TEAM COMPLETES RACE WITH 3 OF 4 ENTRIES

Mile for mile, King of the Hammers is the toughest automobile race. Some are longer, some are faster, but none are rougher. The race can only be described as a do or die endurance race as there are both high speed sections and barely drivable ravines. There are no classes, no series, and no money for 2nd place. This year, 92 of the toughest and most durable off-road vehicles faced off in hopes of attaining the glory of victory.  A mere 36 would finish and only one of those, Torchmate Racing’s Jason Scherer was proclaimed champion.

“I think our advantage was in pre-running,” commented Scherer who completed the 82 mile course in 4:42:49, “We ran some areas of the course two or three times before the race. It wasn’t a perfect run for us. We rolled the Jeep at one point and then had some difficulty with a cooling fan. It was crazy dicing it up with other driver’s out there.” The always humble Scherer was quick to thank everyone that helped put him on top, “My navigator Jason Berger never missed a turn, the BFGoodrich Baja T/A KRT’s were awesome with no flats, Torchmate did a great job helping me prepare for the race, and I have to thank my family and friends for their commitment. I have so many sponsors I need to thank – Spidertrax, IronCLAD, Shaffer’s Off-road, Poly Performance, High Angle Driveline, Wilwood, and a ton of others. ”  

Both Brad and Roger Lovell were well primed for victory after pre-running and tuning all week. After passing 49 trucks in the first 23 miles, Brad Lovell hit an unseen sand mound and damaged a shock. Fabtech off-road racer Greg Foutz navigated for Brad giving the pair the pace to win but mechanical issues caused the team to stop a total 3 times for repair. The #232 AMSOIL / Torchmate Ranger was still fast enough for a 5th place finish after limping nearly 10 miles to the finish. Brad adds, “This was truly an epic race and grueling test. Unfortunately we had a few issues with the truck but the good news is that the whole team feels confident the design can win. Our team did an outstanding job with pitting and logistics. We’ll be strong in 2010.”The #232 team of Lovell / Foutz finished in 6:05:47.
Roger Lovell and Eric Filar again teamed up after a good finish in 2008.

The newly reworked #32 AMSOIL / Torchmate Ranger amazingly had no mechanical problems during the race. While the team did get stuck twice, Roger was never forced to exit the vehicle. “There was a lot of confusion out there,” Roger said, “We got turned back at one point and then got stuck. We got clogged in traffic, broke a winch line, and lost some serious time.” After untangling from a collision with the #10 truck, Lovell and Filar became the 21st finishers with a time of 7:35:40. “Brad and I are really proud to finish with both trucks and it is a testament to the quality of products we use. For example, we didn’t carry a spare tire because we didn’t feel it was necessary. The BFG’s held up flawlessly.”

Rockcrawling champion Jesse Haines was a newcomer this year to King of the Hammers and spent the last 7 months designing a vehicle specifically for this race. The high-tech #199 Torchmate rock racer was created using the very machines that Torchmate sells and the quality was apparent. While the team of Haines and Howard started strong, a slipping transmission caused the pair to withdraw after the first 23 mile leg. “Although the finish wasn't what we were hoping for, the race was an awesome learning experience,” commented Haines, “I can't wait to go to a race once I have a little time to test and tune the car.”

At the end of the day, Torchmate Racing was able to pull off a smashing (quite literally) success and get 3 of 4 trucks to the finish line and capture a victory. It is a strong start to what the team hopes is a dominant season. The team now has a month long breather before #28 Kunz, #199 Haines, and #232 Lovell will hit the rocks for the 2009 WE-Rock debut in Tuscon, AZ April 4th – 5th.