When you enter one of the toughest off-road races in the world, in which 32 of 158 vehicles even finish, using the most reliable components is a necessity. For one such racer, Tony Pellegrino and his Holley EFI equipped GenRight / Falken #4485 Ultra4 race car, he knows this only too well. It's one of the reasons why Pellegrino and his team took second place at the eighth running of the Griffin King of the Hammers, presented by Nitto tire Feb 7th 2014. While most people celebrate winning a race, coming in second in one of the most grueling off-road races in the world is also something to be proud of. The single day off-road race challenges over a hundred top drivers from around the world to 198 miles of the most radical race terrain imaginable. Finishing the race is not only a testament to the competitor's driving abilities, but is also a proving ground for the various vehicle components that they rely on to finish the race. Aside from suspension components, wheels and tires, engines also require the capability of making maximum power in a fast changing environment where altitude, temperature, high speed power and low-end torque are all equally as important. This is why many racers like Pellegrino, rely on a performance EFI system. Pellegrino's Unlimited class pro race car relies on a Holley EFI equipped 427ci Chevy LS engine that generates 600hp and 600 ft-lb of torque. "The Holley EFI system proved to be simple, effective, and reliable throughout the abusive boulders, whoops, sand washes and hill climbs," says Pellegrino. “We like the fact that it is plug and play with LS engines and that you can go back and tweak it if you want. With Holley’s EFI system we were able to tune our race engine to within three horsepower of an expensive dyno tune. It’s easy to set up and use, and we found the Holley product and customer service to be superb!” Coupled to a Rancho Driveline Turbo 400 transmission, Atlas Transfer case and a set of Currie Rock Jock 70 axles, Pellegrino's race car powered through the high-speed desert portions of the course, and had crawled through the rocky sections that can ultimately pound most vehicles to death. Pellegrino and his co-driver Bryan Lyttle started from the 38th position and wasted no time cutting through the pack. They crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 8 hours 18 minutes. “The car ran flawlessly all day long,” he said. Although most people celebrate winning a race and coming in first, at the King Of The Hammers, coming in second, and in one piece, is also quite an accomplishment.