Mitch Guthrie Dominates the Polaris RZR UTV King of the Hammers
February 4, 2015 (Johnson Valley, CA) – Starting from 25th position should have been a huge disadvantage for five-time winner Mitch Guthrie and a great opportunity for some other drivers with hopes of winning. However, despite the bad luck of being drawn near the back of the field, the ‘Winningest King’ attacked from the start and by Race Mile 24 had the leading Polaris of Branden Sims in his sights.
Between them coming out of Crowbar, the first rock climb, was Eric Miller who won King of the Hammers in 2012. Unfortunately, the former King’s race would end only half way around the first lap when the front axle broke. The mechanics tried to repair the damage but his vehicle didn’t last much longer.
That left Baja 1000 class winner Sims and Guthrie, with his son Mitch Junior in the co-driving seat to battle it out for the lead, swapping positions until the first time up Chocolate Thunder. Guthrie was ahead by about five minutes as Sims had stopped to change a wheel but a hard hit somewhere in Jackhammer must have broken the shaft as with only rear wheel drive he had to winch over the first rock. The marshals were shouting at him to hurry up and get out of the way, but they didn’t have to worry as the 2nd place Dean Bulloch came through approximately an hour and a half later.
With his only rival out, all Guthrie had to do was get his Polaris safely around one more lonely lap to complete the brutal 120-mile course and he duly went on to take his sixth crown. That was just about it for finish ramp celebrations as the only other finisher in the Pro Class was Dean Bulloch 1:28 behind. Demonstrating just how tough the King of the Hammers race is, these were the only two pro finishers.
In the Sportsman Class, only one team made it around the course and tonight the Currie family have a new hero. Cody Currie, son of reigning EMC champion John, drove a Kawasaki Teryx 800 steadily with a snapped winch rope – the only problem they had all day. With his class win, Cody continues to carry on the Currie legacy at KOH.
PRO Class
| POS | Car# | Driver Name | Start | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Total Time |
| 1 | 1 | MITCH GUTHRIE | 8:06:00 | 9:39:54 | 14:26:22 | 6:20:22 |
| 2 | 1909 | DEAN BULLOCH | 8:00:30 | 10:02:22 | 15:49:15 | 7:48:45 |
| 3 | 1965 | JON CROWLEY | 8:01:30 | 10:05:13 | 16:07:00 | 8:05:30 |
| 4 | 1295 | CHAD HUGHES | 8:04:30 | 10:01:36 | 16:44:00 | 8:39:30 |
| DNF | 2 | CASEY CURRIE | 8:02:30 | 10:58:39 | ||
| DNF | 12 | TERRELL GAUNY | 8:03:00 | 10:33:40 | ||
| DNF | 20 | RICKEY BRINEY | 8:06:30 | 10:07:25 | ||
| DNF | 77 | SHANE CHIDDIX | 8:08:00 | 10:08:59 | ||
| DNF | 313 | TROY BIGELOW | 8:00:00 | 10:00:44 | ||
| DNF | 669 | BRIAN KING | 8:04:30 | 9:53:53 | ||
| DNF | 1313 | CJ BYNUM | 8:07:30 | 10:23:00 | ||
| DNF | 1523 | AARON CLARK | 8:01:30 | 10:28:09 | ||
| DNF | 1913 | BRANDEN SIMS | 8:02:30 | 9:38:30 | ||
| DNF | 1916 | CODY NYGREN | 8:05:00 | 11:14:07 | ||
| DNF | 1919 | BLAKE VAN DE LOO | 8:08:00 | 9:49:29 | ||
| DNF | 1920 | JOHN DUCKWORTH | 8:02:00 | 9:53:13 | ||
| DNF | 1923 | TODD ROMANO | 8:00:00 | 10:15:08 | ||
| DNF | 1929 | LANSE CHOURNOS | 8:05:30 | 10:06:12 | ||
| DNF | 1933 | RYAN BERGAMINI | 8:05:00 | 10:25:11 | ||
| DNF | 1939 | MATT HAMILTON | 8:08:30 | 10:13:55 | ||
| DNF | 1948 | DARELD LUSHER | 8:00:30 | 10:11:16 | ||
| DNF | 1950 | BURT JENNER | 8:03:30 | 10:02:05 | ||
| DNF | 1951 | MELVIN WADE, IV | 8:03:30 | 11:09:52 | ||
| DNF | 1956 | HEATH FRAZIER | 8:07:00 | 9:58:45 | ||
| DNF | 1958 | ANDREW GORMAN | 8:04:00 | 10:46:46 | ||
| DNF | 1963 | FRANK BUSHMAN | 8:04:00 | 10:15:55 | ||
| DNF | 1973 | JOEY HYER | 8:05:30 | 12:07:09 | ||
| DNF | 1991 | EVAN ENGELHARDT | 8:06:30 | 10:36:27 | ||
| DNF | 1994 | BC VAUGHT | 8:02:00 | 10:15:16 | ||
| DNF | 4421 | ERIK MILLER | 8:03:00 | 9:43:39 | ||
| DNF | 5252 | BILL BAIRD | 8:07:00 | 10:09:03 | ||
| DNF | 1224 | MATT DOW | 8:01:00 | DNF | ||
| DNF | 1949 | BRUCE JENNER | 8:07:30 | DNF | DNF | DNF |
| DNF | 1961 | CHRIS BARNETT | 8:01:00 | DNF | DNF | DNF |
Amateur Class
| POS | Car# | Driver Name | Start | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Total Time |
| 1 | 22 | CODY CURRIE | 8:10:30 | 10:07:06 | 15:37:34 | 7:27:04 |
| DNF | 17 | CHRIS LEATHERS | 8:13:00 | 10:20:57 | ||
| DNF | 32 | IVAN KLEIN | 8:09:00 | DNF | ||
| DNF | 727 | CLINT SCRUGGS | 8:12:30 | 10:44:28 | ||
| DNF | 918 | JASON MERRELL | 8:13:00 | 10:43:46 | ||
| DNF | 970 | BRIAN FISHER | 8:09:30 | 10:20:17 | ||
| DNF | 981 | BRAD WITBECK | 8:10:30 | 10:28:03 | ||
| DNF | 1915 | BRIAN HOGUE | 8:11:00 | 10:20:52 | ||
| DNF | 1928 | FRED BRAYTON | 8:12:00 | 12:04:54 | ||
| DNF | 1972 | CHRIS CHAPMAN | 8:09:00 | 10:11:23 | ||
| DNF | 1975 | MICHAEL NAPP | 8:11:30 | 10:32:37 | ||
| DNF | 1980 | JOHN CIANCI | 8:12:00 | 11:25:18 | ||
| DNF | 1982 | MATTHEW GREGG | 8:09:30 | 10:27:17 | ||
| DNF | 6148 | JONATHAN DAWES | 8:12:30 | 10:43:49 | ||
| DNF | 7212 | BRETT SNYDER | 8:11:00 | 11:47:00 | ||
| DNF | 1927 | DAVID R HARVICK | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
| DNF | 1976 | JOHN NEIBOLD | DNS | DNS | DNS | DNS |
Category: Event Recap
