King of the Hammers 2010 - The Olympics of Extreme Motorsports
Let me start out by saying that many of you don’t know me, nor do I expect you to, but believe me I am trying to change that...and I think with my most recent adventure that I am on the right track.
King of the Hammers, held in Southern California is still a fairly new event in the Off-Road racing scene (with only a three year track record) but it seems to have taken the world by storm. Some bill this race as being the “toughest and most arduous on the planet” and having now experienced everything KOH has to offer, I would most certainly agree!
Depending on the team and their location, prep for King of the Hammers can start very early. As one of four Canadian teams trying their luck, and being so far removed from the desert itself, our planning and preparation began six months prior to the actual race.
What originally started as a few friends kicking around ideas in the shop one night became a goal, a dream, and a chance to rub shoulders with our idols and mentors…That was it. We were committed, and that fateful night Rock Posse Racing was born.
Our team is based out of a two-car garage in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and we could very well have been the underdogs right out of the gate! Reason being, our racecar is based off of a 2002 Jeep TJ, which in itself is not that novel, but it turned out to be one of only two “vehicle-based” rigs racing at this level of competition (I have yet to confirm it, but I hope our bone-stock 190hp 4.0L was the weakest on the lakebed…if I had a nickel for every LS series motor I saw!).
Being a “nobody” from the North, our team would first have to qualify for this great race. We looked at the various events occurring throughout the year, Rausch Creek, PUSU in Tucson, Vegas to Reno, all of which were many, many miles from home. We thought it would be best to save our loonies, vacation days, and to log as much seat time as we could manage close to home. Then, come February 5th, to make the big haul (2000 miles), lay it all on the line, and try to qualify via the 4WheelParts Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
In the past, the LCQ has been a very spectator friendly course covering approximately six miles with a healthy measure of both desert and rocks. This year’s layout would be no different, but weeks of rain leading up to and during the event put a damper on the full throttle waterfall ascents that we’ve seen in the past. The field of 41 competitors was divided into two separate days with the fastest 21 teams moving on to the Main Event. Tuesday was a somewhat overcast day with ominous clouds looming on the horizon; but, the rain held off and we saw some spectacular rolls (and saves) on Backdoor. The fastest run of the day was awarded to Ritchie Keller with a blistering time of 12:09!
Team Rock Posse had drawn the 35th starting position, which placed us towards the back of the pack on Day Two. For once, we were happy to be one of the last competitors off the line. This gave us time to both strategize and to pre-run the course.
As we we’re in the middle of our strategy session on Tuesday night, we began to hear the patter of rain. It continued to pick up, finally peaking around 10pm. I looked around the trailer and noticed many sinister grins on fellow teammate’s faces. Finally someone piped up, “Let it rain! Advantage Canadians!!” … I think they had a point. Our tire of choice was a 42” IROK with deep and wide spaced lugs while many other competitors had opted to run the new BFG KRT tire whose tread design would be roughly comparable to an All-Terrain.
Following this late-night outburst, we thought it would be a good idea to head over to Backdoor for a little pre-running (AKA walking the line with a tape measure). Using only our handheld flashlights, we negotiated our way through this unfamiliar canyon and found what we thought would serve as a suitable winch anchor. Backdoor is a two part waterfall. The first ledge is approx 10ft in height with a slight off-camber pitching you to the drivers’ side. Following this is a 4ft ledge that is somewhat undercut. What our team found was that a 30’ extension on the winch rope would leave a competitor at the second ledge with no more room to spool in. I can’t tell you how many LCQ racers I saw with their 30’ extension in hand and ready to be deployed... <enter sinister grin> … I am glad we measured!
Come Wednesday morning it was finally time for our team, the 35th off the line, to have the green flag waved. We roared off, confident but still unsure of what to expect. What did the future hold for us? Its funny when you think about it actually…six months, countless hours and dollars spent, true friends donating their time and money to make the trip and support the effort. Everything came down to this moment, a true test of ones determination.
Backdoor was a flurry of activity. Pulling up through the sand wash to the base of the obstacle and seeing a half dozen rigs disabled, immobilized on the side of the canyon, was a little humbling to say the least but I tried not to let it bother me.
I would like to tell you here that I lined up Backdoor and gave it my all. Which all a spectator could see and hear was a cloud of smoke and chirping tires, rev limiter echoing throughout the canyon…but I did not. We nosed up onto the wall and Thomas my co-driver, bailed out the side of the buggy struggling to climb the last half of Backdoor on foot. This was truly a strange moment for me, an epiphany if you will. I have never been one to back down to an obstacle, but this was also my first foray into longer distance racing. All I could hear in my mind was “Save the car! Save the car!”
After a fairly uneventful winch up Backdoor, Thomas came running back to the car, piling the last few remaining feet of winch rope into the cab. Thomas and I had pre-planned our strategy and we both knew that he would be left behind as I continued the course, but I think it surprised the spectators. I could hear a dull roar and laughter from the crowd behind me as I pounded fists with Thomas and started grabbing gears heading for the Sand Hill and the exit of the Canyon. He was left alone, standing in full race gear, surrounded by nobody that he knew. I wondered if he would hang out and watch or start the lonely hike back to Camp.
Regardless, I couldn’t think about that right now…I was quickly approaching Trapdoor, a series of three waterfall descents, easily capable of dashing any qualifying hopes…and to make matters worse, I was without a co-driver heading for a line I’d never driven before!
Trapdoor was just that - a trap! It didn’t look to be too much of a challenge (especially with gravity on your side) but commanded all of your attention. I swore I blinked once while dropping the second waterfall, snagged the passenger front tire, and next thing I knew, I was lying on my side. Time seemed to stop, everything slowed down. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to get myself out of this mess! I sat there for what seemed like forever (in reality, a few seconds maybe) running different scenarios through my head. If I tried to inch backwards, would the vehicle right itself? Or, would it make my situation worse? I decided my best bet would be to try and bump the car forward while steering into it and what do you know, suddenly I was back on all four tires, smiling ear to ear!
Up until this point, I had my tunnel vision going full-time. I had been able to block out the crowds, random clunks from underneath my vehicle and had only one thing in mind - finishing, and quickly! Until I heard something strange, something unfamiliar...the sound of the helicopter approaching YOU is indescribable! You don’t know where it’s coming from, but you can hear it…getting closer and closer. Suddenly, the chopper drifts into view and is hovering 50ft off the ground, maybe 100ft in front of your vehicle. The whole time, tracking sideways with cameras and their operators hanging out of every door and window. It is truly a feeling I will never forget!
That last 1/3rd of the course was all desert, whoops and a few heavily rutted corners thrown in for good measure. This is where most competitors were able to hit their top speed during the qualifier. I’d even heard rumors of 90mph. Wow.
Just as the competitors could see the finish line, just as they were getting comfortable with this high speed stretch, a big kicker/jump appeared out of nowhere and sent many folks sailing. I’m not sure if this was a “Baja-type” trap set up by spectators or just Dave Cole and Jeff Knoll’s way of giving us a climactic finish. Either way it couldn’t have worked out any better.
Thinking that my car could have disintegrated in mid-air and I still would have had enough velocity to bounce, skid and roll my way across the finish line, I laid into it. I’ve come all this way, why not push it to the limits and enjoy myself…I went flying!!!
As I came skidding to a stop just past the finish, I saw a familiar face in the distance. It was Dave Cole. Now Dave and I have never spoken, but I can still pick the guy out of a crowd. He calmly walked up to me, popped the latch on my window net, stuck his arm in the car and said 11 words that changed my life, 11 words that I will truly never forget.
“Congratulations, you’ve qualified for the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers!”
I lost it. I absolutely frigging lost it! Screaming, shouting, crying, and throwing hands in the air, just out of control: I guess with no co-driver to celebrate with, my emotions just spilled out into a public display of our team’s dedication and perseverance. I had been dreaming of this moment, working towards this for years and it had finally arrived. I still couldn’t believe it at the time but I was going to race KOH!!
When all was said and done, and the dust errr mud settled…We had finished 10th out of 41 racers with a time of 20:05, the 3rd fastest time on that rainy Wednesday.
It was truly a great accomplishment for the team and a much needed confidence booster for everyone….after all, we had only 24 hours before heading back to the starting line and embarking on yet another adventure.
Rock Posse Racing would like to thank their friends, families, and their title sponsor - Evolution Machine and Fabrication
www.evolutionmachine.com for their un-wavering support!!
It is highly unusual for me to finish an event without some sort of catastrophic failure and this trip to California would prove no different…Stay tuned for “Part 2”.
Joey Weber
Aka “GiS”
Topic: 2010 KOH LCQ - My Story (Read 3745 times)