Luke Johnson Wins EMC 4700 Spec
In their debut event in Ultra4 Racing, Luke and Ricky Johnson had impressive results at the Smittybilt Every Man Challenge and showed why they are the Kings of All Off Road.
Luke Johnson started the day as one of the first pair off the line, while Ricky started as the last pair in the Spec 4700 class. At the end of the day the father-son duo would end up being two of the three finishers in a class that had six at the start.
Luke began to take a large lead, using his experience in open desert racing out on the dry lake bed. This gap allowed him to maintain a top 5 position overall in the standings of the two lap race that makes up the Hammers Course in Johnson Valley, CA.
After the conclusion of the Smittybilt Every Man Challenge and into the early morning hours before the Nitto Tire King of the Hammers, it was discovered that Lance Clifford had received an illegal service. This meant that despite finishing behind Lance, the DQ resulted in Luke getting the win in 4700 Spec class, which moves him up to fourth in overall standings. The disqualification also moved Ricky Johnson up to second in class and ninth in the overall standings. Not only did this mean a one-two finish for the Johnsons, but a finish in the top two podium spots for their primary sponsor KMC Wheels.
“Dana Brown has a great quote in ‘Dust to Glory’ about the Baja 1000 that said, ‘What I thought I knew, I hadn’t a clue,’ that explains my whole Hammers experience completely,” Ricky commented at the end of the Smittybilt Every Man Challenge. “We kind of went into it (the EMC) with a good plan,” said Luke at the end of the race before learning of the disqualification of Lance Clifford. “I went in optimistic and not knowing what I was getting myself into and I knew that my weak point was going to be in the rocks.”
