Team Nitto driver and 2014 King of the Hammers Champion, Loren Healy, drove his brand-new Ultra4 buggy to victory in the 4400 class, solidifying his lead in the series’ points standings. This is also the third year in a row that a Team Nitto driver has won the Glen Helen Grand Prix Ultra4 Short Course race.
“This weekend’s Ultra4 race at Glen Helen really demonstrated the breadth of capabilities of our Trail Grappler tire and showed why it is the choice of champions like Loren Healy,” said Chris Corbett, Light Truck and Off-Road representative for Nitto Tire. “Healy’s domination of the race using just a single set of tires in the punishingly dry and slick conditions at Glen Helen gave him a distinct advantage over the competition.”
The 2014 Glen Helen Grand Prix was a grueling race for drivers, with only 40 of the 76 registered vehicles making it through an intense round of qualifying. Driving his brand-new Jimmy’s 4x4 IFS car, Loren Healy snagged the top qualifying spot with a lap time of 5:10.228 even though he had only spent a mere two hours testing the new car prior to the race.
When the green flag dropped Loren quickly took the lead, which he maintained for the entire 20-lap main event where he posted the quickest lap of the race at 5:24.15. At the end of the race Loren had a commanding two-minute lead over the rest of the field, taking the win over Levi Shirely and Jake Hallenbeck.
“It feels great to be able to be so competitive in a car that we barely had time to even test,” said Healy. “The combination of this car and the Nitto Trail Grappler tires is going to be a hard combination to beat this season and I know that with a little more work I can be even faster.”
The next race of the 2014 Ultra4 season will take place on August 22-23, 2014 at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. For more information about Ultra4 Racing, visit www.ultra4racing.com, learn more about Nitto-sponsored drivers at www.nittoracing.com
