Hammer Town, the city constructed on the Means Dry Lake Bed, is bustling with four-wheel activity leading up to the 2012 Griffin King of the Hammers. Thousands of off-roaders will venture to the Johnson Valley OHV area to partake in the festivities, and many have already enjoyed the action over the past few days leading up to the main event.

The unique race has grown every year, and for 2012 new events have been added to the lineup to further cement KOH as the must-attend hard-core rock-desert race. The Smittybilt Everyman Challenge kicked off on Sunday, offering off-roaders the chance to test the Hammers course in more restrictive vehicles. John Currie took the overall victory on the 85-mile course in a TJ, while Larry McRae won the modified class in a heavily modified Poison Spyder JK.

Today, the qualifying wrapped up for the King of the Hammers race. Yesterday, Shannon Campbell posted one of the fastest times (4:57) despite a snag at the start of his run. Rick Mooneyham posted the quickest time at 4:41, however. Today at “happy hour,” Robby Gordon made his debut with Lance Clifford co-piloting the off-road legend’s first King of the Hammer race. Clifford’s course knowledge paid off, as Gordon found a quick line at the start of Chocolate Thunder and qualified with time in the low 5s.

Aside from tech and contingency for the King of Hammers race tomorrow, plenty of racing action will be on tap Thursday, February 9^th as well–including the return of the Pit Bull Tire UTV Race and the debut of the new King of The Motos race, which offers a who’s who of off-road dirt bike racers that will be tested on the 60-mile course of rock and desert.

In town, festivities In Hammer Town, a Jumbotron will highlight live action of the area and provide coverage of remote obstacles of the course. Hammer Town will also host what is being called the largest vendor show on the lakebed to date.

Ultra4 Racing will be charging an entrance fee of $20 for adults and $10 for children for admission for the week. Technically, since the area is open to the public, entry into Johnson Valley OHV is free; however, a wristband will be required to entry Hammer Town to access the features of Hammer Town. 10 percent of the proceeds will go to help protect OHV land use in Johnson Valley (non-profit organization Partnership for Johnson Valley). Ultra4 Racing also notes the admission helps pay for additional safety costs including security, medical personnel, sheriffs, BLM ranger and BLM usage fees.

Be sure to check back with Off-Road.com for more on the King of the Hammers. Also, visit Ultra4Racing.com for more detailed race information.