Two Weeks of Racing and Playing

If you haven’t been to King of the Hammers, you absolutely need to put it on your automotive bucket list. With over two weeks of racing and tons of Toyotas both in race and play form to scope out, it is the off-road experience every Toyota fan should experience!

“KOH is the biggest and baddest off-road event in the United States, spanning over two weeks of races, concerts, vendor and sponsor interactions, and some of the coolest vehicles you’ve ever seen.”

A Bit of Background

King of the Hammers unofficially started back in 2007 between a handful of wheelers with the basics jotted down on a bar napkin by founders Jeff Knoll and Dave Cole. That year, the race was merely a challenge among friends to see who could complete all of the Hammers (wheeling trails) in Johnson Valley, California, the quickest. The prize? A case of beer.

In 2008, the first official running of King of the Hammers (KOH) took place, pinning the original 12 competitors (dubbed the “OG 13”) against other invitees in a run-what-you-brought kind of competition. From there, the race grew exponentially, very quickly incorporating a qualification system to race via other off-road competitions and a Last Chance Qualifier to determine who would have the opportunity to compete against an ever-growing field of competitors.

Fast forward to 2024, and KOH is the biggest and baddest off-road event in the United States, spanning over two weeks of races, concerts, vendor and sponsor interactions, and some of the coolest vehicles you’ve ever seen. If you’re an off-road enthusiast, regardless of what you drive, KOH is definitely a MUST SEE!

From endurance dirt bikes to purpose-built, quarter of a million dollar-plus off-road rigs called Ultra4 cars, the amount of motorized goodness on Means Dry Lake come late January and early February is mind-boggling. Of course, with plenty of room to run and thousands of like-minded off-road enthusiasts on hand, this event brought out some of the coolest built Toyotas, including three of our feature vehicles in this very issue.

But beyond the desert and rock-minded Toyota builds that the general public brings out, some of the most impressive Toyotas to hit the lake bed every year are those that race in the Every Man Challenge race—a competition that gives modified factory vehicles and their owners a place to prove that they too have a place in the rock-racing world.

The Every Man Challenge

In the spirit of how KOH got its start, the Every Man Challenge (EMC) was introduced to the KOH race lineup in 2012. The race consisted of just what its title suggests—a race for every person to be able to take on the same course as the professional drivers and their big race cars prior to the big event. While the premise is the same, the race now touts countless pros and big-name builders.

The EMC race has grown to encompass three separate classes starting with the 4800 Branik Motorsports Legends Class, which provides older Ultra4 cars a place to race and is governed by rules, like two seats must be in the car side-by-side, only a single shock can be used on each corner, axles must be of solid-type, and tires can be no bigger than 37 inches and must be of DOT non-sticky compound. Next is the 4500 Yukon Gear and Axle Modified Class, made up of OEM-styled vehicles with a stock frame configuration running from the OEM motor mount location to the rearmost portion of the seats but allowed to have custom boxed frame components, any engine and transmission combination, up to two shocks per corner, and up to 37-inch DOT tires. Finally, the 4600 Currie Enterprises Stock Class requires competing vehicles to be of OEM body, frame, engine, and transmission options within year/make/model offerings, and remain within 3 inches of the stock wheelbase, along with original suspension configurations, only single shocks on each corner, and DOT tires no larger than 35 inches. The EMC classes are considerably more restricted on what can and can’t be used, keeping it true to the “Every Man” title and allowing driver ability to truly shine. Within these parameters, Toyotas shine!

“[The Everyman Challenge is] a race for every person to be able to take on the same course as the professional drivers and their big race cars prior to the big event.”

Every Man Challenge Toyotas

This year, the Every Man Challenge played host to more than 15 Toyotas spanning all three classes. Drivers like Justin Reece in car #819, Dan Wyrick in car #218, and Jesse Lee in car #4819 have been racing KOH and other Ultra4 regional events for years, while others like Derrick Ousler in car #674, Tanner McGrath in car #4586, and Cindy Bullock in car #4040 all made their KOH debuts in the 2024 Rookie Class.

In true KOH format, the EMC race consisted of one lap made up primarily of faster desert sections and one lap made up of primarily rock obstacles, totaling over 165 miles. Of the over a dozen Toyota-based race cars to take on the brutal race, Jesse Lee took his Toyota all the way to the finish line with a top 15 finish overall, and a 12th place finish in the 4800 Legends Class. Dan Wyrick, who was driving a brand new Toyota-based 4500 Modified Class car for the race, with Ultra4 great Paul Wolff driving the desert section and then co-driving in the rocks, took the car to a 26th overall finish and an impressive 5th place finish in class.

Though the rest of the Toyotas in the field were bested by the toughest one-day off-road race in the country this year, they certainly put on a great showing for the brand.

Honorable Mentions

While the EMC race plays host to the most Toyotas of all the KOH races, several compete in the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge race, which takes place the weekend before the rock races and the weekend after the Liqui Moly King of the Motos race. This year, the Desert Challenge ran two laps of a 91-mile course.

Standouts in this race included Jason Hutter in truck #7231, Rob Tygart in the gorgeous #7319 1967 Toyota FJ45 pickup, and Wyatt Albritton and Mick Henson in the #674 Toyota FJ Cruiser.

“Toyotas have always been known for their off-road capabilities, and the many teams that bring them to KOH year after year continue to prove just how capable of a brand they truly are.”

Jason Hutter, along with long-time friend Brad Lovell in the passenger seat, drove the truck to a second-place finish in the 1420 class, while Wyatt Albritton and Mick Henson drove the Rusty Nail Racing FJ Cruiser to a second-place finish in the T4 class. Henson, who is the proud owner of the famed 4600 Stock Class Toyota pickup #4619, opted to save his traditional Ultra4 truck to race the NORRA 1000 this year, taking it out of the 2024 EMC race. So instead, he stepped in to share driving/co-driving duties on the FJ, helping bring it to the podium during the desert race before Derrick Ousler raced it during the EMC race the following week. While Rob Tygart was only able to complete 92 miles of the 182-mile desert course in his first ever King of the Hammers race, he was nominated and voted 2024 KOH Rookie of the Year – a great accomplishment considering the large number of rookies who competed at Hammers this year.

Toyotas have always been known for their off-road capabilities, and the many teams that bring them to KOH year after year continue to prove just how capable of a brand they truly are. This may have been the first off-road race of the season where Toyotas shined, but it certainly won’t be the last. We can’t wait to see where these and other off-road Toyota teams take their race-worthy machines during the rest of 2024!

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