Being successful in off-road racing especially at one of the toughest races in the sport is not easy. Guthrie Racing has the magic formula to succeed in the UTV class at King of the Hammers (KOH). The father-son team has won the last four KOH UTV races and look to continue winning at this year’s race.

Mitch Guthrie Sr. and Mitch Guthrie Jr. have won their fair share of races in almost every off-road racing organization. On top of winning KOH six times they have won in Pro Rock, LOORRS, Lucas Oil Regional Series, Terracross, and WORCS. The team also races in the BITD series.

One of the many father-son outings, this one is in a Polaris RZR 900.

We sat down with Mitch Guthrie Sr. to find out what it takes to be one of the top teams in the sport.

Off Road Xtreme: Tell us a little about your team, UTV, and how you guys got started.

Mitch Guthrie Sr.: I started off myself doing rockcrawling, back in the day with UROC (Utah Rockcrawling and Off-Road Competition), ProRock, and ARCA. I won a championship with ProRock in 2004, and that is how it got going. After that, Mitch Jr. was getting older so we started racing Trophy Karts in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series for about four years.

Mitch Jr. is following in his fathers foot steps in off-road racing.

He went on to win a championship in the TORC series with a 250cc Modified Kart. He always did great racing karts, and was always on the podium so we went to WORCS to race UTVs. He won the Production 1000 Class in 2013, and won the Unlimited Class championship in 2015. He has also raced and won in Terracross. I bought a 2008 Polaris RZR 800 when they first came out, and started doing side races while out at KOH. From then out I stuck with it.

Guthrie Racing is racing the full 2016 BITD racing series.

ORX: What does it take to compete at KOH?

MG: A strong car, of course. Patience, and try not to destroy your car. Run your own race, do not run anyone else’s race. Let the other drivers do what they need to do, let them pass you, it always works out in the end if you do not beat your stuff up.

ORX: What does the team do to prepare?

MG: We usually go out an prerun the area the week of KOH because that is when they give out the course map. We do not like to go and beat the car up to much before the race because if you do not know the course what is the point. This year we are actually going out this Saturday to test out some new things, which is a first for us.

ORX: What was it like winning KOH for the first time?

MG: It was awesome! It was small back then, but still something great. We won the first one in 2009 in a Polaris RZR 800. Since then the courses have been getting longer and harder. The first year there was one rock course, to progressively more and more, to now where it is almost all rock trails.

Desert racing is something the team is excited to continue to do in 2016.

ORX: What race is your favorite to run?

MG: We race the entire BITD series, racing desert is a lot of fun. I do not race those races Mitch Jr. races those, KOH is the only race I personally race now. I may race the UTV World Championship if my KOH car is still together, and go out just for fun.

The team has won in just about every off-road racing series and hope to continue to do so in 2016.

ORX: How much has the UTV class changed since you guys started?

MG: It is thousand fold, it is completely different than where it started. Everyone is stepping up their game. It used to be, to be honest, a lot easier. Every year it gets harder and harder, with everyone slowly figuring it out. We are just trying to stay ahead of the curve.

ORX: Do you guys have any superstitions before a race?

MG: We have a lucky coin that Ron Romero, from Southwest Ground Control, gave to us that we keep with us.

We would like to thank Guthrie Racing for taking the time to speak with us, and wish them luck at this year’s KOH and with the rest of the 2016 racing season.