Off-Road driver Casey Currie tapped into the racer in his blood, driving on pure Currie instinct in last week’s King of the Hammers in Johnson Valley, CA. It was indeed a family affair, as Casey’s uncle, John Currie, took 1st in class and 1st overall in the inaugural Smittybuilt Every Man Challenge for stock and modified vehicles. Casey continued the legacy in the UTV and King of the Hammers races in the following days.
“I am so proud of my Uncle and his co-driver Gerald Lee,” beamed Casey. “They drove a smart race and killed the competition. I was more than impressed with the drive and dedication of my team during the short amount of time they were allotted to finish the jeep, including prep fabrication and shock testing. Next year we plan to do it again.”
Qualifying in a less than favorable position on Tuesday after getting hung up in the first obstacle known as the Gate Keeper, Casey Currie and team hammered down and pulled through to qualify in position 92 of 140 entrants for Friday’s KOH Race.
Switching it up for Thursday’s UTV race, Casey started in position 9 in the Kawasaki Teryx. Charging hard from the start, by mile 20 Casey had blown past the competition and placed himself 30 seconds behind position 1. Battling for 1st position through mile 35, Casey would suffer a belt loss, taking him out of the race.
“This Kawasaki Teryx is the fastest UTV in the Hammers, and I’m bummed we lost a belt,” explained Casey. “We think our skid plate may have created too much heat in the engine compartment, but we will fix the problem and come back in full storm!”
At the starting line in Friday’s King of Hammers final race with one minute until start, Casey loses a relay in the car. The team resolves the problem and loses only four positions on the starting line, but experiences the relay loss once again and also a fuel pick-up problem toward the end of the first lap. Casey will lose 30 minutes of ground while his team hustles to fix the issue. Up and running again and refocused on lap two, Casey hammers down and regains the lost ground, taking a 14th position finish physically, and 10th overall after corrected times.
“What a day,” sighs Casey, “We had some small problems throughout the day but we fought through it to finish in the top 10. Our tires held up very well and I’m already strategizing for KOH 2013. My Uncle’s support all day as a spotter was phenomenal and my Dad and team really hustled with pits and support.”