Mint 400
The Mint 400 coined "The Greatest American Off-road Race" this is not only one the toughest off-road races in North America it's also the most sought after race to win.
The Mint400 is more than just a Race for The Merrell Brothers it has been a life long a dream to sit in the drivers seat and compete in this prestigious race. As young men they looked up to off-road legends like Mickey Thompson, Ivan Stewart, Kurt LeDuc, Rob Mac and Robby Gordon to name a few. The Merrell Brothers passion for off-road racing has kept them around the sport for over 20 years. In earlier years the boys always had cameras in their hands documenting the excitement and growth of the sport they loved. In later years they would find themselves working on video projects with the legends they once watched racing, traveling anywhere from Mexico to Dakar Rally to document the sport.
The Brothers always had a vision of one day sitting in the drivers seat and competing but with off-road racing having such a high price tag it seemed like only a fantasy. The introduction of the Polaris RZR on the scene has opened the doors not only for The Merrell Brothers but also for many Off-road enthusiasts as well to step into the Off-road racers scene.
Over the past 3 1/2 years the brothers have been competing in the Lucas Oil Regional short course racing series and wanted to expand into the desert scene.
Desert racing builds take a lot more fabrication, parts and logistics. The Merrell Brothers knew they had their hands full and a short amount of time in with the Mint 400 only a few weeks away. The Wolfpack Motorsports team spent countless hours, days and nights in preparation for this years Mint 400 working around clock in order to build the Rockstar Energy Drinks, Polaris RZR Turbo.
The Mint 400 is about hanging with our race family, friends, race fans and companies who support the industry.
"We might be older but we are still kids at heart!!!! We love this sport and even though we did not finish the race we still had the best time of our lives." - Jason Merrell
Downtown Las Vegas, Freemont Street The Rockstar Energy Drinks, Polaris RZR Turbo pulls onto the stage at the end of Contingency for fans to see.
"We as racers value this time with our racing family and get a chance to hangout with friends and the companies that support us all year long." - Jeremy Merrell
The entire Fremont experience is great with racers, companies and fans who all gather together to cheer on the racers, get up close to these awesome machines while off-road teams push the vehicles down Freemont for contingency.
At the drivers meeting it was announced that the course was set backwards this year and was going to be rougher than normal.
That evening The Merrell Brothers did some final prep on the Polaris RZR and that went to midnight and with a 3am wake up call and butterflies a goodnights rest was not on the agenda. Races start at 6am so arriving to the track at 4:30 in pitch black with to the sound of motors revving and dust rising.
The Rockstar Energy Drinks, Polaris RZR #944 Driver Jason Merrell and Co-Driver Jeremy Merrell take off the line at the crack of dawn. Once the sun started to rise over the mountains at first light, the green flag dropped in a side by side race with the competitor next to the #994 The Rockstar Energy, Polaris Rzr Turbo pulled the hole-shot in the short course style placing them in a nice lead prior to hitting the desert section.
Once the #994 Polaris RZR hit the desert it wasn't long before they started pick off cars one by one. We passed a few cars within 20 minutes that were already broken. These sections were rocky and rough. We cruised in these areas knowing that we had a long race and wanted to finish. As the race went on we made great time and kept great speeds to make passes in the technical sections of the track.
The #944 gaining speed down this rocky treacherous terrain in which one wrong move can either puncture a tire or break a crucial component.
The UTV Wolfpack #994 humming at 70-80 mph across this open dry lake-bed. Before long our pit tracking us said we were down to 9th overall and keep up the good work.
The Merrell Brothers quickly jacked up the vehicle to assess the damages, holding the RZR up with their spare GMZ Wheel. A part that would only take them 5 minutes to fix was unfortunately the part they did not have on hand. They radioed back to the pit asking crew to hand off the part they needed to another racer, after waiting 45 minutes they got news that the racer caring the part had broken down only 1 mile away. Two more vehicles would make an attempt to delivering the part only to have the same luck breaking down prior to making the final destination. The Merrell Brothers waited over 2 1/2hours until finally another car passed by tossing the spare part out of the window. They had the car together and back on the track in less than 10 minutes, as the final lugs went on the wheel the first Trophy Trucks blew past. When the boys made it to the open road Trophy trucks started passing more often and the Best in the Desert official directed them off the racecourse for safety reasons bringing their race to an end. Overall their experience was great and results impressive with a 57th to 9th place within the first lap, ending up in an unfortunate bolt that gave up at 170 miles. Next year plans are already formulating, red Loctite is going on double, while testing and race prep will be added into the equation.
This Rockstar Energy Drinks, Polaris RZR Turbo is equipped with IMS Metals, using Miller Welders, Makita Tools and Mittler Brothers Metal Working tools.
Wolfpack Motorsports Parts include: Chromoly Cage, Front A-Arms, Radius Rods, Tie-Rods, Down-Links, Steering Wheel, Sway Bar brackets, Grill, Front and Rear Bumper.
Lucas Oils Race products
GlazzKraft, RacePak, SB Filters, Trinity exhaust system, Rugged Radios & Air System, KC HiLites Flex Leds, GoPro cameras.
Wolfpack Parts: chromoly boxed Arm Kit
Summer Brothers Racing 4340 chromoly axles
Antigravity Battery
SPECIAL THANKS TO ALL OUR SPONSORS
