Part 1: Tuner Culture Goes Off-Road & The Races of KOH
Story and photography courtesy of Patrick Miller
The streets used to be our playground. Midnight canyon runs, stoplight showdowns, and warehouse district slides—we lived for the rush. Tuning was everything. Bolt-Ons, turbos, ECUs dialed to the edge. But over the last decade, that freedom has been squeezed into tighter and tighter boxes. Cities cracked down. Fines became financial ruin. Track days turned into a rich man's game. The streets didn’t die, but they became a risk that wasn’t worth the reward.
So where did the real gearheads go? Off-road.
King of the Hammers isn’t just a race. It’s the last place where the tuner mindset thrives unrestricted. The first time I set foot in Johnson Valley, I felt it immediately—this wasn’t some backwoods Jeep gathering. This was engineering insanity at its peak. Every rig I saw had the same spirit I recognized from street builds—boosted powerplants, custom suspension geometries, weight-cutting measures, and drivetrains designed to take a beating. This was tuner culture, just recalibrated for the desert.
Vaughn Gittin Jr. saw it. The two-time Formula Drift champ took his high-horsepower car control skills and turned them toward Ultra4 Racing. What started as an experiment became a full-send commitment—his 1,000-horsepower Ford Bronco Ultra4, built with support from Ford Performance, is as dialed as any streetcar build, just engineered to survive both 120 mph across the lakebed and crawling up sheer rock faces.
"Vaughn Gittin Jr on his first lap of the Race of Kings in the Fun Haver Bronco"
"I had to completely re-learn how to drive," Gittin said. "You have to slow down, read the terrain, and know when to be aggressive and when to be patient. This race will humble you fast."
Blake Wilkey is another example. A street-Hoon at heart, Wilkey went viral tearing through San Diego in his Baja-style VW Bug, flipping off the rules of the city. It got him in trouble, but it also put him on the path to something bigger. Now he’s leading the DIY tuner charge into off-road racing, applying the same creativity we saw in the street scene to Baja buggies and Ultra4 monsters.
"Due to a blown diff Blake Wilkey DNF’d the Desert Challenge, but its always a joy to see him rip"
This isn’t a niche movement—it’s the evolution of tuning.
The Races of King of the Hammers
- The Every Man Challenge (EMC): Amateur drivers with limited modifications prove that even weekend warriors can take on the Hammer trails.
- Ultra4 Unlimited Class: The crown jewel of KOH—1,000-horsepower, fully built off-road monsters that hit 120 mph across the desert and then claw their way up sheer rock faces.
- UTV Race: The fastest-growing segment, where turbocharged Can-Ams and Polaris RZRs battle through terrain that leaves even full-sized rigs struggling.
- Class 11: Stock VW Beetles with nearly no modifications—essentially a throwback to Baja’s roots. Watching these guys send bone-stock Bugs through rock gardens is pure insanity, relying purely on driver skill and determination.
- Ultra3 Invitational: A chaotic, all-out battle on trikes—yes, those old-school Honda ATCs—ripping around a desert oval. What started as a joke has turned into a spectacle, drawing racers, action sports stars, and even big names who just want to send it on three wheels
Why Tuners Are Making the Shift to KOH
KOH isn’t just about going fast—it’s about surviving the most brutal racing environment on the planet.
This is why tuning culture is shifting from pavement to dirt. Building a street or track car is one thing—but creating a machine that can withstand desert heat, 100 mph across rough terrain, and still crawl up sheer rock faces? That takes a different kind of engineering.
And tuners are embracing it.
"Darren Parson’s Street Driven Resto-Baja F-100 was seen jumping and having fun in his latest creation"
LS swaps aren’t just for Nissans and Bmws anymore—they’re dropping into Tacomas, Raptors, and Ultra4 buggies. Suspension tuning has evolved beyond coilovers and sway bars—now it’s about multi-stage bypass shocks, compression damping, and suspension travel that lets rigs flex like gymnasts while absorbing full-speed desert hits.
You can see it happening in real-time. Walk through vendor row at KOH, and it’s like an off-road version of SEMA.Fox, Bilstein, and King Shocks have engineers onsite, dialing in suspension like race teams at a Formula 1 weekend. Baja Designs are supplying lighting setups that make night runs feel like daylight. Every part of a tuner’s brain that once obsessed over aerodynamics, boost curves, and tire fitment is now being reprogrammed for the dirt.
"Half the fun is taking something great out of the box and figuring out how to improve it," said Jeff from Baja Designs. "People used to do that with street cars—now they're doing it with Raptors, Tacomas, and Ultra4 rigs."
This isn’t just a passing trend. It’s an evolution.
Tuners aren’t leaving speed behind—they’re just taking it to a place with no speed limits, no cameras, and no pavement to hold them back.
KOH is the ultimate proving ground. You don’t just build a car and throw it on a dyno—you build a machine and throw it into some of the most unforgiving terrain in the world.
The streets didn’t die. They evolved into something wilder, faster, and untamed. King of the Hammers: The Last Frontier for Speed Freaks
The Race, Chocolate & The Future of Off-Road Tuning
Walking into Hammertown was like stepping into another world. A temporary city built from dust, horsepower, and adrenaline. You don’t just watch King of the Hammers—you live in it.
The vendor rows felt like an open-air SEMA, except everything was covered in a layer of dirt and actually being used. I stopped at Baja Designs to grab some lighting—my stock headlights weren’t cutting it in the black void of the desert at night. Minutes later, the new lights were bolted onto my truck, tested, and ready to roll. That’s what makes KOH different—you don’t just shop; you upgrade in real time.
The race itself? Pure mechanical brutality. The desert sections make it look like a high-speed Baja sprint, but once you hit the rock gardens, everything changes. Watching rigs teeter on the edge of vertical climbs, tires clawing for grip, felt like seeing a street car on the dyno pushing past redline. Some made it. Some flipped. Some sat broken, waiting for a miracle.
"You're not just going up rocks," Brian Deegan said. "You're on the side of a mountain, and if you get it wrong, you're rolling down."
At night, Hammertown mutated into something even crazier.
"Crowd Cheers and Jeer the ones who attempt the climb"
Chocolate Thunder became an unsanctioned proving ground. Every few minutes, another UTV or self built rig tried to take on the climb—half made it, the other half rolled backward into a cloud of dust and laughter from the crowd and air horn blasts. Fireworks lit up the desert sky. People were partying, music blaring, and drivers pushing their rigs up the hill just to hear the crowd go wild.
The festival atmosphere was fueled by Monster Energy, which reportedly moved 500,000 cans over the course of the event. Their stage turned into a full-scale concert, headlined by Mickey Avalon, and other artists. It wasn’t just an afterparty—it was part of the culture.
Ultra3 added even more chaos. What started as a half-serious race turned into one of the most anticipated spectacles of KOH. Built around old-school three-wheelers (ATCs), it attracted racers, action sports stars, and random competitors looking for bragging rights. There were no rules—just full send.
"Mickey Avalon plays live at KOH"
The Nightlife & Hammertown Madness
Hammertown didn’t just sleep when the races ended. The VIP section hosted by warn, where industry leaders, racers, and celebrities gathered to support motorsport foundations. Tanner Foust with optima batteries was in attendance, merging professional motorsports with the raw energy of KOH and supporting a charity.
"A vintage fire truck converted to a pizza oven. Dang Brother Pizza was a fan favorite."
But for most attendees, the real party was out in the desert. Bonfires burned late into the night, surrounded by groups swapping war stories from the trails. The smell of grilled tri-tip and fire-roasted tortillas filled the air, with some of the best food coming straight from camp kitchens. Wagyu burgers, firetruck pizza, and local BBQ smoke added to the desert awesomeness.
Phil’s Fire – A Hot Refuel Gone Wrong
Phil McGilton was running strong until his pit stop turned into chaos. Mid-race, he pulled in for a hot refuel—fuelers working fast, engine still running. Then, a spark. Within seconds, his rig was engulfed in flames. Crew members sprinted with extinguishers, blasting CO2 onto the fire while Phil sat locked in the cab, unflinching. When the flames died, Phil fired it back up and finished the race.
"Phillip McGilton all smiles at the Race of Kings Finish Stage despite his truck being on fire earlier."
That’s KOH in a nutshell. Where most would quit, these drivers keep going.
The Brutality of KOH – The 80% Failure Rate
King of the Hammers isn’t just about winning—it’s about survival. Every year, some of the most well-built machines in off-road racing arrive in Johnson Valley. And every year, 80% of them don’t finish.
The first 50 miles lure drivers into false confidence—wide-open desert flats, full-throttle runs, and near-endless visibility. But then the course changes. The rocks get bigger, the climbs steeper, and the canyons narrower. Backdoor, Chocolate Thunder, Wrecking Ball—each obstacle is infamous in its own right.
At Backdoor, competitors face a sheer rock ledge. Drop in too fast, and you’ll slam your suspension. Drop in too slow, and you risk getting stuck. A single mistake can end your race on the spot. Some get winched out. Others roll and watch their race end upside down.
"JP Gomez negotiates the descent of Chocolate Thunder, 2nd Place in the Race of Kings."
The Future of Off-Road Tuning – Where KOH is Headed
KOH proved one thing to me: the future of tuning isn’t on pavement—it’s in the dirt.
Walk through vendor row and you’ll see it happening. Fox, Bilstein, and King Shocks are tuning dampers the same way we used to tune coilovers for the track. Engine builders are swapping LSs, JZs, and boosted V6s into Ultra4 builds like it’s nothing. Suspension is the new stance—except now it’s about long travel, compression damping, and how much punishment your rig can take at 100 mph.
"People think off-road is just lifted trucks and mud tires," said a rep from King Shocks. "But KOH is proving that it’s about engineering, precision, and pushing performance to the limit."
YouTube and social media influencers are heading down the off-road and desert fun route. In fact, according to Bilstein on road sales have declined, offroad sales have skyrocketed and their influencers are making the shift.
King of the Hammers isn’t just a race. It’s a flashpoint for the future of tuning.
The streets didn’t die. They evolved into something wilder, faster, and untamed.
Story and photography courtesy of Patrick Miller
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