King Shocks and Gomez Brothers Racing are Race of Kings champions for the third straight year at King of the Hammers, Ultra4 Racing’s premier event and one of the most challenging off-road races in the world. After Raul Gomez took back-to-back wins over the past two years, this time it was JP Gomez who took top honors, charging through the field from the 99th starting spot to win by nearly 25 minutes when all was said and done.
Always a fan favorite team, Gomez Brothers Racing has established itself as the best of the best at King of the Hammers in recent years, entering multiple classes, running up front, and finding multiple ways to win. Last year, Raul Gomez was involved in an epic duel for the lead all race long before winning on corrected time by just under a minute.
This year’s victory for the team would come under completely different means. Raul Gomez would once again spend most of the race in the top five, taking the lead in the rocks on the second lap and benefitting from a backup in Outer Limits behind him. Entering the final lap, both Raul and Marcos Gomez were in podium contention, with JP continuing to work his way up the ranks and eventually ending up in the top five.
One by one, the racers ahead of JP Gomez would suffer mechanical failures or rollovers, allowing him to keep picking off the competition. When the leader suffered a late mechanical failure, Gomez climbed to second, rolling over the line finish just moments after the heavily damaged leader. After corrected time and penalties were applied, there was no question—Gomez had delivered his family team and King Shocks a third straight KOH victory, finishing the race in a penalty-free 6:27:44 and passing nearly 100 cars to do it. Although Raul’s bid for a three-peat was denied, he also managed to make it to the finish, coming home 11th when all was said and done.
“Hell yeah!” JP Gomez told King of the Hammers officials after the race. “My heart sank when Raul was flipped over on Big Johnson. Loren passed me like a bat out of hell, and I was like, ‘Man, I must be driving really slow.’ Oh man, that was a race! I got down to Outer Limits and there was Erik Miller, Jason Scherer, Cade Rodd and some other guys. Thanks to Jason for spotting me and letting me run over his car. Me and Harrell battled at the end, but it was pretty open. This is great!”
King’s successes at King of the Hammers were far from limited to the Race of Kings, though. On Desert Challenge weekend, Darren Parsons kicked things off with a victory in the 1400/1450 Rush before Blake Wilkey became the only driver to complete all five laps of the Class 11 Showdown in under an hour. King then swept the B1 and B2 classes in the Desert Challenge with racers Adam Ray Lunn and Peter Hajas, respectively. Finally, Randy Slawson took Friday’s Every Man Challenge victory in a closely fought battle, overcoming multiple flat tires and a deficit of more than 10 minutes to win overall in his 4800 Legends class truck. It was Slawson’s first EMC victory after three Race of Kings wins in previous years.
“Congratulations to JP Gomez and Gomez Brothers Racing for delivering yet another King of the Hammers win on King Shocks!” said Ramses Perez, King Shocks Senior Director of Marketing. “We’re proud to be partnered with such a competitive group of racers, and a crucial part of their winning formula every year. Congratulations also to Randy Slawson on his Every Man Challenge victory to give King back-to-back victories in the final two races of this year’s event, as well as Blake Wilkey, Darren Parsons, Adam Ray Lunn, and Peter Hajas for their wins on Desert Challenge weekend. When it comes to King of the Hammers, the choice is clear—no other shocks have what it takes to win this race year after year like King!”
Racing, prerunning or just having fun, whatever your application; King Shocks has the shock for you with the performance, reliability, precise tuning and adjustability you need. King Shocks, The Leader in Off-Road Technology! For more information on King Shocks, be sure to visit their website.
Images by Get Some Photo
