What is Ultra4 Racing? - King of the Hammers

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What Exactly Is Ultra4 Racing?

Ultra4 Racing gets its name from the principle of “unlimited” four-wheel-drive vehicles. In other words, the cars that compete here are allowed to stretch the rulebook practically to the breaking point as long as they meet safety standards. The concept was born back in 2007 with the first-ever “King of the Hammers,” a race so insane that it immediately gave rise to a full-blown series. Drivers started out as a mix of rock crawlers and desert racers who wanted to see who could and win a run that included both high-speed blasts across open desert and technical rock-crawling sections best tackled at a... well, crawl. It was a wild idea, and it stuck, obviously.

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King of the Hammers

There’s no way to talk about Ultra4 without highlighting King of the Hammers. Held every winter in Johnson Valley, California, it’s often described as one of the toughest single-day off-road races on Earth. The main event combines both long stretches of punishing desert, and  rocky climbs and descents that can snap axles or send a rig tumbling. The absolute top-tier class is called 4400 (for “unlimited” cars), but you’ll also find side-by-sides (UTVs) and dirtbikes out there, each trying to conquer its own version of the toughest course imaginable.

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The Trucks They Drive

Part of the Ultra4 fascination lies in how these trucks look and perform. You’ll see massive tires clawing over boulders, insane long travel suspensions allowing for huge jumps and rocky landings, and engines that can top 600 horsepower or more. Since the rules are fairly open-ended, custom parts and designs run rampant. You might see a home-built machine that rivals or even outperforms a big-budget professional rig, and THATS what racing is all about.

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More Than Just Speed

While most racing series reward you for being the fastest, Ultra4 requires a whole different level of skill. You still need that hammer down in the wide-open desert. But then you’ll round a corner and come face-to-face with a gnarly rock section where you might only be able to inch forward—or risk shredding your tires, ripping off a suspension arm, or rolling over entirely. On top of that, there’s the endurance factor. Races can last for hours under grueling conditions, which demands not just mechanical toughness but also serious physical and mental stamina from the drivers. It’s common for even top teams to break parts, limp back to camp, make fast repairs, and charge back out. The camaraderie among competitors is real because everyone understands how hard it is to even finish an Ultra4 race.

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A Global Off-Road Movement

Though King of the Hammers in California remains the crown jewel, Ultra4 Racing events pop up in regions across the United States and even extend into Europe. These courses showcase different types of natural terrain—some are muddy woodland races, others are short-course style tracks that put the spotlight on wheel-to-wheel action, and many still feature the signature ultra-tough rocky sections. The spirit is the same: push your truck or bike (and yourself) to the brink and see if you can cross that finish line in one piece.

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How to Get Involved

If the Ultra4 world sounds like your kind of adrenaline rush, the easiest entry point is to attend an event as a spectator. You can camp out, walk through Hammer Town or the equivalent at other races, and immerse yourself in the culture. Volunteering is another way to get close to the action while learning the ropes. If you’ve really caught the bug, you might consider trying to build a rig or join a team as a mechanic or crew member. Many Ultra4 racers started in their own garages, making modifications to a Jeep or truck before diving head-first into the bigger classes.

Why It’s Worth Watching (and Doing)

Ultra4 Racing is not just about going fast or conquering obstacles. At its core, it’s about determination, creativity, and the willingness to venture off the beaten path—sometimes literally. It rewards the builder who dreams up a fresh suspension design, the driver who can finesse a rock climb under pressure, and the team that can fix a broken axle in record time. Every participant, whether driver, co-driver, or pit crew, becomes part of a high-stakes community that knows exactly how it feels to take on nature at its roughest and come out the other side with a story to tell.

So if you’ve got a taste for extreme adventure and a love for off-road machines, Ultra4 might just become your newest obsession. There’s something about the sound of engines echoing across the desert, the cheering crowds when a driver scales a near-vertical rock face, and the sight of dust plumes under a blazing sun that makes Ultra4 Racing unforgettable. Its a race and a party, all in one.

Cory Mezzenga

February 7, 2025