Glen Helen, CA: Historic Glen Helen Raceway recently played host to the 4Wheel Parts Ultra4 Grand Prix. Over 40 worthy competitors showed up for the fifth and final event of the 2011 Ultra4 series in beautiful San Bernardino, California. The Grand Prix format required drivers to circumnavigate a punishing five mile course for a total of four hours in an effort to find the toughest competitor on the planet. In the end, 2010 King of the Hammers winner Loren Healy took home the gold in his familiar ATX-sponsored Jimmy’s 4×4 buggy, but it was anything but an easy victory.
Healy had to beat out tough competition from fellow King of the Hammers winners Jason Scherer and Shannon Campbell on a course that was packed full of jumps, banked turns, and loose hill climbs that wreaked havoc on man and machine alike. Beautiful weather made for pleasant spectating and pitting, but the 80 degree temperatures conspired against the fluids trapped within overtaxed transmissions and shocks. By the end of four hours, only ten vehicles were still running under their own power, but every driver had a huge grin on their face and vowed to return next year for a race that has quickly become a favorite with fans and competitors alike. Below is the complete list of competitors, the laps they completed and who qualified for the 2012 King of The Hammers this weekend.
The 2012 Ultra4 season starts off with an action-packed week of festivities in Johnson Valley on February 3rd. Thirty thousand enthusiasts are expected to make the annual pilgrimage to Means Dry Lake Bed to witness the returning 4Wheel Parts Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) and Pit Bull Tires UTV Race, as well as the all new Smittybilt Every Man Challenge. The week culminates with the sixth running of the now famous Griffin King of the Hammers on Friday, February 10th. Save the date, this is one race you will not want to miss.
4Wheel Parts Glen Helen Grand Prix Results
FINISH, NAME, CAR#, HOME TOWN, TOTAL LAPS, QUALIFIED
1 Loren Healy 4428 Farmington NM 28
2 Jason Picket 4444 Ft. Collins CO 28 *
3 JT Taylor 13 Fountain CO 28
4 Nick Nelson 4404 Cortez CO 28 *
5 Brad Falin 457 Frenley NV 27 *
6 Tony Pellegrino 4485 Simi Valley CA 27
7 Shannon Campbell 5 Gilbert AZ 26
8 Cottin Rodd 4407 Cortez CO 26 *
9 JR Van Ortwick 4466 Rowland Heights CA 26 *
10 Brian Shirley 18 Dodge City KS 26
11 Jason Scherer 76 Danville CA 25
12 Levi Shirley 81 Dodge City KS 25
13 Brandon Watson 4488 Glenwood Springs CO 25 *
14 Scott Ward 4438 Lake Havasu City AZ 25 *
15 Mike McClure 733 Ness City KS 25 *
16 Alex Hardaway 4481 Santa Rosa CA 25
17 Darren Henke 4441 Golden CO 25 *
18 Gary Ferravanti Jr 25
19 Casey Currie 2 Anaheim CA 25 *
20 Richie Carter 4474 Simi Valley CA 24
21 Bill Phillips 4480 Whittier CA 24
22 Warren Thomas 257 Morro Bay CA 24 *
23 Dave Bovich 50 Shasta Lake CA 22
24 Ben Napier 4461 Sydney AUS 22
25 Mike Nappi 4490 Idaho Springs CO 20
26 Travis Carpenter 4405 Orangevale CA 19 *
27 Randy Avery 348 Sonora CA 19
28 Brent Goegebuer 4473 Corona CA 19
29 Chris Hoyt 53 Castle Rock CO 18
30 Gregory Lundeen 701 Broomfield CO 18
31 Bill Baird 5252 Sturgis KY 18
32 Jeremy Hengl 85 Orangevale CA 17
33 Paul Hoffman 4483 Victorville CA 16
34 Greg Adler 210 Manhattan Beach CA 12
35 Kevin Sacalas 4435 Riverside CA 12
36 Gary Ferravanti Sr. 4446 Paso Robles CA 10
37 Rob Lynch 4463 Spokane WA 10
38 Dean Bulloch 4411 Cedar City UT 9
39 Eric Brown 502 Las Vegas NV 9
40 Billy Briney 4439 Ness City KS 7
41 JT Stephens 4454 Little Rock AR 1 *
42 Jeremy Dickinson 0
43 Nathan Unruh 63 Clovis CA 0
Drivers qualified either finishing in the top 10 unqualified drivers or by being the top 5 unqualified drivers to have completed at least 4 races this season.
About Ultra4 Racing: Due to the incredible success of the Griffin King of the Hammers, Hammerking Productions created the Ultra4 racing series. The defining characteristic of this class is that all cars must be possess 4-wheel drive. Beyond that, the class is unlimited and combines multiple off-road disciplines such as desert racing, rockcrawling, and short course racing. The Griffin King of The Hammers takes place each year in February, on public lands in Johnson Valley, CA. The race has evolved from 12 teams racing for bragging rights and a case of beer, to more than 150 teams competing before tens of thousands of live spectators and hundreds of thousands of online fans.