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Falken Tires Scores Podium Finishes In Two Classes At King Of The Hammers Every Man Challenge

JOHNSON VALLEY, CA – On Wednesday, February 12^th, starting from the 28^th position, veteran Falken Tires Off-road Racing Driver Dan Fresh and Co-Driver Mike Kim took first place in the 4500 Class of the King of the Hammers Every Man Challenge. The team finished on the same set of Falken WILDPEAK tires with which they started the race and experienced no flats during the flat-out 143-mile run.
 
Falken Tires, a leader in high performance tire technology for both on- and off-road vehicles, and well-known among legions of off-road enthusiasts for its popular and widely successful WILDPEAK line, has run with Fresh, Kim and their SAVVY/Adventure Off-road team since 2012, and Brandon Barberena, Falken Tires’ Supervisor, Light Truck and Off-Road Events, declared this the team’s finest performance.
 
“Dan and Mike started from 28^th, what seemed like an impossible position to enable them to move through the pack, especially since there were 30 entries,” Barberena said. “What’s worse, Dan was driving with a broken hand, which he suffered during the earlier UTV class race. He delayed surgery – much to the dismay of the doctors on site – as Dan was determined to continue racing until he brought home a victory for us in the 4500 Class. 
 
“It was sheer determination – and some strong DOT-approved Falken WILDPEAK M/T tires – that brought the two home in first,” Barberena continued. “The number 88 buggy is the winningest vehicle in King of the Hammers history, and we’re just so proud to have Dan and Mike and all of the SAVVY/Adventure crew a part of Team Falken.”
 
The 4600 Class also had strong Falken representation as Driver Jon Schaefer and Co-Driver Larry Smith, running the RPM Extreme Jeep Wrangler JK, took second place in the class. They qualified first, but competition proved tough, and they held on for second. They were followed by another Team Falken vehicle driven by Josh Atteberry with co-Driver Jack Gessner of Kracker Fab, who finished third despite not qualifying (with 29 total entries in the 4600 Class). Both teams also experienced zero flats on Falken WILDPEAK M/T tires.
 
The 14^th running of the King of the Hammers week, produced by ULTRA4 Racing, again drew more than 30,000 spectators and entrants with multiple races held throughout the seven days, including Can AM UTV, the Every Man Challenge, Desert Invitational truck race and King of the Hammers. As always, all events took place on Means Dry Lake in Johnson Valley, CA, as race participants, officials and fans gathered in their dedicated location affectionately called “Hammertown.”