,
Before making their way to the podium, the media immidiately flocks around the winners after they cross the finish line. The driver and co-pilot were clearly exhausted from the grueling race.
After the race we stopped by the Nitto Rig to say hello and to get a closer look at some of the ultra-trick KOH hardware. Nitto is a major sponsor of the event and helps with on-track support for several of the race teams.
We were really afraid of getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere for hours, as all the humanity would be attempting to leave the desert all at once. So right after the podium, we said goodbye to our host at Hellwig and started making our way back to the highway.
Our fears were not really realized, as we found that the race is just part of the fun of Hammers. The road coming into Hammertown was actually way more crowded than the road out, as thousands of people were coming into the venue after the race, presumably to party, BBQ, camp and off-road over the weekend!
So with little exit congestion, we took some time to horse around in the dirt. We wanted to see which Project was faster and could launch better in the dirt. Already aired down and softened up, Project Tundra was ready to redeem itself. Too bad we didn’t have the cameras rolling, because at launch Jeff was still in reverse and took off backwards at the start of our race…haha! After re-staging, Project Tundra hooked up and left Project 4-Runner in the dust…literally.
With some more time to horse around in the dirt Project 4-Runner went on to test out its 4WD corner exit traction. We were really pleased with Project 4 Runner’s off-road capability and have some really high hopes for it as we figure out the build plan.
Project Tundra came to life off-road once the shocks and tire pressures were adjusted more appropriately for dirt conditions. The Nitto Ridge Grapplers really dig in and helped our Tundra run away from the 4-Runner in our drag-dirt-race. We were surprised at how well the Tundra flew through some of the whoop-de-do sections. Didn’t really think a big heavy truck could go through these so fast without bottoming out.
