With a race as grueling as Ultra4’s 2015 Nitto King of The Hammers presented by 4 Wheel Parts, the story is far bigger than any short update can cover. In fact, each and every team has an epic story about how their cards played out on race day and what they fought to overcome. Erik Miller is a racer we’ve followed closely here on DrivingLine and gotten to know well since he showed what he was made of with his never-give-up attitude during last year’s KOH. While his 2nd place finish didn’t gain him his second title of King (he won the race in 2012) it stands as an amazing day of racing and a great effort by Erik and the rest of Miller Motorsports….

As I’m sitting in the worst traffic jam I have ever been a part of trying to get off the lake bed I have time to write up a 2015 King of the Hammers recap.
We got on the lake bed early and got a lot of pre running in, everything went well and I felt like we were ready for race day. Qualifying didn’t go as well, right off the line I lost 1st gear in the transmission and it got worse when I broke the lower A arm but still managed a 13th out of 130 so It could have been worse I guess. I was able to talk Randy Slawson into letting some of the Wild West team members into breaking into his…

Derek was waiting to get the call from Randy Rodd of Jimmy’s 4×4 that his chassis was ready.  That call came late in December and Derek and his crew chief Travis Brake headed to Cortez, CO on Christmas day.  From that day forward the team would spend every waking hour building the new car so it would be ready for race day on Feb. 6 in Johnson Valley, CA.  Everything was on schedule until a transmission gremlin appeared, taking out the thrust bearing in the new Sho-Me Speed, Edelbrock supercharged LS-3 engine.  After a local rebuilder could not remedy the issue the call was made to head to the city known as “Hammertown” and swap in a new Jimmy’s TH-400 transmission.  Once on the lakebed the new…

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.