In Memoriam
Lance King 1942-2018
SCORE International and the entire off-road racing community mourns the loss of off-road innovator and founder of King Shocks, Lance King. King was born in 1942 in Rock Rapids, Iowa and grew up on a farm with his brothers Steve, Bob, Jeff and Rick King. At the age of 13 Lance learned how to weld from his dad, who was a blacksmith. The family writes that Lance fell in love with cars and racing after his grandfather gave him a 1949 two-door Chevy coupe when he was 15, and after spending two years working on the car, he called it “Misfire.”
Lance king became a certified welder at age 22 and was drafted into the army and deployed to Germany during the Vietnam War. After returning home, Lance King met and married his wife Sharon, celebrating 48-years of marriage until she passed away in March of 2017. During their marriage, the King’s moved to California in 1969 where he worked for the Kuster company, welding various types of exotic metals and ultimately designing shocks for the company.
In the early ‘80s the family got into off-roading and eventually got to pit for Wilson Racing, later racing himself on ATCs, quads, and motorcycles. At the age of 55, Lance King followed his dream to start King Shock Technology in 1996, a business which has been carried on by his sons Brett and Ross King. Lance King is survived by his brothers Steve, Bob, Jeff, and Rick, his sons Brett and Ross, daughter-in-law Maria, grandchildren Evelyn, Rylie, Gavin, Britnee, Brett, and Christian.
