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The Continuance of Legacy

When you race in Ultra4, there’s a name that you fear when you are told he’s right behind you, and there’s a chassis you never want to see creeping up in the rocks. I’m talking about Randy Slawson and his famous creation, the Bomber Chassis. Randy is a THREE-time King of the Hammers winner and is a man who is feared in the rocks because he is not afraid to overtake you if you are in his way. This chassis is arguably the winningest single chassis in Ultra4, especially with the hands of Randy Slawson on the wheel.

Helping organize Bomber Bash is Mrs. Amber Slawson, aka Randy’s wife and the Queen of Hammers, with her outstanding records and placing physically first and resulting second at the 2025 King of the Hammers event. She’s also an absolute force with her old Suzuki Samurai that we all love watching her beat on. But on this trip, Amber kept the Samurai at home and brought out her 4800 Every Man Challenge Bomber Chassis car and decided to run with the big dogs! Alongside Amber and Randy, you can find fellow Bomber racers and trail cars driven by Gavin Andreoni and his 4800 Bomber car from TWC Racing and OCT Offroad in his Trail Bomber. Johnny Valadez and his wife, Shelby, with their 4800 Bomber car, also joined in, as did Martin Castro in his badass reimagined Bomber car that I had the pleasure to ride in. Needless to say, it was an eye-opening, jaw-dropping adventure that was a wow factor for the senses with every rock and bump we encountered. That FR8 and Socal Expedition Bomber car really is a beauty to witness in person, and it sounds just amazing. I can’t forget about Mike Fought and his MRF Racing beast of a Bomber trail/racecar. This trip was composed of a group of individuals who bought their chassis from Randy and went out to have some fun with Mr. Slawson himself.

Starting the day off was beautiful with cool temperatures, a clear sky, and perfect wheeling conditions. We met up around 10 am in Johnson Valley, California, with a plan to go and hit the infamous Sun Bonnet Pass. This trail has it all, from rock gardens to waterfalls, ledges, rocks that’ll catch your door if you’re not careful, crazy lines, and options with multiple obstacles from start to finish. Is this trail hard for these Bomber cars? Absolutely not! Is it a ton of fun? Absolutely! There’s nothing like a good trail day away from home with people you enjoy spending time with! Shortly after the meetup, we held a little drivers meeting with Amber talking over the plan, and from there I hopped in with the OCT Offroad Bomber and started flying across the lakebed, through whoops, and catching air while laughing hysterically along the way. This Bomber is no racecar, nor does it have the big racecar shocks like Randy has, so we didn’t keep up with the main group. I can tell you we were laughing a whole lot more than they were, though.

The desert can sometimes catch you off guard. A 3-foot-deep rain rut clean across the road definitely did exactly that to us. This rut sent us for a ride—definitely one that we felt the next day in our lower backs. Nonetheless, luckily both myself and OCT were fine from this happening, but he decided to head back to camp, so I hopped in with Martin and his FR8 Bomber car to catch up to the group. At first, I was nervous with a new driver and car. I only spoke a total of two sentences with Martin, but away we went across the desert. I did have complete trust in Martin, and he proved me right. This man can DRIVE! We raced up to the pack and stopped and waited for everyone to regroup.

From here, I hopped out and decided to walk so I could get some photos of the action. Plus, it’s a good exercise to try and keep up with these trailblazers going through the rocks and uneven terrain. As a person who chases these rigs at King of the Hammers, I guess it was a sign for me to start getting ready. I first noticed Randy getting rowdy on a right sideline in this little notch section, taking it higher and pivoting around perfectly, making it look easy. Next up, Gavin took his shot, and the rest of the group followed. Heading up a little more, Amber got herself caught up on some rocks and decided it was time to use the winch to save the rig for more trails throughout the weekend. I had the pleasure of being able to help her winch. It’s always fun to help your fellow racers and competitors along the way, but on this day we were all friends. From here, we all stopped and waited for everyone to catch up. But what do you do when everyone’s standing still in the rocks? You get photos of them! Duh.

I admit I was fanboying a bit because I grew up watching Randy race, so being right there to take photos of him in action was surreal, to say the least. I’m excited to capture more of this rig and Amber once we get to King of the Hammers, but for now we will finish off this trail. I hopped back into the FR8 buggy, and we headed out of Sun Bonnet, racing through the desert and hitting these whoops while taking in the beautiful symphony of the LS motor while passing side-by-sides and everything else in our way. Some of the most fun I have had in an Ultra4 car was just gunning through those washes at speed in Martin’s Bomber. He was kind enough to drop me off at my camp in Johnson Valley, which brought my end to the Bomber Bash.

Even though I was done, it was not the end for the others. They all headed out to the top of Outer Limits and had themselves some good food delivered. Yes, delivered. This just goes to show the sportsmanship and true appreciation Randy and Amber put into this event. I want to personally thank OCT, Martin, Randy, and Amber for their kind words and welcoming attitudes! I hope this event and its growing legacy continue for years to come. We are also ready to see what’s next to come from the Bomber Fabrication team. Maybe we’ll have a detailed article on one of these bad-to-the-bone rides soon, but until then we will keep up as much as we can. And as always, tread on!