Mickey Thompson Tests Tire Toughness at King of the Hammers

Jason R. Sakurai
by Jason R. Sakurai

Only 37 of 84 cars finished the King of the Hammers, proclaimed the planet’s toughest one-day off-road race, on time this year. Tad Dowker and Jordan Pellegrino, two racers on Mickey Thompson Baja Boss X tires, were among the finishers.

“The Baja Boss X is an extreme competition tire designed to tackle the toughest terrains,” Ken Warner, vice president of marketing at Mickey Thompson said. “Tested at King of the Hammers and other off-road race and rock crawl events, this tire provides incredible grip and endurance to conquer all obstacles.”

Earlier in the week, we spoke with Heather Tausch, Mickey Thompson’s brand manager, who said they would be testing different tire compounds at King of the Hammers. An already-sticky compound and extra-large four-pitch Sidebiters provide off-road traction on the Baja Boss X. The tire’s Powerply XD angled third ply, plus an extra-thick denier cord, offers better puncture resistance, quicker steering response, and greater stability. A non-DOT approved competition tire, the Baja Boss X also features stone ejector ribs to keep tread grooves gravel-free.

Tad Dowker, who finished in 21st place on Baja Boss X tires, said, “We had seven flats during last year’s King of the Hammers week, including five during the race. The grip and durability of the new 4-ply Baja Boss X allowed us to stick many optional lines in the rocks and smash through the boulder-infested goat trails with confidence.”

GenRight Off Road’s Jordan Pellegrino finished in 23rd on 40×12.50/17 Baja Boss X tires, without any flat tires throughout the race.

Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels was founded in 1963 by racing legend Mickey Thompson. The company, headquartered in Stow, Ohio, markets high-performance and racing tires and wheels for truck and off-road applications, in addition to street and strip.

[Images: Mickey Thompson]

Jason R. Sakurai
Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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  • Dan Dan on Feb 09, 2021

    Soon to be seen slipping all over the road in the rain on a brodozer near you.

  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
  • 1995 SC At least you can still get one. There isn't much for Ford folks to be happy about nowadays, but the existence of the Mustang and the fact that the lessons from back in the 90s when Ford tried to kill it and replace it with the then flavor of the day seem to have been learned (the only lessons they seem to remember) are a win not only for Ford folks but for car people in general. One day my Super Coupe will pop its headgaskets (I know it will...I read it on the Internet). I hope I will still be physically up to dropping the supercharged Terminator Cobra motor into it. in all seriousness, The Mustang is a.win for car guys.
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