A satellite view of Hammertown, the Off Road Pop-Up Community, host to more than 35K spectators | Since 2008, the Means Dry Lake Bed at Johnson Valley in Southern California has transformed every February from a dusty, barren landscape into a pulsing, neon-lit “pop-up” town where tens of thousands of spectators converge to witness off-road icon’s compete in the spectacle that is King of the Hammers. With dozens and dozens of vendors and more than 300 plus race teams, this week long event is the ultimate in Off Road Festivals, making the likes of Stage Coach and Coachella pale in comparison!What Dave Cole and Jeff Knoll started as a single race that combined rock crawling and desert racing has evolved into a week-long event featuring five distinctly different challenging races held throughout the week. For K&N-sponsored driver Greg Adler and his 4 Wheel Parts team, the event represents a quest for the King of the Hammers Ultra4 title when they take on what is widely considered the toughest one-day race in the world. 
Chocolate Thunder trail early on race day. Look there's still a place to park! | The course, which averages about 200 miles each year, tests the limits of man and machine. Competitors are treated to a different course dynamic each year as they take on elements of high-speed open desert racing combined with technical rock crawling through canyons scattered with boulders, some the size of the mini vans! This years event boasted the addition of a short course in main pit that was used for last chance qualifying and turned out to be great vantage point for spectators to see their favorites as they made their way from the start, through laps two and three, and finally the finish line. Additionally the new track layout had our competitors heading out from the start/finish line in the opposite direction from years past. 
Ultra4 Staging at the King of the Hammers - also known as the calm before the storm! | 4 Wheel Parts President and CEO and K&N-sponsored Driver Greg Adler, traded his seat at the desk for a seat behind the wheel of his Ultra4 Jeep at the 2017 running of the Nitto Tire King of the Hammers Powered by OPTIMA Batteries. Adler and teammate Rob MacCachren crossed the finish line of what has been called the world’s toughest one day off-road race.In past events, Adler managed to keep his Ultra4 Jeep at the front of the pack. In fact, Adler has run in the top 5 for most of the race the last couple of years and lead the race in 2015. However, he suffered mechanical setbacks that added him to the list of those forced to retire early, in the race that boasts the highest attrition rate in all of off-road competition, the past two years. 
Adler and MacCachren hitting the open desert after a mechanical issue tried to cut their day short | Planning and preparation can and will make the difference between winning, finishing, or ending the race early. Our K&N-sponsored driver felt confident this year that he and his team had the car that could go on to earn them the title of King of the Hammers. Adler said, “It’s a tough race and there are a lot of things that can go wrong over the course of the day, so it’s important to find our pace and take care of the equipment to ensure we’re running at the end.”This year, Adler was joined by off-road racing icon Rob MacCachren. Even with his vast off-roading experience, multiple championships and array of off-roading titles, MacCachren admits that the Nitto Tire King of the Hammers powered by OPTIMA Batteries presents a new challenge for him. “Rob is a tremendous asset who’s going to bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the team,” said Adler. 
K&N Driver Greg Adler maneuvering his 4 Wheel Parts Ultra4 Jeep masterfully through the rocks. | The 4 Wheel Parts Team was off to a strong start with Rob MacCachren tearing through the field to put them in a top five position. But a fitting broke in the fuel cell right at mile marker 60 and stopped the car. The race team got the situation fixed but sadly had them at almost three hours off the race pace. It was then they decided to mentally shift gears to “finish mode” and make sure they crossed the finish line. MacCachren found his race pace and settled into the work at hand.At about the race halfway point, Adler took over behind the wheel and got to work attacking the brutal trails that have become synonymous with this event. Familiar with the trails, Greg made short work of Sledgehammer, Chocolate Thunder, Jackhammer, and one of the newest trail additions, Full of Hate. After making it through the trails that have made The Hammers famous worldwide, he headed out to the open desert and on to the final trails, Resolution and Backdoor, that stood between his team and the finish line. Adler and MacCachren worked their way through those obstacles, down into the short course and crossed the finish line with an official finishing time of eleven hours and twenty seven minutes. Rumored to have been the largest field in the history of KOH, of the 123 Ultra4 vehicles to take the start earlier that day, car number 210, Team 4 Wheel Parts, was one of just 50 official finishers in this year’s legendary race with a final position of 31st. “This certainly wasn’t where we wanted to be in the final standings today,” said Adler, “but in a race like this, where the odds are stacked against you, to finish is a great accomplishment for this team.” Congratulations to Greg Adler and Rob MacCachren for their success at this years Nitto Tire King of the Hammers powered by OPTIMA Batteries. They met adversity head on and made it their mission to overcome it. 
After a broken fitting put them 3 hours behind, Adler & MacCachren crossed the line in 31st | |
