Randy Slawson Makes History At The 2026 Griffin King Of The Hammers

In Johnson Valley, California, where legends are forged in dust and granite, Randy Slawson etched his name deeper into off-road history. After more than 13 grueling hours behind the wheel, Slawson claimed victory in the 2026 Griffin King of the Hammers powered by OPTIMA Batteries, becoming the first four-time winner of the Race of Kings.

Slawson’s latest triumph adds to his previous overall victories in 2013, 2015, and 2021. In a race widely described by organizers as the toughest course in event history, that fourth crown may be his most hard-fought yet.

“This is what King of the Hammers is supposed to be about,” Slawson said after finally climbing from his car. “If you’re going to call it the hardest race in the world, this one earned it. Thirteen-plus hours, this tops them all.”

A Course That Lived Up To Its Reputation

Eighty-one competitors rolled to the starting line for the Race of Kings. By night’s end, only five teams had completed the full three-lap course. Just two of them—Slawson and second-place finisher Josh Blyler—managed to finish within the official time limit.

That staggering attrition rate underscored just how brutal the 2026 layout proved to be.

The Race of Kings once again blended high-speed desert sections with the punishing rock trails that define Johnson Valley. But this year’s wild card was the third and final “mystery lap,” revealed to competitors only the day before the race and off-limits to pre-running. Packed with mostly new rock trails, it would ultimately decide who survived and who loaded up early.

Mechanical failures, rollovers, and massive bottlenecks thinned the field at a relentless pace. What began as a battle of 81 evolved into a war of survival.

Early Leaders And A Mid-Race Shakeup

Lap one saw early drama when Paul Wolff surrendered the physical lead after stopping in the desert. By the midpoint of the opening lap on corrected time, Loren Healy controlled the top spot in a tightly bunched lead group that included Darian Gomez, JP Gomez, Jason Scherer, and Vaughn Gittin Jr. Notably, none of the front-runners had yet attempted Backdoor, which was run uphill this year—an added twist that loomed large over the race.

Healy maintained the corrected-time lead at the end of lap one, but the race began to unravel dramatically on lap two.

Scherer surged into the physical lead through Outer Limits, only to suffer a broken steering rack in Sledgehammer. The failure triggered massive bottlenecks and eliminated multiple contenders as the field stacked up behind him. Jack Hammer and surrounding trails further punished the pack, sidelining several top runners with major mechanical issues.

By mid-lap two on corrected time, Tad Dowker had emerged as the leader, trailed closely by Tom Wayes, Darian Gomez, Healy, and Casey Currie. As daylight began to fade across the desert, attrition continued to mount, setting up a decisive final lap under mounting pressure.

The Mystery Lap Delivers Chaos

The mystery lap introduced new trails including Slip N Slide, The 5-Minute Trail, and Ball Peen. At Ball Peen alone, more than 10 vehicles became stuck in a single section, creating enormous pileups that brought forward progress to a crawl. Leaders rolled. Others broke. Some simply ran out of time.

The race stretched deep into the night as teams fought the clock as much as the terrain.

Three additional teams—Aaron Smith, Max Gordon, and Pip Justice—completed the entire course after the official 10:00 PM time limit. Given the unprecedented difficulty of the race, organizers recognized their achievement despite the late finishes.

With so few official finishers, final classification beyond second place was determined by progression through the course before the cutoff. Paul Wolff was officially classified third, having advanced farther than any remaining competitor when time expired. All teams that had commenced the third lap were ranked based on the distance they completed.

Slawson Seals A Legacy

In the end, it was Slawson who endured it all. He crossed the line as one of only two drivers to complete the three laps within the allotted time, with Josh Blyler finishing second, 23 minutes and 4 seconds behind.

Blyler summed up the day in a way only a fellow competitor could.

“That was insane,” he said. “We probably winched for three hours straight. The course was nasty, but it was great. Congrats to Randy, that was a hell of a race.”

For Slawson, the victory cements an already remarkable legacy. Four wins in the Race of Kings—2013, 2015, 2021, and now 2026—place him alone at the top of one of off-road racing’s most unforgiving events.

In a year when only five of 81 starters finished and just two beat the clock, the 2026 Griffin King of the Hammers will be remembered as a brutal benchmark. And at its center stands Randy Slawson, the first four-time King of the Hammers champion, having conquered what may truly have been the hardest race in the world.