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That big gaping hole of nothing is where the U-joint in the right front wheel used to be.As if that wasn’t enough, after the radiator puncture Loren also lost a right front U-joint with only 30 race miles to go. The axles on most rock crawlers are locked and Loren’s was no exception. So, after the radiator took its hit, he was now in limp home mode with three wheel drive. While it may seem like all of this would not result in a win, due to time penalties by the two running drivers ahead of him, Loren was actually 15 minutes ahead of second place by corrected time, Tony Pellegrino. Though, keep in mind nobody knew this at the time.
Loren pushed and the next guy ahead of him, who had passed while Loren was down for repair, was also charging up the final hill. However, that man, Derek West, was also in limp mode after his engine overheated. Using all the power left in his LS7 in limp mode, Loren charged past to the cheer of the crowd as he peered over the crest and down to the finish. It was an amazing win, even taking away the penalties by West. Just finishing the Griffin King of the Hammers presented by Nitto Tires is a victory in itself; it just happened that Loren Healy did it with a win as well.
Off road racing is a team sport, while most of the time your team is with you at the course, most often they are also the men and women who sponsor you. Nitto Tires was not only the presenting sponsor of the Griffin King of the Hammers but also the tire sponsor for Loren Healy with their Trail Grappler tires.
There is one more thing that only Nitto Tires drivers get at the end of the day. While they do get the big trophy, or scepter in this case, they get something no other driver who wins gets…
… the coveted Nitto Champions ring!
