The Mint 400 is probably one of the most iconic desert races of all time, and thanks to Mad Media and their partnership with Best in the Desert they are keeping this race alive.
The Mint 400 is not just about the race. On Wednesday the 21st there was a special Trick Truck Parade on Fremont Street to give fans and up close and personal look at these desert beasts. On Thursday there was the Meet and Greet downtown where fans could get autographs of their favorite drivers, and don’t forget all the parties.
Saturday morning started early for the slower paced classes with the first car leaving at 6am. The faster classes started at 1pm. What made this Mint 400 so unique from past races is the amount of spectator areas that were all over the course. Most of the time because of environmental restrictions it is usually one place for fans to watch from but not this race, there were 5 locations in all for fans to see the action up close.
When the second race started the Team of Steve Sourapas and Rob MacCachren started first after winning the time trials event. This gave them a huge advantage as the course was very dusty with the Jean NV area not seeing rain in a long time. They held the lead over such great drivers like Robby Gordon until a flat sidelined them making room for Robby Gordon to pass. Robby Gordon held on to that lead to eventually win the overall race and his class by only 3 minutes (unofficially at the time of this writing). MacCachren and Sourapas would have to settle for second overall.
Adam Householder had a great day behind 2 of the fastest drivers in the sport finishing 3rd overall and second in Trick Truck.
Fourth for the day was another Trick Truck, this one driven by Mark Weyhrich, which was also 3rd in his class.
Rounding out our top 5 was Harley Letner, and sorry Harley, I did not get a pic or video of you the entire day, but you deserve to be mentioned for having such a great day.
This year’s Mint 400 truly lived up to its heritage as one of the toughest off-road races. The wind threw the dust around no matter where you were on the course, and the fact that racers got to go across the dry lake bed in Jean must have been a treat. This was the first race I have seen since 2007 to go across that area of the Jean desert. I am so glad that Best in the Desert and Mad Media have kept this legend alive, and I am sure all desert race fans are too.
Here are a few more shots from the race.
