Just like he did last year, Justin Lofton bested a deep field of Unlimited Truck racers on Friday afternoon in Unlimited Qualifying for the 2023 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400. Last year, Lofton was more than two seconds ahead of his closest competition; this year, the gap was even larger, as he outpaced defending race winner Kyle Jergensen by 5.817 seconds in the unofficial results.

Lofton, who returned to BFGoodrich Tires for this edition of the Great American Off-Road Race, had an unexpected setback in qualifying when Kevin Adler rolled over near the finish of the lap. Because safety crews needed to get Adler’s truck back on its wheels, the three-time Mint 400 winner had to abort his lap and requalify in one of the tightest battles for the pole in recent memory. Up to that point, Dale Dondel had been the top qualifier, just .018 seconds ahead of Ryan Arciero, and third place Tim Herbst was also less than a second off the top time.

But Lofton and his all-wheel-drive Mason Motorsports truck wouldn’t be deterred by the re-rack, throwing down a blazing time of 3:41.420 with few competitors left to hit the course behind him. Harley Letner would go off course coming towards the finish line, leaving him between Herbst and BJ Baldwin at an eventual sixth place in class, while Jergensen’s 3:47.237 was more than three seconds clear of Dondel but still not enough to match Lofton.

In Class 1, James Dean and Cole Barbieri had a closely matched fight of their own, with Dean’s 3:50.733 good for the top class time and fifth overall and Barbieri’s 3:52.720 second in class and eighth among all qualifiers. Greg Adler posted the best time in Unlimited Truck Legends with a 4:03.933, good for 17th in the overall rankings and more than 20 seconds ahead of any other Legends entry.

The Unlimited Truck SPEC division saw defending race winner Nick Isenhouer nudge ahead of an evenly matched set of rivals, posting a 4:10.598 to pace the first qualifying group. RJ Merritt, Dustin Grabowski, and Justin Blower were all within two seconds of Isenhouer in the next three spots, while fifth overall in Group 1 went to Ethan Ebert in Honda’s Class 7 entry. The top Class 10 qualifying time went to Abraham Gutierrez, whose 4:20.746 was good enough for 10th in the group, and more than nine seconds faster than Nick May, his closest competitor.

Source: The Mint 400

22-year-old Joe Terrana has been making a name for himself as one of UTV racing’s top up and coming talents over the past few seasons. On Friday afternoon, he cemented that status with the biggest win of his career—the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race at the 2023 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400—after going up against, and taking down, the biggest names in the sport from the 53rd overall starting spot.

“This is my hometown, Las Vegas, so this is my favorite race of the year,” said the driver of the #T898 Can-Am. “Last year was my first time doing it, and I had a blast last year, so we came back to do it again… I’m so excited. Looking up to all these big-name guys out here, coming out here and putting a beating on them is so exciting and fun.”

More than 250 racers were on the entry list for Friday’s action, led by the Class 5 cars that kicked off the racing at 8AM and bookended with the Gambler 500/HooptieX entries that were last to get going. From numerous UTV classes to the iconic Class 11 and even vintage and military vehicles, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race has always been a collection of anything that people want to race in the desert—if you can build it, the Mint 400 has a class for it.

Not only was Terrana one of the last starters to roll off in the UTV Pro Turbo class, but Pro Turbo was also the fourth UTV class to hit the track. Sizable UTV PR-100 and Pro Open entries, plus a UTV Pro Big Engine entry from Travis Zollinger, all started their races first. But having dozens of cars in front of him didn’t deter Terrana one bit, as the Las Vegas native quickly pushed his way into the lead on corrected time.

For much of the race, Terrana’s top challenger was Mitch Guthrie Jr., who returned to the Mint 400 fresh off an appearance in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge last week. Unfortunately for Guthrie, last-lap issues knocked him back from contention for the overall win, although he would still take a decisive victory in the UTV Pro Open class.

Instead, it was former UTV World Champion Ryan Piplic who would cross the finish line in physical first place to lead the UTV PR-100 class, and Terrana’s UTV Pro Turbo rival Bruce Binnquist who would get there next before Terrana would make it to the finish. When all was said and done and corrected times were factored in, the overall podium was separated by just over three minutes; Terrana would take the class and overall wins by just 73 seconds over Binnquist after completing four laps and nearly 400 miles of racing.

Unofficially, four different UTV classes were represented in the overall top six, a testament to the difficulty of this year’s course. The challenge was further compounded by rain and wind that rolled into the area as the front-runners began to approach the finish.

Unofficial results from the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race at the 2023 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 are as follows:

Full live timing and scoring, as well as livestream and Weatherman radio coverage, can be found at live.themint400.com. Coverage of today’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race continues with live timing and tracking as racers continue to finish, while streaming resumes on Saturday at 9:15AM PT with the BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 Unlimited Race.

The Mint 400 has held the title of the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America since 1968 when it was first run. Initially, the race was a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt, but what started out as a hotel promotion soon grew into a legitimate desert race. Since its 2008 revival, “The Great American Off-Road Race” has only gotten bigger and more prestigious, and deeper fields every year only make it tougher to win.

More information on the 2023 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 for racers and spectators is available at TheMint400.com, or follow the event on Facebook and Instagram.

Source: The Mint 400

Each year, the Mint 400 Desert Cleanup presented by Republic Services marks the unofficial start of race week for the BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400, as hundreds of volunteers head to the race spectator area in Jean, Nevada to collect illegally dumped waste. But this year’s Desert Cleanup was one for the record books, as 200 volunteers collected an astounding 46.56 tons—or 93,120 pounds—of trash.

“We can’t thank Republic Services and all of our volunteers enough for setting a brand new collection record at this year’s Mint 400 Desert Cleanup!” said Mint 400 CEO Matt Martelli. “Jean is a popular area not only for Mint 400 spectators, but also for OHVs and other recreational use, but the way that we keep these areas usable and open for all is by making sure we’re responsible and taking care of them. The Desert Cleanup is one of the many ways we show that we don’t just want to put on a great race, we also want to leave the areas we use better than we found them. The fact that we were able to set a new collection record shows our commitment to cleaning up, but also shows how much work is left to be done. Join us in keeping these spaces clean and welcoming to all—Don’t Trash The Desert!”

"Republic Services is committed to helping keep our planet clean,” said Sustainability Ambassador, Jeremy Walters, of Republic Services. “We value our partnership with The Mint 400 and cannot thank our volunteers enough for their time and dedication over the past 7 years. As recreationists, we have a responsibility to leave nature better than we found it. Removing over 375,000 pounds of trash from some of the toughest terrain in the Mojave desert is no small feat. It is both humbling and inspiring to watch volunteers put sustainability in action year after year. We could not be more proud of the work that has taken place and look forward to continued success in 2024."

2023 marked the seventh consecutive year that Mint 400 organizers and Republic Services have teamed up for desert beautification efforts prior to the event. The inaugural Dash for Trash collected more than 14.5 tons of illegally dumped waste from the Nevada desert in 2017, and the first six years saw more than 140 tons of trash collected. Each year, the event has continued to expand, as more volunteers sign up to help and top industry sponsors encourage participation through raffles and prizes. This year’s Desert Cleanup pushed the all-time total of trash collected to 187.87 tons of trash, or 375,740 pounds.

Republic Services, Inc. is a leader in the U.S. environmental services industry. Through its subsidiaries, the Company provides superior service offerings while partnering with customers to create a more sustainable world. For more information, visit RepublicServices.com, or follow us at Facebook.com/RepublicServices, @RepublicService on Twitter or Republic Services on LinkedIn.

The Mint 400 has held the title of the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America since 1968 when it was first run. Initially, the race was a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt, but what started out as a hotel promotion soon grew into a legitimate desert race. Since its 2008 revival, “The Great American Off-Road Race” has only gotten bigger and more prestigious, and deeper fields every year only make it tougher to win.

This year’s BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 will take place from March 8-12 in Las Vegas. More information on the event for racers and spectators is available at TheMint400.com, or follow the event on Facebook and Instagram.

Source: The Mint 400

UTV class win for Dustin Jones, multiple podiums for Terrible Herbst Motorsports

When the finish line closed over the weekend in the return of the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge presented by Monster Energy at King of the Hammers, Monster Energy athletes had their hands on some of the most coveted hardware in the sport. The Terrible Herbst Motorsports team scored two class podiums in the Unlimited race, with Tim Herbst finishing second in T1 and Thor Herbst coming home third in T2, while Dustin Jones headed up the B3 Desert UTV Stock class in Limited action in the opening round of the Unlimited Off-Road Racing Triple Crown.

Since its inception, the Toyo Tires Desert Challenge presented by Monster Energy has been one of the most unique events in the sport, mixing elements of KOH’s signature rock racing with traditional desert competition. That challenge was no match for the Terrible Herbst team, though, which brought a multi-truck fleet to Hammertown and scored finishes with each. Tim Herbst’s T1 truck completed two laps of the course in 3:28:41 to take second in the division, while Thor Herbst brought the #219 T2 machine home in 3:32:19 to complete the podium.

But Pierce and EJ Herbst weren’t too far off of those times in the other two Terrible Herbst T2 machines, with Pierce ranking seventh in class at 3:40:43 and EJ just missing the top 10 with a 3:45:36. Just behind them, Cameron Steele’s switch to T2 with the #6116 Desert Assassins truck saw him finish 12th in the division, as Steele makes his annual pursuit of as many KOH podiums as possible.

The Limited race for UTVs, cars, and trucks preceded the Unlimited action, and Monster racers maintained their spots up front in that as well in a crowded field. Jones started third on the day after a stellar run in the Prologue to bring home the Desert UTV Stock class win with a time of 4:17:15, while Phil Blurton added a third place finish in Desert UTV Pro Mod at 4:18:31. Other prominent Monster-backed finishers in the Limited race included MMA legend Cowboy Cerrone, who came home 11th in Desert UTV Open, and Matt Burroughs, who rounded out the Pro Mod top 10.

The Toyo Tires Desert Challenge presented by Monster Energy marks the first of three rounds of the inaugural Unlimited Off-Road Racing Triple Crown, a cross-promotion between King of the Hammers, the Mint 400, and the California 300 to form a new premier desert racing championship. Each event will welcome one another’s race classes throughout the 2023 season as entrants across all divisions go for the inaugural Triple Crown title.
King of the Hammers continues all week from Hammertown in Johnson Valley, CA, culminating with the UTV Hammers Championship, Every Man Challenge, and Race of Kings. Be sure to follow along with live coverage as Monster Energy athletes will be going for race wins all event long!

Source: Monster Energy / Mad Media