Lucas Bell 
Earlier this month, Ford unveiled their all-new Bronco 4400 ULTRA4 racer ahead of this year’s King of the Hammers event. The automaker rolled out three examples of the hardcore racing machine, all of which took place in the grueling race this past week. While none of the SUVs were able to take home the overall victory, all three managed to complete the race while finishing in the top 15. And while that in itself is impressive, nothing quite compares to seeing just how extreme these trucks are with your own eyes. Thanks to some recent video uploads made by the Ford drivers, you can now see the Ford Bronco 4400 wheeling in Johnson Valley, California. The most successful of three Ford Bronco 4400 race trucks was driven by none other than fun-haver Vaughn Gittin Jr., who managed to take home fifth place overall with a final time of 8:16:53.935.
According to Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s Facebook post, he managed to make his way around the three-lap race without much trouble. Outside of needing to be winched out one time over the course of the race, his ULTRA4 Bronco behaved beautifully. That becomes far more impressive when you look at the sort of obstacles the professional drifter faced out in the desert. Massive boulders, deep ruts and huge drops were all on the agenda, as is highlighted in the clip.
Three-time King of the Hammers champion Jason Scherer was the next Ford Bronco 4400 driver to cross the finish line, taking ninth place overall. Scherer actually led part of the race in P1, though some mechanical issues prevented an overall victory for the Blue Oval. Two-time Champion Loren Healy rounded out Ford’s effort in 13th place, despite fighting with four broken drive shafts along the way. An impressive first effort for the new Bronco racer, and one that Ford likely believes they can best next year.
The 2021 running of the King of the Hammers presented Ford with quite a few opportunities. As the official SUV of the race, the Bronco was expected to show up and deliver the goods. While that didn’t happen entirely as planned, the of-road race served as a backdrop for yet another race truck debut. Outside of the 4400 class SUV, the Blue Oval also launched the Ford Bronco 4600, which will compete in ULTRA4’s stock class later this year. If there is one thing that is certain, it is that Ford wants their reborn icon to take over off-road racing just as it did in the 1960s.
For a complete list of finishers in this year King of the Hammers event, you can click the link provided here.
