Luke McMillin takes victory at the historic 51st running of the Mint 400 while others struggled on the demanding course.
In 1988, driving a Class 1 Chenowth powered by a Porsche 911 engine, Mark McMillin took victory at the Binion’s Mint 400. Nearly 32 years later, his youngest son, Luke, has taken the victory and brought home a historic win for the McMillin family dynasty in his six-year-old, 4WP-sponsored truck. It also marks the start of a new era of The Mint, one without the Best in the Desert (BITD) sanctioning body behind it.
The day started with the Concrete Motorsports truck on the pole and Harley Letner dominating until the head gasket let go just after the start of the third lap. This gave the lead to Ryan Arceiro in the Levi’s truck until a flat tire in the FOX Shox “Proving Grounds” took him out of the running. That flat then allowed McMillin and Bryce Menzies, the driver of the four-wheel-drive Red Bull truck and 2018 Mint 400 winner, to pass by as he was changing the tire on course during the final lap.
This crucial pass by McMillin and Menzies solidified their positions, as they would go on to finish the fourth and final lap. McMillin in first with 8:16.802 between himself and Menzies. Just over a minute later, Arceiro crossed the finish line behind Menzies. Class One saw a dominant performance from Cody Parkhouse in the 127 car with Jay Reichert finishing in second in the 111 car. “I can’t believe it!” said the 2020 Mint 400 Champion, Luke McMillin. “We worked so hard. This truck, we built it in 2014, and I can’t believe we just won the Mint 400. That’s badass!” Even with its win, the old truck will be retired and McMillin will be getting a brand new, 4WD truck to drive the rest of the 2020 season.
The 2020 running will be marked as the beginning of a new Mint 400. Instead of being a part of the Best in the Desert series, it is now a standalone race with the Martelli Brothers of Mad Media in full control. It wasn’t without a hitch as the brothers revealed that saboteurs tried to interfere with the race by removing or even moving course markers as well as jamming radio communications before both races. There was no further comment as the situation is being investigated by local law enforcement.
For some racers, the next major event is SCORE International San Felipe 250 in late March while for others it will be the BITD Silver State 300 in the beginning of April. Either way, we look forward to bringing it to you.
