We sat down with Team Nitto Ultra4 driver, Randy Rodd, to talk about the upcoming King of the Hammers and Ultra4 season. Follow the 2015 King of the Hammers event all week at LiveAtKOH.com What approach & strategy will you take at KOH this year? RR: The past few years I have devoted much of my time and energy to helping others win at King of the Hammers and my own personal race program has taken a back seat. My plan this year is to bring two cars to KOH, a new 4400 car and a Spec car as well. If everything goes according to plan I can race the Spec car and that seat time will double as pre-running for the main race, giving…

We sat down with Team Nitto Ultra4 driver, Mel Wade, to talk about the upcoming King of the Hammers and Ultra4 season. Follow the 2015 King of the Hammers event all week at LiveAtKOH.com What approach & strategy will you take at KOH this year? MW: In the past I have stayed in the driver’s seat and let my co-driver do most of the physical work. He is a Green Beret so he can take it! This year though I am co-driving in the UTV race with my son and competing in three different classes at King of the Hammers, so I have been doing a lot of training and conditioning to prepare for the week. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your past…

We sat down with Team Nitto Ultra4 driver Loren Healy to talk about the upcoming King of the Hammers and Ultra4 season. Follow the 2015 King of the Hammers event all week at LiveAtKOH.com  What approach & strategy will you take at KOH this year?   LH: Since I have racing a single seater for 2015 I have put a greater emphasis on being physically and mentally prepared.  My Crew Chief Clint Ritter, Casey Trujillo, and the crew at Jimmy’s 4×4 are all working hard to ensure that the race car is 100% ready to put me in a position to win.   What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your past experiences with KOH? LH: I have shown up to KOH in the past with…

We sat down with Team Nitto Ultra4 driver Jason Scherer to talk about the upcoming King of the Hammers and Ultra4 season. Follow the 2015 King of the Hammers event all week at LiveAtKOH.com What approach & strategy will you take at KOH this year? JS: This year we are going for the win. Being a past winner my team and I know the pace and the strategy required for victory.And I’m going to keep that goal in mind to accomplish the scepter makes it home. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your past experiences with KOH? JS: So many! You have to race hard but at the same time you have to keep the car together. That balance decides the victory. While winning…

We sat down with Team Nitto Ultra4 driver Erik Miller to talk about the upcoming King of the Hammers and Ultra4 season. Follow the 2015 King of the Hammers event all week at LiveAtKOH.com What approach & strategy will you take at KOH this year? EM: Strategy is key to winning a race of this caliber and I approach it in a very calculated manner. Each year, my goal is to improve our preparation as a team and learn from the mistakes that we have made in the past. KOH is an endurance race unlike anything else that requires 100% focus, 100% of the time. Even the smallest lapse in judgment can mean the difference between taking home the crown or a long night broken…

We sat down with Team Nitto Ultra4 driver Jason Blanton to talk about the upcoming King of the Hammers and Ultra4 season. Follow the 2015 King of the Hammers event all week at LiveAtKOH.com   What approach & strategy will you take at KOH this year? JB: It is funny how strategies change after you have been racing for a while. When I first started racing KOH my strategy was simple, hold the car together, don’t take risks and finish. Now things have changed I want to win! That requires you to go fast and take chances. This is a risky strategy because you are either going to do really well or you won’t finish. That’s racing though and if I want to keep up…

We sat down with Team Nitto Ultra4 driver Derek West to talk about the upcoming King of the Hammers and Ultra4 season. Follow the King of the Hammers event all week at LiveAtKOH.com   What approach & strategy will you take at KOH this year?  DW: I have been doing this long enough now that I have a good feel for what to expect. Little to no mistakes, they make all the difference in the end.  It is pretty unreal to think that a 7+ hour endurance race comes down to just a few minutes at the end.   What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your past experiences with KOH?      DW: Come prepared, be ready to make changes before race day and have…

Off-road racer Derek West displayed his championship winning Nitto Tire, NorthStar Battery race car in the Slime portion of the ITW Global Brands booth at the show. Derek was on hand for a good portion of the show and was able to sign autographs and hand out posters provided by Rugged Radios and ATX Wheels. With 4 race cars in the ITW Global Brands booth there was lots of photo opportunities for the attending crowd. Derek also debuted his Sho-Me Speed / Edelbrock LS-3 supercharged engine, it got lots of attention. The drifting course right out in front of the booth offered nonstop action for show attendees to watch cars and trucks race around the course. This brought lots of attention to this area of…

Cypress, Calif. (October 24, 2014) – Nitto Tire, a leading manufacturer of off-road and street performance tires dominated the eight race 2014 Ultra4 Series this year with its team of drivers. Recognized as the most demanding off-pavement four-wheeled form of racing, Ultra4 racing combine the dual-sport disciplines of high speed off-road dirt and 4-Low rock-crawling competition. The series’ flagship, the King of the Hammers race is the toughest one-day event in off-road and covers nearly 200+ miles on a course that combines triple- digit-speed desert sections with technical boulder piles that often require winching. Loren Healy claimed the overall 2014 Ultra4 4400 “Unlimited Class” points title for Nitto Tire. Driving a new- this-year Jimmy’s 4×4 IFS buggy running 40” Trail Grapplers, Healy put an exclamation…

Loren Healy wins his third consecutive Ultra4 series event with fellow Nitto driver, Derek West, finishing second.

Springfield, MO (September 17, 2014) Jimmy’s Racing Team driver Derek West piloted his Nitto Tire, NorthStar Battery race car to a 2nd place finish at the Ultra4 Race in Sturgis, KY. This event was known as the Sturgis Off-Road Blowout and was the weekend host to Ultra4 racing and Lucas Oil monster trucks featuring Big Foot, Ramunition and Raminator. There were also mud bogs, dirt drags, RC racing, jeep trail rides, jeep and truck fun course, live bands, and fireworks. Friday afternoon was Ultra4 qualifying. Trying to set a high pole position Derek rolled during qualifying which would place him at the very back of the field for the first heat race. “I had my work cut out for me starting from the back, but…

The Nitto Tire Formula D team explains why horsepower isn’t everything.

Nitto Grapplers Sweep the Podium at the Ultra 4 Discount Tire American Rock Sport Challenge

TOOELE, UT – AUGUST 23rd, 2014: More than 90 teams registered for the Discount Tire American Rocksports Challenge at Miller Motorsports Park. With double the car count from 2013, the racing was some of the tightest and most intense of the 2014 ULTRA4 season to date. After a fierce battle in the main among 4 former Kings; Campbell, Healy, Scherer and Miller, it was Healy who climbed to the top of the podium for his 2nd consecutive ULTRA4 win. Fellow Nitto Tire drivers, Jason Scherer and Erik Miller took 2nd and 3rd place respectively for a Nitto Tire podium sweep at the Trail-Gear  ULTRA4 Western Regional finale. Saturday morning’s prelims proved challenging for all classes with a muddy short course and slick rock obstacles due…

Nitto Tire took home the victory for the 2nd year in a row in the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno!  With Mel Wade driving and the Nitto Trail Grapplers working the path on the Discount Tire sponsored Jeep JK named EVO 1, Mel was able to take 1st place in the Ultra 4 class with an impressive time of 14:48:12.388 – over 3 1/2 hours faster than last year! This was not only the fastest time of any Jeep out there, it also put him at 88th place overall!  Mel accredits much of his and team’s success to the hard work everyone put in and the great components attached to the vehicle. Along with Discount Tire, ATX Wheels, Dynatrac and Nitto Tires have…