“Respect is earned one mile at a time”, that phrase is written on the back of every medal given out at The Mint 400. This year’s race would be no different despite the winter scheduling. The Great American Race was one for the story books! Tales will be told of two Baja 1000 champion team mates (Luke McMillin & Rob MacCachren) independently fielding their own efforts and now racing door-to-door for a Mint 400 victory. In the end, only one could win, but they both wanted each other to finish. 

Mint 400 Race Recap Friday: Limited Class Racing

With parades and the Freemont Street activities finished for the week, race day was upon us. Standing in the staging lanes was the perfect anticipation builder for the day. Over the course of about an hour, rigs ranging from vintage Chenowths, Class 11 bugs, Production Class trucks, UTV’s and a six pack of military vehicles entered the lanes.

Before long, staging was completed, and the vehicles took their turns in paired starts. Every wave of the green flag started a drag race over the first jump as the drivers jockeyed for cleaner air out in the desert ahead. It didn’t take long for over eagerness to claim its first of several victims as the list of cars going straight from the infield to the pits grew as the starting line wound down. 

Unlimited Qualifying 

Running adjacent to the main track was the five-mile qualifying course for the unlimited classes. Soon, the sound of the limited race leaders coming in for their second lap was joined by the roar of the trophy trucks starting their runs. All eyes were on Luke McMillin and Rob MacCachren, who teamed up and together won the Baja 1000 win just a few weeks prior. As qualifying played out it was McMillin taking the pole for Saturday’s race followed by Robert Johnston and MacCachren third fastest.

Attention of the onlookers turned back to the limited race where most cars were nearing lap 3 and the sun was getting low in the open desert. At this point the Pro Turbo UTVs had made it clear that they were taking the overall spots for the day, but within the other classes, battles were still raging despite the high attrition rate. Overall, the day was packed with racing from the over 170 rigs that made the starting grid. The Mint 400 day one results you can be viewed here.  

Mint 400 Race Recap Saturday: Unlimited race

Day two started with a packed Moto field getting underway before the Unlimited Classes hit the grid. After the bikes were clear, the infield roared to life with horsepower, a parade lap, and a fan meet and greet. Once the crowd worked its way off the infield it was go time.

Just like on day one, drivers were eager to get the jump and into some clean air to start the race. Pulling hard off the line the Unlimited Trucks caught huge air on the first jump sending the crowd into an explosion of cheers. With the starting line clear it was time to catch up with the leaders on the course.

Race tracking showed McMillin was holding on to his early lead, and the chase was on. Out on the track the sounds of the helicopters closing in was a sure sign, the leaders were close. One by one they appeared over a large hill and ripped past my vantage point in the same order as they started. Despite the lack of wind on the track the dust was still somewhat manageable as the gaps from the start were still intact after sixty or so miles.

Twenty miles into lap 2 was the next time I’d see the main pack. Coming into a tighter section of switch backs before blasting through a road crossing, the trucks came through a little farther apart at this point. The gaps started widening out. Luke’s lead had extended out to about three minutes in bright clear desert sun. 

The Darkness Falls Over The Desert

Tailing into the end of lap two, the trucks were spreading out farther and farther. The Unlimited Buggy leaders were starting to show up in between trucks that had been held up over the first one hundred ninety miles. Over the course of about thirty minutes, the lead pack trickled through. Then I got a sample of what was to come for the remainder of the race. After a group of five racers came through in quick succession, the air started getting thick with silt and not settling. The only clue to what car was passing by, was the distinct sound of a Class 10 engine revving in the dust. I packed up and headed back to meet up with the leaders once again on track.

 As I arrived, the dust was thick, but I could still see the number 1 truck flash by. The silt was just hanging in the air by this point and the rest of the race would be run in thick clouds, lingering for minutes after each racer came through.  Despite the lack of visibility, the number 11 came barreling through the clouds. You could feel the gap was closing.

To The Victor Goes The Spoils, But They All Felt Like Winners

Back at the Finish line, the trackers showed McMillin physically ahead and the time splits making it anyone’s race with about five miles to go. Then it went dark, not the night, the light had faded hours ago, but the vehicle trackers had no movement. Both the #1 (McMillin) and #11 (MacCachren) showed stopped on course. With trackers down all eyes were on the finish line. Minutes went by, then the BFG sponsored #11 came cruising across the finish line. 

Why did the lead trackers stop? It turns out, contact between MacCachren and McMillin, with just two miles to go the incident resulted in the #1 truck rolling and the #11 stopped to help. Despite a visibly upset MacCachren at the finish there were no hard feelings. As Luke told it he had to force Rob to go on and “get your trophy” while the two trucks were still out on course.  The last two miles out of 400 decided the podium and the respect earned on those last couple of miles might have been the highest of the day.