As an off-road enthusiast, you have probably heard of Ultra4 King of the Hammers. Although it’s a relatively new desert race compared to races like the Baja 1000, it has quickly become known for being incredibly gnarly. It’s a combination of low-speed rockcrawling and high-speed off-roading. The combination of these two has created entirely new classes of vehicles which have all been four-wheel-drive. The unlimited class Baja trucks we all know have never been a part of this race, as almost all of them are two-wheel-drive.

For 2019, however, an invitation-only, traditional open-desert style race will take place with 30 elite racers battling it out. The invited teams will battle for $125,000 prize purse, making it one of the richest off-road races ever.

“When some of the top names in desert racing said they’d like to come to California and take part in KOH Week, of course, we wanted to find a way to not only include them, but also showcase their trucks and their talent,” said KOH founder Dave Cole.

Thus far, the list of competitors for this race includes Ron MacCachren, Tavo Vildosola, Robby Gordon, Andy McMillin, Bryce Menzies, BJ Baldwin, Troy Herbst, Justin Lofton, and Cameron Steele. Of course, as time goes on, there will be more competitors signing up. The winner of the Toyo Tires Desert Invitational Presented by Monster Energy will take home $100,000; 2nd place earns $15,000; and 3rd place gets $10,000.

With this addition of radical, Baja trucks taking parts in the event, the 2019 King of the Hammers race is sure to be the biggest one yet. And it marks the return of unlimited off-road racing to the birthplace of the sport: Southern California.