Who is excited for the 2022 King Of The Hammers? It is our favorite time of the year and the event keeps growing with more racing action and more activities. Off Road Xtreme is here to break it all down on how to watch, who is racing, and the top KOH tips. 

For 2022 King Of The Hammers presented by Optima Batteries, you can expect more entries from all over the world, more divisions of racing, enhanced race coverage, and an improved experience for fans both on the ground and watching online. For your convenience, we are continually updating the article with the latest video streams embedded in sequence as they happened at the bottom of the article. 

The Races And Schedule Of Events

The official King Of The Hammers event schedule began on Thursday, January 27, and runs until Saturday, February 5. The ten-day-long event features multiple motorsport off-road competitions that include high-speed desert racing and technical rock-racing. There are more than 465 competitors across all classes, with participants hailing from Canada, England, Germany, Mexico, Spain, New Zealand, Russia, and America.

Saturday & Sunday, January 29-30, 2022 – Toyo Tires Desert Challenge – Racing

Saturday, January 29, 2022 – The Baja Jerky Class 11 Showdown – Racing

Monday, January 31, 2022 – Can-Am Motorsports UTV King of the Hammers – Qualifying

Monday, January 31, 2022 – Holley EFi Shootout – Racing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022 – 4WP Every Man Challenge – Qualifying

Tuesday, February 1, 2022 – The Pit Crew Challenge Presented by Pro Eagle and Buggy Whips

Wednesday, February 2, 2022 – Nitto Race of Kings Presented by OPTIMA Batteries – Qualifying + LCQ

Thursday, February 3, 2022 – The Can-Am UTV Hammers Championship – Racing

Friday, February 4, 2022 – 4WP Every Man Challenge – Racing

Saturday, February 5, 2022 – 2022 Nitto Race of Kings presented by OPTIMA Batteries (4400) – Racing

The King of the Hammers main event starts at 8 am on Saturday, February 5. There are three laps for a full 212 miles. Each lap will send competitors out on a different section of the course. 77 miles on lap 1, 66 on lap two, and 69 on the final one. The race time limit challenges drivers to complete the course within 14 hours.

Who Is Racing?

King Of The Hammers draws in all types of talent from across the motorsport spectrum. The 4400 heavy hitters that are the ones to watch for the big win include Levi Shirley, Erik Miller, Loren Healy, Jason Scherer, Randy Slawson, Shannon Campbell, Josh Blyler, and the Gomez Brothers. We will throw Cameron Steele in there as a wild card.

Some of the other big names from outside the world of KOH you might recognize include Blake Wilkey, Brian Deegan, Jeremy McGrath, and Vaughn Gittin. Here is a full list of KOH competitors.

How To Watch The 2022 King Of The Hammers: Online

For the last several years, Hammerking Productions has invested in enhancing the King Of The Hammers event coverage. They were already doing a pretty great job, but now they are just downright impressive. The live streaming coverage is unbeatable in off-road racing and surpasses much of all motorsports and live events in general.
The live webcast is free, but this year they have added a pay-for Premium Feed. We have yet to experience this upgrade and cannot vouch for its value. We just wanted to make sure our readers have all the options.

• Inside access to the production
• Commercials in small frames so you don’t miss any action
• Bonus feeds including dedicated FPV drone feed, helicopter footage, in-car action, dedicated pits, & more
• Multi-view – showing different camera locations on one screen

How To Watch The 2022 King Of The Hammers: Pro Spectator Style

The very best way to watch the King Of The Hammers is to get out on the lakebed and enjoy the week-long festivities in person. There is truly nothing else like it. Hammertown and its outskirts are literally the size of a sprawling city and there are expected to be nearly 100,000 in attendance.

If you can make it, be prepared for all sorts of weather. Conditions will be comfortable during the day and temperatures will drop to near freezing at night. The forecast projects partly cloudy and a slight breeze, but it could turn windy and sour without notice. We recommend dressing in layers and bundling up with heavy outerwear, wool socks, gloves, and beanies.

The 2022 King Of The Hammers shares the same spectator areas featured in the main rock-racing events as in years past. These are the key challenging obstacles and make for great off-road spectating action. Backdoor, Chocolate Thunder, Lasernut Alley, Jackhammer, and Turkey Claw are all fairly easy to get out to. It does require a moderately capable vehicle and some know-how, but if your wheels are limiting your fun, try to stick to Backdoor, and Chocolate Thunder.

What To Bring And How To Get Around

Round up the posse and prep the wheelers. If you do not have any friends, you will find new ones out in the desert. Bring plenty of food and drinks to last you for your planned needs. My recommended off-road & camping essentials would be bare necessity tools, recovery equipment, radio communications, comfortable fold-out chairs, an awning or umbrella, a large durable cooler, and a gear locker for storage organization.

It is also highly advisable to know and understand where you are going. This is for two reasons; the first is to plan ahead, and the second is to let someone know where you plan to go and for how long. There are so many new advanced apps and devices that it makes navigation way too easy. OnX OffRoad is my preferred tool to get around. It has the current 2022 King of the Hammers racecourse and event map in 3D and allows me to download any sectors I would need before cell service is lost.

BFG OnTrail is another option and also the 2022 KOH official mapping app. Additionally, I always go the old-fashioned route and print out a hard copy just because I am old-school traditional in addition to being technically savvy. You can download the map here.

Hammertown Is Where It Is At!

If you want to go to KOH but do not feel comfortable driving off-road, it is a straight graded road out to Hammertown. With paid admission into the venue,  you can chill out and watch the action with live hosted commentators and the racing broadcasted on a big screen from a lawn chair next to a fire pit. There is a lot of camaraderie and good times waiting for you!

There are also pit crew challenges, vendors, driver meet and greets, and so much more happening inside Hammertown. Industry vendors are hoping to unload some great deals on those off-road essentials and do not forget the live music, food, and family-friendly entertainment.

Upgrade your experience with the KOH WARN VIP Pass. Get access to the WARN VIP Tent for the entire week for premium seating at the start/finish line. VIP Tent amenities include: Large screen TV’s, Finger food and beverages, comfortable seating, heated and clean environment. You also get a WARN VIP swag pack.

Wait, What!?!! It Already Started!

For your convenience, we are continually updating the article with the latest video streams embedded in sequence as they happened.

The event officially got underway over the weekend with the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge desert racing portion. If you did not tune into the live stream, do not worry because you can catch up with complete race coverage on the King Of The Hammers – Ultra 4 YouTube channel. It was an extremely exciting race to watch with the epic helicopter and drone footage providing the absolute best racing action I have ever seen. Kyle Jergensen took the overall win on Sunday in his Gen 3 Brenthel Industries T1 truck.

Our friend and regular Off Road Xtreme feature Christopher Polvoorde shocked everyone with a 2nd overall finish and a big class win in his Mason Motorsports Spec T2 truck. On Saturday Chase Warren and Mitch Guthrie Jr were the big winners in the Desert Class 10, and B2 divisions. Click here for official race results. We linked the Youtube videos of the main race, but also recommend watching the prologues for the full story.

The Toyo Tires Desert Challenge – T1, T2, and B1 Desert Race

Toyo Tires Desert Challenge – T1, T2, and B1 Prologue

The Toyo Tires Desert Challenge – B2, T3, and UTV Desert Race

Toyo Tires Desert Challenge – B2, T3, and UTV Desert ProLogue

The Baja Jerky Class 11 Showdown Presented by EMPi

The Baja Jerky Class 11 event was an exciting short-track desert racing of epic proportions! Blake Wilkey took the win for the second time in two years and earned himself a rad $11,000 purse to boot.  If you did not catch it yet, Off Road Xtreme just ran an article on his “Jaws” Trophy Truck Baja Bug that was just unveiled. It is a one-of-a-kind machine that you have to see.