Kyle Chaney was a force to be reckoned with at this year’s King of the Hammers. Coming into the week the reigning UTV King and breaking after holding a strong position in the Race of Kings, Chaney came back hungrier than ever.
Let’s take a look at how his week unfolded. But first, let’s get a full recap of the week, ASMR style:
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Four crowns in a row
Kyle Chaney made a statement even before he lined up on the start line. During qualifying, Chaney slammed his Maverick R down the infamous race obstacle Back Door on his way to earning the pole position for race day. When asked about it after qualifying, his justification was simply, “I knew I needed to make up some time.”
For race day, rain was havering over the 113 competitors in eager anticipation. Chaney bolted off of the start line into the desert in his Can-Am Maverick R, leaving all others to eat his roost. Entering lap two, he made a quick stop in the pits and then charged forward to the rock obstacles, where he excels. Stopping quickly at the bottom of Jackhammer to change a flat tire, Chaney and co-driver Cash LeCroy charged forward toward the finish as it started to rain. Crossing the finish line with an additional flat and no in car communication, Chaney finished the race in just under four hours to earn his fourth crown.
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A thrilling finish
Chaney quickly moved on from celebrating his UTV win to preparing for the final Race of Kings just a few days later. With a 37″ tire cap, Chaney raced his Maverick X3 from last year. Lining up alongside $500,000 Ultra 4 cars, Chaney was the top UTV to qualify in 10th.
116 lined up to compete on Saturday, culminating the last day of an epic week of racing. Chaney maintained a strong running amongst the big boys and eventually wedged his nimbler UTV past a bottleneck in a rock obstacle. Chaney was in fourth place entering the third and possibly most gripping lap in King of the Hammers. Failure, misfortune and heartache continued to bump Chaney to fourth and then third and eventually second.
Chaney finally took the lead after Casey Currie was unable to leave remote Pit Two, but only for a brief moment. Loren Healy had been hot on his bumper and eventually passed Chaney in a section called Outer Limits, just a short distance from the finish. But misfortune struck again when Healy lost his transmission just miles from the finish.
Chaney gained ground and eventually passed Healy, then lost his front suspension before limping across the finish line first. Unfortunately, Chaney faced heartache after the race as time penalties ultimately dropped him from first back to eight place. Either way, Chaney proved his grit, left his mark and earned (more of) a name for himself in Hammertown.
If finishing this race isn’t a testament to my sponsors, I don’t know what is.” Kyle ChaneyTWEET THIS
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Kyle now turns his focus to the AMSOIL Championship Off-Road series, where he will race in both the AMSOIL Pro Turbo and Pro 4×4 classes. That series kicks off May 18-19 in Lena, Wis.
Until then, we’ll see you at the races!
