2017 KING OF THE HAMMERS
Falken Tires Tackles the Toughest One Day Off-Road Race in the World

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA  – The toughest one day off-road race on Earth has just finished taking over Johnson Valley, California, for the week, and as the dust settles the 2017 King of the Hammers has left many vehicles battered, several teams beaten, but has allowed a few to emerge victorious. The action started Thursday morning with the Smittybilt Everyman Challenge, and ended with 11 out of 15 vehicles who entered on Falken Tires finishing the race. Ben Varozza earned a 1st place win and Sean McNamara grabbed 2nd in 4600 class on 35" WILDPEAK M/Ts, while Jordan Pellegrino took 2nd in 4500 and Jason Bunch snatched 3rd in the 4800 Legends class on 37" WILDPEAK M/Ts.

“With everything that could go wrong in races like these, I was pleased to see two thirds of the Falken Tire racers who entered the King of the Hammers and Every Man Challenge cross the finish line this year. But I couldn’t believe how rough the Every Man Challenge was on the 4600 class! Only four vehicles finished, and I’m proud to say that Ben Varozza and Sean McNamara—racing on 35" WILDPEAK M/Ts—were the 1st and 2nd ones across the finish line!” exclaimed Jonathon Bradford, Manager, Motorsports & Events.

On Friday, 121 vehicles left the starting line of the King of the Hammers Unlimited race, with less than half the entrants able to complete the course. Through that carnage, Tony Pellegrino battled insurmountable odds on 38" WILDPEAK M/Ts as he fought his way from a rough 115th qualifying position all the way up to 11th place in the 4400 class.

“I was thrilled to see so many positive results for vehicles running Falken Tires in the King of the Hammers this year, and I’m sure the Pellegrino family, for one, was sharing in the celebration over the weekend.  First, Jordan grabbed a 2nd place finish in the Every Man Challenge, and then a day later his dad crushes the course on 38" WILDPEAK M/Ts after some bad luck in qualifying, moving up over 100 places to finish 11th!” noted Steve Wong, Supervisor, Motorsports & Events. 

Out of 21 vehicles who entered the 2017 Every Man Challenge and King of the Hammers Ultra 4 races on Falken Tires, 14 of them were able to finish the race course in the allotted time.