Smittybilt Every Man Challenge & HCR UTV King of the Hammers Proves to Be The Biggest Challenge for Nearly Every Man

                                                                  Twenty six men entered, but only one man left in the Stock Class of the Smittybilt Every Man Challenge (EMC) at the 2013 Griffin King of the Hammers presented by Nitto Tire.  That man was veteran racer Matt Peterson of Colorado Springs in his Jeep Grand Cherokee. “Last year the feedback I got was that the course was too easy,” promoter Dave Cole commented before the race.  “So we fixed that for this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if no one finishes.”  Cole was not far off, as the competitors had to endure high-speed desert and half a dozen of the hardest technical rockcrawling trails in the country, including Jackhammer, Wrecking Ball, and Backdoor.  Stock Class vehicles are required to traverse this sinister course with only 35-inch tall DOT-approved tires and full sheet metal.

                                The Smittybilt Every Man Challenge is the brainchild of Dave Cole, who created the Stock and Stock Modified Classes in response to demands from enthusiasts who were looking to race in the famed King of the Hammers in their existing rockcrawlers without having to build a completely new race vehicle.  Last year’s Stock Class winner John Currie of Currie Enterprises fame moved up to the Stock Modified Class for 2013, allowing him to legally swap a V8 engine into his Jeep Wrangler and move up to 37-inch tall DOT-approved rubber.  Currie proved that his dominating performance last year was no fluke, putting a huge gap on the rest of the field after a bottleneck through a canyon at Race Mile 47 trapped many of the competitors.  His victory was far from easy though, and Currie nearly saw the win slip through his fingers after getting stuck in the sand within sight of the checkered flag.  Britain’s Jim Marsden was actually the first physical finisher, but Marsden’s time was invalid due to competition compound tires and a steering system that did not comply with the class rules.  Only five of the 33 car field in the Stock Modified class finished, with Currie and Marsden followed by Brandon Heyes, Mike Johnson, and Jesse Haines.

                                For the first time, the HCR UTV King of the Hammers was held on the same course at the same time as the Every Man Challenge.  The full size vehicles got a one-hour head start on the UTVs, but it was not long before the leaders were reeling in the Jeeps in their potent side-by-sides.  Branden Sims jumped out to an early lead, but when the eight hour time limit expired, Sims was nowhere to be found.  Instead, Mitch Guthrie picked up his fourth King of the Hammers UTV victory in the event’s five year history.  Jon Crowley of UTV Guide and Matt Enochs were the only two other competitors in the 35 UTV field to reach the finish line.

                                Like Friday’s Griffin King of the Hammers presented by Nitto Tires, both the Smittybilt Every Man Challenge and the HCR UTV King of the Hammers pit man and machine against the elements of nature as much as each other.  Those who successfully reach the finish line can count themselves amongst the elite who have overcome the toughest off-road race in the world.  And those who fall short of their goal have all year to plan their redemption.