich Tires online at www.bfgoodrichtires.com
