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King of the Hammers is a crazy week-long event in Johnson Valley OHV Area in Southern California that culminates with a race billed as the hardest one day off road race in the world, with miles of whooped out desert and rock filled canyons that are impassable to the average vehicle. Perhaps the craziest event in a week of insanity is the Holley EFI Shootout Presented by King Shocks and Action Sports Canopies. Imagine drag racing up a boulder strewn mountainside and you start to get an idea of what the Shootout is like. Originally an informal event for bragging rights amongst spectators at King of the Hammers, it is now one of the most popular events of the week, promising rollovers, carnage, and some spectacular driving. There is a total of $12,500 up for grabs, with 1st Place taking home $7,500, 2nd Place taking $2,500, and another $2,500 for the best of show.
Shootout winner, Chris Kaufman, is running an LS based engine with an 88 mm turbo pushing 18 psi of boost to make an estimated 1,400 horsepower.
Each year “rockbouncers” from the South come to compete against the rockcrawlers of the West Coast. While the rockcrawlers tend to have relatively low horsepower and be small and nimble in order to navigate through tight obstacles, the rockbouncers have big horsepower, big tires, and bright paint jobs. They are accustomed to scaling hills where traction is at a premium, but aren’t necessarily used to rocks as big as found at the Shootout. Shootout winner Chris Kaufman is a bit of a hybrid; driving a rockbouncer dubbed Show Stopper but hailing from Oregon. Last year he came in seventh in the Shootout, but this year he was at the top of the standings. Kaufman is running an LS based engine with an 88 mm turbo pushing 18 psi of boost to make an estimated 1,400 horsepower.
Illustrating the biggest tires aren’t always critical to success, Paul Wolff of Illinois came in second with his Can-Am UTV running only 32-inch tall tires. The lightweight tube chassis buggy has an excellent power-to-weight ratio with the turbocharged engine and was able to scoot around boulders that the larger vehicles were forced to drive over. Last year Wolff DNF’ed but this year his buggy held together and he was less than two seconds behind Kaufman. This was the third year in a row that Jason Bartram competed in the Holley EFI Shootout, but his first year with a podium finish. Like winner Kaufman, Jason Bartram came down from Oregon for the Shootout. His custom tube buggy is running an LQ9 engine with enough horsepower to get him to the top of the course is 70 seconds. Don’t let his time fool you into thinking this course was easy though. Only half of the 22 competitors even made it to the top of the course!
Jason Bartram’s buggy has enough wheelbase to be stable on steep climbs, and big enough tires not to get high centered. A warmed over LQ9 backed by a TH350 provided enough power for him to finish in third place at the Shootout.
Thompson won $2,500 after being named best in show for doing a pirouette on top of a rock and never letting off the throttle of his Buck ‘N Bronco. He didn’t make it to the top of the hill but after making a 180 he was the fastest back to the start line!
The Holley EFI Shootout is held on the side of a mountain. Covered in loose boulders. At night. In the dark. Just getting to the top of the hill in one piece is a feat.
Sheetmetal doesn’t have much of a chance of surviving the Shootout. While some of the vehicles started as Jeeps or Toyotas, the bulk of the competitors were running custom built tube framed buggies that can survive a rollover with minimal damage.
The Shootout started as an informal event for bragging rights, much like King of the Hammers itself. Today it has timing controls, sponsors, and a purse big enough to get competitors from all over the country.
Cash Lecroy is only 12 years old, but he has been competing in the Shootout since he was nine. This year he was driving a Tim Cameron-built buggy with a Big Block Chevy making over 1,000 horsepower.
Big tires are a benefit in the rocks, but they also take a lot of horsepower to spin. LS engine platforms were the most popular choice at the Shootout due to the abundance of aftermarket parts to swap these engines into anything and everything and make as much power as your axles can handle.
Ryan Webb of Louisiana debuted his brand-new buggy at the Holley EFI Shootout. The supercharged LS engine threw bowling ball sized rocks down the course as he fought to get to the top of the hill.
Like a drive in theater on steroids, fans come in their rockcrawlers, Jeeps, and UTVs to illuminate the hillside used for the Shootout and cheer on their favorite drivers.
