How King of the Hammers Became the Off-Road Super Bowl

The battle between King and Fox grew KOH into a movement

The booths for Fox and King within yelling distance of one another at King of the Hammers. Photo by Ryan ZumMallen.

WALK AROUND KING OF THE HAMMERS during the big race week and you’ll quickly notice that a massive portion of the crowd falls into one of two fandoms:

• King Off Road.

• And Fox Factory.

You’ll see hoodies, hats, jackets, beanies, shirts and tanks. And they’re almost split down the middle — half in the trademark King blue, and the other half in unmistakable Fox orange.

These are the two biggest and best-loved brands at KOH. But they aren’t racing teams. They’re suspension companies, specializing in making the toughest shocks, springs and stabilizers to handle desert racing at the highest levels. Off-road motorsports proves their mettle.

And King of the Hammers is their Super Bowl.

On Saturday, the rivalry was on full display. Dozens of highly-specialized race trucks tore across the California desert for a shot at being crowned the Nitto Race of Kings champion. The course is more than 200 miles in total and typically takes between 5-10 hours to complete. If you can finish, that is.