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The California 300 rocked Southern California

Off-Road racing returns to the birthplace of off-road culture

The California 300 Off-Road Race stormed into Barstow, CA for its inaugural event this October, bringing major desert racing back to Southern California for the first time in 23 years. The field of hundreds of competitors and thousands of fans descend upon the high desert for three days of off-road racing action, camping, and fun without incident. The off-road festival at the Official Start / Finish Midway was the center of all the race action and featured tons of off-road brands vending and displaying their products as well as food and beer vendors. The main stage showcased the tough and brave race finishers and was the central hub for racing information and updates. The off-road festival at the Start / Finish Midway was conveniently located just east of the intersection of Lenwood Ave and Arbuckle St. just off the I-15 freeway.

Pre-race festivities began the Saturday prior with the California 300 Desert Clean-Up presented by Clean-Dezert followed by The California 300 Poker Run. Hundreds of off-road enthusiasts turned out and removed over 10 tons of illegally dumped trash from the beautiful Stoddard Valley OHV area, while Poker Run participants got a chance to see the brutal 68 mile racecourse up close. Pre-running for the 300-mile race started Tuesday, October 11th through Wednesday, October 12th for registered racers. The California 300 officially opened to the public on Thursday October 13th at 8am with the opening of the Midway and Start /Finish area, located off Lenwood Road. An action-packed qualifying session started at 10:30am and featured over 60 racers attempting to earn top starting positions on an eight-mile qualifying course. Racing began on Friday, October 14th at 7am beginning with Short Course UTVs, followed by a stacked field of Limited Class racers. Saturday kicked off at 7am with multiple rounds of youth UTV racing including 170, 250, 570, and 1000, the racing culminated with the ultra-competitive fire breathing Unlimited Truck classes!

The massive field of over 200 race teams included dozens of car, truck, UTV and youth classes. The California 300 attracted some of the top off-road racers including Steve Olliges, Mitch Guthrie Jr., Branden Sims, Kristen and Wayne Matlock, Ryan Piplic, Doug Mittag, Ronnie Anderson, Justin Lambert, Bruce Binnquist, Mike Cafro and Carson Wernimont to name a few. UTV racers competed through the weekend for extra fame and glory as the eighth annual UTV World Championship was folded into the inaugural California 300 this year. Guthrie and Sims would finish first and second overall in Friday’s Limited Race after a closely-matched battle all race long. Other top names in the sport like Cafro, Lambert, Sierra Romo, and Chris Blais would also take class podiums or victories and add their names to the storied history of UTV World Championship podium finishers.

Fans on hand for Saturday’s Unlimited race, meanwhile, saw a thrilling fight between two names expected to pace the sport for years to come. Top Unlimited Truck and overall qualifier Cayden MacCachren would do battle with the top qualifying Unlimited Truck SPEC entry of Troy and Dustin Grabowski all race long. MacCachren led the first three laps and posted the fastest lap overall in his first start in the truck that has carried his Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame father, Rob MacCachren, to so many victories over the years. But a late charge from Troy Grabowski, who took over from his brother Dustin for the final two laps of the race, proved to make all the difference; the Grabowskis would take the overall victory by just two and a half minutes at race’s end.

“Hundreds of racers and thousands of fans came out and enjoyed the beautiful weather outside with their families. We are thrilled with the turnout. We are stoked to have desert racing back front and center in Southern California. This is the birthplace of off-road racing culture as well as the home for the off-road racing industry,” stated California 300 CEO and co-owner Matt Martelli. “I have no doubt that this race will grow quickly to be the one of the largest events in motorsports, creating tens of millions of dollars in financial impact while becoming an accessible showcase of off-road racing in spectacular fashion.”

Barstow, California has a rich tradition of off-road racing dating back to 1971 with the first “Fireworks 250” race which ran for fifty-one years. It has always been a vital and important location for testing, recreation, and racing. After promoting the Mint 400 successfully for more than a decade, The Martelli Brothers and their team are thrilled to have brought a major desert off-road race back to Southern California, the mecca of off-road racing, for the first time in more than two decades!

Thank you to all of our California 300 sponsors who’ve supported us since day 1:

Rugged Radios, King Shocks, Polaris, Rockford Fosgate, UBCO, Vision Wheel, Kawasaki, VP Racing Fuels, Maxxis Tires, Jimco Racing, Clean-Dezert, Assault Industries, Site Solar, Camburg, Belching Beaver Brewery, Surface Sunscreen, Heat Wave Visual, Catalyst Distribution

About The California 300The California 300 is a new world-class off-road desert race built to showcase the best off-road racers on the planet. The inaugural, multi-day event launches October 13-15, 2022 in Barstow, CA and will feature a desert cleanup, multiple days of prerunning, a public poker run, an off-road festival, and two days of spectacular off-road racing on a fast, technical and punishing 70-mile race course. For more info on The California 300 go to thecalifornia300.com.

October 27, 2022

Competitiors, King of the Hammers Info Starts Now!

Hello Competitors,

Many of you have heard about the programs we put into place to return money back into your race programs. They’re explained more below and on our website, check them out and let us know what you think. All the competitor programs we talk about are for any competitor in any class, during King of the Hammers, Desert Challenge and King of the Motos – no exclusions!

We recently welcomed our first KOH Rookie Class to the ranch and it was a great reminder of why we do what we do. We are excited about our future, KOH and beyond.

See you on the lakebed,

Dave

Numbers and Registration!

It’s here! Competitor registration is OPEN NOW, on phase one of our new website, KingoftheHammers.com! Although we’ve opened our site for you to see and begin using now, this is just the beginning of what it will become over the next few months. An extensive FAQ section even the most seasoned racers can learn from, all competitor information in one centralized location, easy-to-use navigation and more. Check back often as it evolves!

Head over to the new website and request a number if you need one here. We have compiled a definitive list of number assignments, and are using a database to request numbers, rather than it being a manual process. If you have an issue obtaining or confirming a number, please email Info@KingoftheHammers.com. Review the steps to register and the information you need here.

$$$ – Competitor Payback Program – $$$

King of the Hammers believes we should be helping make racing more affordable for competitors, so we’ve found a way to put dollars back into your race program through the Competitor Payback Program! When you register, participants (formerly called spectators), are able to select your name from a menu and you receive $10 of each ticket sold, paid by check to you monthly! You do not need to do anything special to be enrolled, it’s automatic upon registration for KOH 2023. This is a great time to market yourself and your team while collecting a check for it! Read the details here.

Team T-Shirt Program – More $$$ Back to You!

In-line with the Competitor Payback Program, we’re excited to utilize the relationships we have built as a company to help competitors offer merchandise and brand your race team, while helping put money back into your race program. We will produce and sell your custom shirt on our online store, and you receive $15 back per shirt sold of your art! You may take advantage of this opportunity in registration, there is no cost to enroll, only your set-up fee (art fee if applicable). Shirt sales end November 30, 2022, so register and get your art taken care of right away to maximize the amount of time your shirt is available for sale. Read all the details on our website here.

October 27, 2022

BFGoodrich Racing revs up for 2021 Baja 1000

GREENVILLE, S.C., Nov. 15, 2021 ― BFGoodrich^® Tires looks to defend its SCORE International Baja 1000 title at the 2021 race, starting in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, on Nov. 18.

Focused on claiming its 32^nd overall SCORE Baja 1000 win, BFGoodrich Tires is hoping for another winning performance like the one Luke McMillin and Larry Roeseler provided in 2020. Starting in Ensenada and ending in La Paz, this year’s course will be 1,227 miles long. The tire maker will be looking for its 99^th overall SCORE Baja victory, with former class winners at the wheel for several teams.

Showing their continued commitment to desert racing, BFGoodrich will award $40,000 in contingency money to the overall 4-wheel winners of the race if they are using BFGoodrich tires.

The BFGoodrich^® All-Terrain T/A^® tire is celebrating its 45^th year racing in the Baja desert. After launching in 1976, the BFGoodrich^® Radial All-Terrain T/A^® had its first SCORE Baja 1000 class victory the next year with Frank “Scoop” Vessels driving a Ford F-100 in Class 8. It is on this peninsula where BFGoodrich discovered a proving ground for its tires. The results of the tests, and the entrance into Baja desert racing, led to an off-road motorsports program that’s second-to-none.

An ongoing strategy for BFGoodrich Tires over the course of four decades of desert racing remains its support for the widest range of classes in SCORE Baja racing. Last year, BFGoodrich claimed nine class wins at the SCORE Baja 1000; over the course of the last five years, the brand has achieved 66 class titles.

Storylines for the 54^th Running of the SCORE Baja 1000:

New Alliances:

For the first time in any off-road race, Rob MacCachren and Luke McMillin will come together and form a dynamic team to take on the peninsula run. MacCachren, a 2011 Off-Road Hall of Fame inductee, will be looking for his fifth overall Baja 1000 title. McMillin is hoping to defend his 2020 title in the McMillin Racing Trophy Truck^®.

“I’ve looked up to and raced against Rob for a long time,” McMillin said. “Not only do I believe our dedication and will to win is unmatched, but I also believe our racing approach is similar. Picking a Baja 1000 partner is always a tough decision because you want that person to match your dedication and passion to win. Rob was an obvious pick, and it helps that I truly believe Rob is the greatest off-road racer of all time.”

MacCachren sees a similar driver in McMillin and his racing style.

“Luke reminds me a lot of myself in his passion for continually striving to be the best,” MacCachren said. “I’m honored to be part of the McMillin Racing Team for the 2021 Baja 1000, and I know that we are going to make every effort possible to be the fastest Trophy Truck to La Paz.”

During the race, the McMillin/MacCachren Trophy-Truck^® will be running BFGoodrich^® Baja T/A^® KR3 tires. Since launching in 2016, Baja T/A KR3 tires have been a part of three overall SCORE Baja 1000 victories, and an additional five SCORE race wins.

Steele and Arciero Team Up

Cameron Steele, the 2018 Trophy Truck^® winner of the Baja 1000, will be teaming up with Ryan Arciero, who won the inaugural Baja 400 in 2019. Arciero, coming off an overall victory in August’s Best In The Desert “Vegas to Reno” race, will try to take that momentum from Nevada all the way to La Paz. This team will also have the support of Rhys Millen and Bobby PeCoy, creating a team of four drivers rotating between two Desert Assassins Ford Trophy Trucks^®.

Dakar Rally Winner Makes His Way Back to Baja

Australian Dakar Rally Champion Toby Price will make his way across the Pacific Ocean to join Bryce Swaim in the Trophy Truck^® Spec class. Price’s last SCORE race took place at the 2019 Baja 1000 with Nasser Al-Attiyah in Jesse Jones’ Mason Trophy Truck^®. He has won five Australian Off-Road Championships (AORC), and two Dakar Rally victories in the motorcycles category. Swaim has two Trophy Truck^® Spec class wins in the SCORE Baja 500 and finished second at the 2017 Baja 1000.

2020 Trophy Truck^® Legends Look to Repeat

Jimco Racing CEO Robbie Pierce, defending champion of the 2020 Baja 1000 Trophy Truck® Legends class, will race with Greg Adler in the Jimco racing truck. Adler, who is the CEO and President of Off Road Warehouse (ORW), first raced the Baja 1000 in 1990.

Family Affair for the Herbst and Dean Teams

Race fans will be able to watch up to six different Herbst athletes in this year’s Baja 1000. Brothers Tim, Troy and Ed have 14 SCORE victories between them. Troy and Ed own 11 career wins in SCORE Trophy-Truck, and four of the 20 season championships. Tim owns three Baja 250 victories. Their third driver, Pat Dean, earned a Baja 1000 victory in 2018 co-driving with Cam Steele. Additionally, brothers Pierce and Thor finished second in the Trophy Truck^® Spec class in 2020’s Baja 1000. Their cousin, Riley, who normally drives in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, will join them in the truck to keep the Terrible Herbst racing tradition alive.

Unparalleled Race Support

In addition to providing tires to various SCORE Baja 1000 competitors, BFGoodrich Tires continues to offer its leading pit and communications support teams in eight locations across the racecourse. This massive undertaking involves more than 150 off-road enthusiasts and volunteers who donate their time to help make the race an overwhelming success.

Follow along during this year’s SCORE Baja 1000 with race stories, images and videos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @BFGoodrichTires.

About BFGoodrichTires

BFGoodrichTiresis dedicated to providing high performance tires for those who have a passion for driving in virtually any environment. Combining technical expertise with 50 years of motorsports experience, BFGoodrichdelivers tires for a full range of driving experiences from ultra-high-performance street to off-road terrain with one common theme – extreme performance. Come upgrade your performance with BFGoodrichand see where our tires can take you at www.BFGoodrichTires.com, www.BFGoodrichRacing.com, as well as on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @BFGoodrichTires.

November 18, 2021

BFGoodrich Tires OnTrail App

BFGoodrich has a long standing legacy of mapping off-road trails for racing in America and Baja. If you’re like us, you’ve probably tried every navigation system out there while off-roading. With over 40 years of off-road experience, BFGoodrichTires has created OnTrail, a simple and effective navigation app that allows you to record and publish your own trails, as well as find & discover new trails with a host of helpful information for planning your ride.

OnTrail is built to be easy to use and combines public trail information with information from the BFGoodrich® OnTrail community, professional off-road partners and professional off-road cartographers. Explore your limits as a driver, discover new trails, and find a community of people dedicated to doing the same. Share data, points-of-interest, photos, and more through BFGoodrich® OnTrail™. In-app missions and challenges let you earn points that add up to real rewards; and everything is backed by the Off-Road experts at BFGoodrich® Tires.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PRODUCT FEATURE

About UTVUnderground
Since its launch in 2008, UTVUnderground has become an essential source of UTV market information, and has grown into one of the largest UTV publishers of high quality, engaging content to millions of UTV enthusiasts daily. UTVUnderground is made up of real UTV owners and manufacturers obsessed with the culture, people and the UTV lifestyle. UTVUnderground is partnered with some of the most well-known brands and celebrities, both inside and outside the UTV world, and operates the largest UTV race on the planet – The UTV World Championship.

August 18, 2021

Ryan Arciero Wins Best in the Desert’s Vegas to Reno

King Shocks takes takes seven of the top eight positions overall

King Shocks Top Overall Finishes:
1st – #32 Ryan Arciero (07:56:49.109)
2nd – #6172 Dustin Grabowski (08:08:06.534)
4th Place – #1575 James Dean (08:10:32.747)
5th – #97 BJ Baldwin (08:10:54.877)
6th – #127 Kyle Jergensen (08:12:01.271)
7th – #24 Adam Householder (08:12:17.527)
8th – #90 Raul Gomez (08:20:46.684)

It was exactly one year ago, to the race, that Ryan Arciero lost the original Trophy Truck in a fire that ultimately destroyed the vehicle. After taking hold of a brand new 2WD Herbst-Smith Fabrication truck just a week prior, Arciero drove the truck to a first place finish at one of the most grueling off-road races in America.

With limited testing time, Arciero took a 26th draw for Time Trials and turned it into a 7th place finish at the Time Trials event held in Jean, NV. Arciero threw down a lap time of 04:39.638, while six King Shocks teammates finished ahead of him including #127 Kyle Jergensen (6th – 04:39.397), #38 Eric Hustead (5th – 04:38.327), #19 Tim Herbst (4th – 04:37.212), #43 Jax Redline (3rd – 04:36.734) and #97 BJ Baldwin (2nd – 04:35.939).

Early on in the race, battles were happening between the frontrunners, including King Shocks teammates #97 BJ Baldwin and #43 Ken Block, who partnered up with Jax Redline to run Vegas to Reno in preparation for the Baja 1000 this fall. #127 Kyle Jergensen was hot on their tails, while James Dean had an incredible run in his King Shocks equipped Class 1 car. Dean (08:10:32.747) went on to win Class 1 by 17 minutes over King teammates, #1549 Sam Berri (08:27:51.709) and #1543 Morgan Langley (09:05:58.467).

It wasn’t until later on in the race when Arciero began to creep towards the front, take the race lead around RM 440 and hold off the remaining field for a first place overall finish.

“What a race,” stated Arciero at the finish line. “The Herbst-Smith Fab team just finished this truck last week and we tested it for the first time last Thursday. Our King Shocks play an integral role in the overall performance of this truck, and ours were dialed in to take on one of the longest races in our sport at Vegas to Reno. To bring the new truck straight to this race without any issues and bring home the win was a dream come true.”

#6172 Dustin Grabowski had an impeccable run in the 6100 Class. After starting 5th in class, Grabwoski went on an absolute tear through the field ahead of him and finished an impressive second overall. The class win, by over fourteen minutes, put Grabowski Brothers Racing back in first place in the BITD Points Championship in Class 6100.

King went on to take seven of the top 10 overall positions, including class wins in Trick Truck, Class 1, Class 6100 and Class 10. Next up on the calendar is the SCORE-International Baja 400 September 14-19.

About King Off-Road Shocks
King Shocks is a world-class manufacturer and servicer of custom made adjustable and rebuildable automotive shock absorbers and performance racing products for utility vehicles, OEM replacement and professional racing use. For over twenty years King Shocks has taken pride in putting quality, performance and customer service above all. Every product sold is the result of constant testing and development done with top racers in competition worldwide. This real world testing exposes their designs to a level of abuse and destructive forces that cannot be duplicated in a laboratory. King Shocks, The leader in Off-Road Shock Technology.