King of the Hammers Visual Highlights and Lowlights

The 2013 King of the Hammers (KOH) Tournament was once again marked by excitement, unexpected turns, and innovation. In this year’s competition, there was spirited off-road racing and new features displayed that could break and set precedents for the future. There were great exhibitions of excellence put on by expert off-road motorists. Also, like every year, there were comical moments.

The driver who came up with the big fish was Randy Slawson, who finished first and held the prestigious scepter victoriously for the first time ever. The Grand Terrace, Calif., resident has been part of KOH since the beginning, navigating Jeff Reynolds to victory at the inaugural race in 2007. Since that time, Slawson has been diligently working toward his own victory behind the wheel of the Bomber Fabrication car he built with his own hands.

At the end of 50 miles, Slawson was running in the top 10, remaining patient and letting the competition fall to attrition. “There was not a lot of traffic,” Slawson said at the finish line. “It was windy so the dust wasn’t too bad. We were able to just run our own pace and everything just came together for us.” Slawson chose to run the 10- foot vertical rock wall on the Backdoor trail on his second lap to avoid traffic, while other frontrunners mistakenly waited until the last lap.

The most exciting part of the 2013 Hammers Tournament was the off-road skills of Rubicon’s Jason Scherer. He gave the 30,000 onlookers in attendance a great display of skill that will be talked about for years. Scherer and other 2013 Hammers drivers exhibited their skills in rock crawling and open desert racing. The crowd in attendance showed its appreciation through loud cheers, exchanging high-fives, and throwing its collective fists in the air.

The most popular obstacle course of the King of the Hammers was Chocolate Thunder. This course generates the biggest crowds every year. “It was absolutely without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done to drive every rock trail twice without power steering,” said Scherer, who has finished in the top 20 for four consecutive years. “I finished 21st with 25 minutes to go — my arms and shoulders brutally beaten and cold as hell — but I didn’t give up.”

Scherer was able to excel without key necessities. “There is no doubt that I was beating myself and the car the whole race. Without power steering I would end up where I shouldn’t be and have to light up the Nitto Tires until they got me to where I needed to go. They worked really well, and even with all the abuse I didn’t have one flat,” Scherer said. “Honestly, other than the one internal issue, which caused the others, the car worked amazingly well and was fast! I am really looking forward to putting it to work the rest of the year.”
Scherer has been racing for more than 15 years and has stood on the podium at many events, winning one of the most prestigious: the 2009 King of the Hammers. He also has a third-place finish in 2011 and won the 2012 Nitto National Championship Race in Blackwell, Texas.

From the sublime to the bizarre, there were some comical moments at the 2013 King of the Hammers. Jim Marsden finished first in the Every Man Challenge (EMC), then was disqualified on a technicality (sticky tires, full hydro steering). He was allowed into the race by competition officials because he had travelled all the way from England to participate in the competition. Officials felt he would not be a winner given the field he was racing against. However, Marsden did win. One of his competitors protested, resulting in Marsden’s DQ.

In other developments, Robby Gordon had a rollover on the Elvis Trail. Though there was only smoke, a few spectators yelled “Fire!” GenRight motorist and KOH competitor Tony Pellegrino had an especially humorous flip that resulted in a rollover that brought laughs from the crowd. At the beginning of the KOH race, competitor Tom Yash broke an axle, regrouped to run in the race and then was done — one mile away from the finish.

Overall, the 2013 King of the Hammers was a spectacular event for all in attendance. It also provided great action for the competitors and the fans. There was positive interaction as well as food and merchandise that all indulged in. Several companies sponsored this year’s King of the Hammers, including 4 Wheel Parts, Pro Comp USA, Smittybilt, and Rubicon Express.