Randy Slawson taking the checkered flag to win the King of the Hammers off road race on 6 February 2015 in Johnson Valley, CA. Known as the toughest off race in the world, only 17 of the 132 drivers finished the 215 mile race before the 10pm cutoff this year. This was Slawson's second win; he was also crowned King in 2013 and is now one of three two-time winners.
On a personal note - the sun was sinking low when we heard that the leaders were just a few miles out from the finish line. We had that gorgeous golden light and I was picturing a beautiful backlit rooster as Randy came around that final bend to the finish. As we all stood shoulder to shoulder waiting to see if it would be Randy or Erik Miller to cross the line first, the sun slipped behind the mountains. Light fades fast in those first 15 minutes or so after the sun sets and there was only one (very) small light over the finish line, so I was checking my settings every 30 seconds...I'm losing shutter speed, open the aperture, too slow again, raise the ISO, oh no too slow again, raise the ISO a bit more, car coming in to the pit, test shutter speed, then I realized that the rigs have their lights on now...that's going to affect my exposure! ...still loosing light fast, keep that shutter speed up, still thinking about those lights coming right at me...I was just about to give up hope of getting a sharp shot at a respectable ISO when in comes Randy flying to the finish. When 2nd place Erik Miller crossed the line a few minutes later, it was hopeless. Low light action photography is nerve wracking!
More from King of the Hammers coming soon...
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