King of the Hammers; a Land Use Perspective in ORA

KOH, Land Use and Off-Road Adventures

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"King of the Hammers, A Land Use Perspective" hit this current issue of Off-Road Adventures Magazine, p. 78, with a great shot of the Land Use Panel, and the cleanup effort that took place.
The KOH folks kicked it during this entire event, with their attention and enthusiasm for landuse, cleanup, safety and keeping our sport alive.  Their recycling program with CA4WDC was hugely successful as well.

The land use panel (John Stewart, Bebe Theisen and Todd Ockert and I) got great coverage, as well as plenty of kudos and credit to Motorsports Fabrication Services (MFS) and Travis Carpenter, the land use buggy hero.
Oh, yea, Kurtuleas (Kurt Schnieder) is mentioned too. (SMILE). Kurt, you be da man for coming up with the AWESOME ideas.

You can read the mag online here: http://www.offroadadventures.com/

Awesome. Thank you ,ORA (and 4 Wheel Parts),

Del

3/19/2010 Land Use Update from Del Albright

3/19/2010: A few quick notes about land use and access, as well as my latest article for your use (please send me a link or copy if you would).

1. PRP Seats: The original owner of PRP Seats, Aaron Wedeking, is back at the helm for these great seats – who happen to also sponsor my landuse War Machine Jeep. Press release and info here: http://www.delalbright.com/Products/prp_seats.html


2. CA: Carnegie SVRA (OHV) area back open – we fought hard and WON to get the courts to kick out the junk lawsuit brought on by those who do not like our sport. See more here: http://thegeneralsrecreationden.blogspot.com/2010/03/sf-bay-area-legal-victory-at-carnegie.html


3. Article: Stop the Stink: my latest piece on what is happening in our country and what we need to do about it (to preserve our access to lands and waterways. Read and download it here: http://www.delalbright.com/Articles/stink.html


4. NAXJA Helps Del: I’m so honored to have a great organization behind me (and BlueRibbon Coalition), the North American XJ Association (NAXJA). They have kicked in huge donations to help me stay in the fight and support BRC. We are winning some battles and making stuff happen – together. Thank you. See more here: http://www.delalbright.com/Misc/naxja_del.html


5. King of the Hammers: I sure hope you saw all the awesome land use and access stuff that took place at King of the Hammers (KOH) this year. Over $30,000 in land use pledges were generated from various buggies and drivers. It was an amazing event for our cause. Notable also was the trash cleanup and recycling that took place during and after this biggest ever desert race. KOH folks kicked it and left the desert cleaner than they found it, even after nearly 30,000 fans. Read more here: http://jeepndel.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010-koh-eco-challenge-from-jeff-knoll.html


6. BlueRibbon and King of the Hammers: BRC was pledged nearly $20,000 alone from the KOH event, and the two shining stars in this fund-raiser were the Tin Benders 4x4 Club of Southern CA, and 4Wheel Parts (Greg Adler and crew). The Tin Benders kicked in $5500 from their club and 4Wheel Parts matched it. WOW. Watch for more on this at the BlueRibbon website and magazine (shortly): http://www.sharetrails.org/


7. MT: Lewis and Clark Nat’l Forest; BRC Kicks It Again: BRC and some other recreational groups kicked it and won another court victory in Idaho. Check it out at: http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/?story=688&filter=media

8. MFS Takes on the Albright Jeep: If you’re on Facebook, you already know this, but Motorsports Fabrication Services (MFS) is revving the rpm’s for landuse and access. They’ve taken on the Albright Jeep to do about a year’s worth of fixes, upgrades, and mods to help out the cause; and they are behind the King of the Hammers buggy that led the pledge efforts for land use and access. Read more here (and visit Facebook or my blog for more about the Jeep): http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/?story=686&filter=media

As always, let me know if you have any questions or need any further info.

Thanks for being on the team,

Del

King of Hammers MFS Buggy Attracts $20,000 to Land Use

BLUERIBBON COALITION, INC.


NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kurt Schneider
Phone: (925) 202-9246
Email: kurt@kurtuleas.com
Or
Del Albright
Phone: (209) 304-7693
Email: brdel@sharetrails.org

Motorsport Fabrication Services Promotes Access and Responsible Recreation

Team sets industry standard for promoting access in Griffin King of the Hammers race

POCATELLO, ID (March 2)--The BlueRibbon Coalition is proud to report huge success in land use at the Griffin King of the Hammers (KOH) race. With two vehicles in the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers race, Motorsport Fabrication Services (MFS) of Lincoln, California, may not have won the race, but they insured that wheeled motorized access won big. With a race-a-thon lead by MFS and BFGoodrich Tires driver Travis Carpenter in his 4405 "Land-use" race vehicle, MFS managed to raise nearly $20,000 for various land-use organizations.

Much like a walk-a-thon, for every mile made by Travis Carpenter and co-driver Dan Trout in the 4405 "land-use" race vehicle, individuals pledged a per mile contribution in the grueling 135-mile race. Pledges were made to any land use organization of the contributor's choice.

Travis Carpenter managed 98 miles before a faulty fuel pump took him out of the 135-mile race. The second MFS vehicle, the 4407, managed to finish a respectable 28th. The biggest contributors in the race-a-thon were the Tin Bender's 4x4 club, who pledged on their own vehicles in the race, raising $5,500, and 4WheelParts Wholesalers, who matched the Tin Bender's pledges for a grand total of $11,000 to the BlueRibbon Coalition raising more than half of the total amount collected.

Billed as the "toughest one-day off-road race on the planet," the Griffin King of the Hammers (www.kingofthehammers.com) has quickly become one of the biggest events in off-roading. With a mix of go-fast desert racing and hard-core rock crawling, the endurance race has attracted some of the most accomplished drivers in rock-sports competitions. Local papers reported 28,000 people were involved in the race, vendor show, fans and crews.

"I am so proud of Travis and his MFS land use buggy," said Del Albright, BlueRibbon Coalition Ambassador who attended KOH. "His club, the Rock Zombies, supported him as well, along with a passel of friends and land use advocates like Kurt Schneider of Pirate4x4.com."

Motorsport Fabrication Services (http://mfs-ca.com) is a full fabrication shop which builds and customizes many different types of vehicles, from hot-rods and rock-crawlers to daily drivers.

If you would like an image or more information--or to schedule an interview with Kurt Schneider. Please call 925-202-9246 or e-mail Kurt at Kurt@kurtuleas.com.

See a short video tribute here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnoEZ2yKy0s

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The BlueRibbon Coalition is a national (non-profit) trail-saving group that represents over 600,000 recreationists nationwide The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) season is beginning. Federal employees, please mark BlueRibbon Coalition and Check #11402 on your CFC pledge form to support our efforts to protect your access. Join us at 1-800-258-3742 http://www.sharetrails.org

BFGoodrich Tires Winning Streak at Hammers

I'm pimping this because BFGoodrich Tires is also setting the example nationwide for businesses helping to keep our sport alive and our trails open. BFG is doing more than any company I know of, on many fronts, including the racing field, but also Outstanding Trails program, support for BlueRibbon Coalition with tire sales on off-road tires, magazine adds to support land use organizations and many other helpful donations to raffles.  They just plain ROCK in my book.

Del
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BFGoodrich Tires Continues King of the Hammers Win Streak;

Claims Top 11 Positions

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Feb. 16, 2010 – BFGoodrich® Tires once again reigns supreme as it remains to be the only tire manufacturer to come out on top at the challenging King of the Hammers. More than 30,000 fans witnessed Loren Healy take home the coveted scepter this past weekend at the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers. Healy, along with co-driver Rodney Woodey, became the only team to take the checkered flag after qualifying at the 4 Wheel Parts Last Chance Qualifier earlier in the week.

Winning 667 buggy driven by Loren Healy.  Photo credit: Harry Situations

Healy and Woodey, who started the race in the 53rd position, battled through the difficult terrain of Johnson Valley, Calif. and conquered the 135-mile loop course in 6 hours 57 minutes and 53 seconds. Of the 100 competitors that started the race, only 43 finished, 34 of which chose to run the ultimate desert-and-rock race on BFGoodrich tires.

Healy’s winning rig was equipped with 39” BFGoodrich Krawler™ T/A®KX tires, which are designed for unprecedented grip on extreme rocks, mud and dirt.

“These BFGoodrich Krawlers are unbelievable,” said Healy at the finish line. “I have always competed on BFGoodrich tires and this is the reason why. The pit support, the onsite support and the tires are the reason why I choose BFGoodrich.”

Team BFGoodrich driver Brad Lovell barely missed out on the win, finishing only 28 seconds behind Healy. Lovell and co-driver Bill Kunz chose 37” BFGoodrich Baja T/A®KRT tires while third place finisher Derek West and co-driver Jason Henne chose 39” BFGoodrich Baja T/AKRT tires, which are designed specifically for rock racing and King of the Hammers.


“We can’t thank BFGoodrich Tires enough,” said Lovell. “They're the greatest tire and you can see that because the top 11 finishers in this race were on BFGoodrich tires.”

“Having the first 11 teams and 80 percent of the finishers who come across the finish line on BFGoodrich tires not only continues to prove the extreme capability of our product, but also shows that winners choose BFGoodrich,” said Roberts Kukainis, Motorsports Manager, BFGoodrich Tires. “Healy’s determination to qualify for the big race at the Last Chance Qualifier and then go on to conquer all 135 punishing miles is an incredible story. Congratulations to him and his team.”

In addition to being the official tire for King of the Hammers, BFGoodrich Tires provided pit and communications support to teams through its fleet of off-road motorsports vehicles. This immense undertaking involved more than 40 off-road enthusiasts and volunteers who donate their time to help BFGoodrich support the organization of King of the Hammers. BFGoodrich also introduced a new 42” off-road racing tire at the event.

BFGoodrich Tires hosted an on-site media hospitality center during the event. Located immediately opposite from tech and contingency and next to the start/finish line, the hospitality center allowed media to cover the race while enjoying complimentary snacks and beverages. Race tracking and updates in the media hospitality center were provided by Pirate4x4.com.

Using motorsports as a proving ground for more than 30 years, BFGoodrich Tires is involved in every type of racing, including oval, sports car, drifting, drag, desert, dirt, rally, and extreme rock-crawling. BFGoodrich Tires combines technological expertise with vast motorsports experience, delivering a high-performance tire for every type of vehicle. Visit BFGoodrich Tires online at www.bfgoodrichtires.com

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Media Contacts: Tonya Polydoroff

864-458-4511

tonya.polydoroff@us.michelin.com
David Gordon
949-223-2314
David.gordon@hillandknowlton.com

King of the Hammers; a Land Use Perspective

BlueRibbon Coalition sent me to Griffin King of the Hammers to be the Land Use Emporium guy and seminar host/moderator.  I was BLOWN away by this awesome event.  I could blog hours on how this is a shining example of our sport taken to the next level, while still embracing simple things like recycling and pack it out.

To keep my blog short, let me hit the highlights:

The organization and staff of KOH was incredible and efficient.

One local reporter said 28,000 folks were in attendance; Jeff Knoll and I were thinking around 22,000. No matter. It's HUGE.  It's the biggest thing I've ever been too, and well done to boot.

The lakebed and trails were left cleaner than when the crew got there.
I lead the cleanup of Sledge and I can attest to the fact that our off-road folks are getting the message and not leaving behind big messes.

Cal4 ran the recycling program (KOH idea) and kept the money for land use issues.

Over 100 volunteers help put on the race.

Over 100 vendors provided and shared their wares and goodies with booths, vans, trucks and displays.

The land use seminar was more about FREEDOM -- and will be posted (recored version) on Pirate4x4.  John Stewart (Cal4), Todd Ockert (Access Army), and Jacquelyne Bebe Theisen (FOTR) were on the panel with me.

100 drivers started and about half finished.  There was only 28 seconds between first and second.
Loren Healy from Farmington, NM was crowned King of the Hammers.

Loren on stage with his team, getting crowned KING.  From Farmington, NM, Loren drives a Jimmy's 4x4 rig with a 365ci motor.

BlueRibbon Coalition off-road Champion, Brad Lovell, Lovell Racing, took a shining Second Place, only 28 seconds behind the winner.

Greg Mulkey from Raceline Wheels (Allied) presented KOH organizers Jeff Knoll and David Cole with Racer's Choice awards.  Sweet.

Friends of Johnson Valley were there and benefited from a nice Saturday morning breakfast prepared by 4x4Him.org.

Poison Spyder was there with their great products and awesome support of our new Access Army.

Jason Scherer (L) and Shannon Campbell (R) stood with Loren Healy with co-driver Rodney Woody, all the Kings in Court.

Here's the King's buggy, # 667, in Sledge, gettin' it and looking good.

Loren was another of the BFGoodrich Tire drivers, like the top 12 winners were using.  BFG's kicked it in 2010.  Wow.

The best place to get more of a report and see videos is on Pirate4x4 here: http://www.pirate4x4.com/king-of-the-hammers-2010/index.php

Eco-Challenge at King of Hammers 2010

2010 KOH ECO Challenge

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From Jeff Knoll, King of the Hammers

2010 Griffin King of the Hammers, eco challenge.

In 2006 I challenged the Pirate board and the 4 wheeling community to clean up after the party at Potato salad hill in Moab during the Easter Jeep Safari. http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...lean+challenge

This year Hammerking Productions is throwing down a new challenge. The KOH ECO Challenge.

Last year KOH generated an amazing amount of trash; we looked inside the massive dumpster and saw about 30 percent recyclable products. This year we are partnering with Land Use folks to attempt to shatter the mis-perception of Off-roaders and recycle as much of the trash as possible. Cal 4 wheel will provide containers for the recyclable items, and will manage the return. The money generated will benefit the fight to keep our lands open. All that we ask is that you separate your trash while attending the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers. Put your recyclables in the appropriate containers, and remember to pack out the rest.

The wind plays havoc on the Johnson Valley OHV area, so please keep your trash covered and out of the wind. I hope to see a clean lake bed every morning when I step out the door at Hammertown. We will all live together for the week at Hammertown, so let’s do the best we can and keep it clean. With the amount of fun planned for the week of KOH, I imagine that land use folks can raise some much needed money recycling your bottles and cans. The goal is to raise as much money possible and see how much weight Hammertown can generate……… 2 weeks in the desert might be quite a bit from what I have seen.

Thanks for your support of the this fun program that will benefit land use.
_________________
Check out these films and events from Hammerking productions: http://www.kingofthehammers.com/

Note from Del:  this is incredibly far-sighted and eco-friendly on the part of this amazing event. KOH folks are setting the example for all of us when it comes to taking care of our environment while having fun in our rigs.

Land Use Pledge for King of Hammers Race 2010

The 4405 MFS Race-a-Thon

by Kurt Schnieder (playing Jerry Lewis) & Del Albright

PLEDGE NOW to Benefit Land Use with the World's Largest Off-Road Race in the US

For the King of the Hammers 2010, we are taking pledges to land-use organizations depending on how far the 4405 land-use buggy makes it in the race! Just like a pledge drive high school kids do at school for sports fundraisers!!  This is an awesome, hard-core desert and rock race, where only a few are left standing. 15,000 to 20,000 people could be on-hand to witness this event next month.  I plan to be there.


YOU pick the amount pledged per mile and YOU pick the organization to donate too!

Travis Carpenter (Rock Zombie) is our driver.  With title sponsor, Motorsports Fabrication Services (MFS), he's also a BFGoodrich Tires guy; with Yukon gears; a Powertank; Solid Axle dude, PRP seats, Vision X-Lights, Coast High Performance Racing Engines,  but mostly, he's a land use HERO.  He's taking the MFS buggy to KOH to help kick some land use ACCESS.

KOH is 135 miles long this year, so if you pledge a dollar per mile, that's $135 to the organization you picked as long as Travis and the 4405 make it thru the entire race!

Directions:

1. Pledge anything you would like per mile made in the 4405 during KOH, and pick the organization you will pledge too, starting with the BlueRibbon Coalition.

2. Add an addtional amount pledged if Travis wins KOH. (By the way, If the 4405 wins, our team is donating $5,000 of the winnings to BlueRibbon Coalition (http://www.sharetrails.org/).

3. You also have the option for a "gutter pledge" that is if we don't start or do not complete at least 20 miles.

4. In your sig-line, please put: "4405 KOH Pledge" with your post number after it! (ex. 4405 KOH pledge #2) if you are a Pirate4x4 subscriber. (for non-Pirate4x4 folks, please see #6 below).

5. PLEASE forward a link to this thread to everyone on your e-mail, your local bulletin boards etc. If you can't afford to pledge anything (Which I totally understand) At the very least, help us to get the word out about this fundraiser!

6. If you are not a Pirate4x4 subscriber, you may e-mail your pledge to: kurt@friendsofeldorado.com (and let him know if you want your pledge posted, or prefer to remain anonymous).  We hope everyone will pledge and post up proudly so we can build an incredible list of donors.

7. After the race, please send you donation directly to the organizations you picked by March 1st. We are not collecting money.

You may cut and paste my post below and change the amounts and the organizations as you wish.

We will take pledges up until Febuary 11th, and I will also be taking pledges on the lakebed... Please pay you pledge amount by March 1st.

Suggested organizations to pledge too: (You may pick any land-use organization you wish, you do not need to pick from this list)

Blue Ribbon Coalition; then
Other National Organizations fighting for land use
State Associations
Regional Associations
other non-profit land use or appropriate associations, organizations, or Friends groups.

Note from Kurt:  Maybe this is just a pipe dream on my part, but think about this: if 20,000 people show up to KOH this year, and we get just 1/4 of them to pledge...at an average of $100 a person... THIS WILL BE THE BIGGEST LAND-USE DONATION EVER ON PIRATE4X4.COM EVER!!!

Help keep public lands open to the public!
Help support the sport!!

THANK YOU!

Note from Del:  it's my thinking we need to build the big dog, BlueRibbon Coalition, into the baddest biggest national grassroots organization ever formed.  This pledge fund-raiser could sure put a dent in that objective.

See the thread on Pirate4x4 here: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?p=10813389&posted=1#post10813389

Visit title sponsor MFS here: http://www.mfs-ca.com/
Thanks to all,
Del (and Kurt)

Land Use Update and Thanksgiving Wish

Here are some land use updates for you to use/share.


First off, happy Thanksgiving to all. As 2009 sneaks to a close, I think we can all look forward to a better and stronger 2010. I am seeing a large resurgence of interest and support for land use and access efforts. Let’s continue to lead the charge to a brighter future.

(Note: all links are at the bottom of this note)

2010 Land Use War Machine: I’m having some fun with this, but I’m also excited to announce the “new look” of my battle tank, a 1997 TJ Wrangler, with a long list of business sponsors and supporters who are helping me do my part to keep our trails open and our sports alive. Without these great folks, my wheels would be parked. I call it a war machine, because 2010 is the year to rage land use fights like never before. Check out my wheels and how these businesses are in the game big time to help.

Southwest Crawlfest New Event: FYI, this is a fairly new event near St. George, Utah looking for raffle items and attendees. It’s FREE. Yup, free – they pay for their expenses and still have money to donate to land use organizations through their raffle ticket sales alone. January 29, 30, 2010. We are supporting their effort to raise awareness of this awesome event because the Rockaholics Anonymous are donating to the right causes.

King of the Hammers Driver’s Seat Free Ride: Want to drive in the famous offroad race, King of the Hammers? Write an essay why you should be selected to drive in the Griffin Radiators KOH Race in a fully sponsored rig – yup, you drive; their rig. Your entry must be in to Pirate4x4 by Dec. 25th. KOH is in February at Johnson Valley, CA.

$4.00 to Join BlueRibbon Coalition: BRC is running their special deal with 4Wheel Parts where you can join, renew or EXTEND your current membership and get a $25 Gift Card from 4WP at the same time -- $29 bucks for an individual, with $25 back to you in a Gift Card, meaning you just helped save more trails for $4.00 for a year.  This is a no-brainer.

Christmas Auction for BlueRibbon Coalition: Several of my personal 4x4 sponsors and many other businesses are kicking in a huge effort to help BRC raise some funds with an eBay type auction starting Dec. 1st. We’re talking well over $10,000 in goodies (so far with a rapidly growing list), of parts and neat accessories. This is a great way for you to save some bucks while helping land use. It’s also another indicator that our business partners are more than willing to do their part to help keep our lands and waterways open for access.

State Offroad Associations: most of our OHV related state associations are lining up their events and new-year kick off activities. Please be supportive and sign up to attend all those you can fit into your schedule and budget. Our strength in the fight to keep our access starts at the local and state level. We need all the organizations we can muster in order to win this battle. I lay out some strategies I think we need to employ to win the war on access in my article (link below). Be sure to check it out and stay involved with your state clubs/associations.

Poison Spyder Supports Land Use: Poison Spyder just released new Rocker Knockers with "Access Army" laser cut into them.  WOW.  They have chosen to also contribute 10% of the proceeds from the sale of these goodies to the national group, BlueRibbon Coalition.  Awesome.  Thank you Poison Spyder.

LINKS:
War Machine Introduction: http://www.delalbright.com/Access/sponsors_2009.html
Southwest Crawlfest Event: http://southwestcrawlfest.com/
KOH Driver’s Seat Competition: http://www.delalbright.com/Misc/king_hammers.html
BlueRibbon 4Wheel Parts Deal: https://www.sharetrails.org/tv/4wp/
Article: Strategies to Win the War on Access: http://www.delalbright.com/Articles/strategies_war.html
Christmas Online Auction for BRC: http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/media/?story=666
Poison Spyder Donates to Land Use:  http://www.poisonspyder.com/

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Thanks for all you do, and my best for a safe and happy Thanksgiving,
Del

http://www.delalbright.com

King of the Hammers Race Driver WANTED! Apply now.

Simple question: "Do you want to drive in the Griffin Radiators King of the Hammers race in a fully sponsored race vehicle?"

No, I'm not joking! If you haven't been paying attention, Pirate4x4.com is giving away the driver's seat to a fully prepped 500 horsepower race buggy for the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers race!

The Pirate4x4.com - MFS race buggy is currently being prepped at Motorsport Fabrication Services for this unbelievable opportunity. You can check it out here - http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828024



So what's the catch? No real catch, you just have to reply to this thread (http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=827246) on Pirate4x4.com and tell us why in 500 words or less, why you think you should be chosen to drive the Pirate4x4.com - MFS buggy in King of the Hammers. Oh yeah, and you have to be a red or yellow star member. But you've already got that part covered!

The winning person will get the following:

• A free entry into the 2010 Griffin King of the Hammers

• A fully prepped race vehicle to drive in KOH

• Pre run time to learn the vehicle and the terrain

• A full pit crew

• All the logistics handled - just show up and race!

Nothing like this has ever been done before. It truly is a dream giveaway!

All entries must be submitted by December 25th, 2009 Pirate4x4.com users will begin voting for their favorite of the top 5 January 1st, 2010. Voting will close February 1st, 2010 and WE WILL HAVE A DRIVER!

Winner must be in Johnson Valley by February 8th, 2010.