Householder, Anderson, Campbell/Brabec crowned winners of the Great American Off-Road Race

The biggest event in American off-road racing got even bigger and better for 2024, as the BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 returned to Las Vegas with a massive presence once again. From a wide-range of popular pre-race festivities to multiple days of racing featuring 432 teams and over 1100 competitors, the event once again asserted itself as “The Great American Off-Road Race” to tens of thousands of attendees.

“The 2024 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 continues to grow and set records year over year. Our aggressive style of marketing is bringing new fans every year.,” said Mint 400 CEO Matt Martelli. “We can’t say thank you enough to everybody who came together to make this race what it was, from all of our crew and volunteers keeping things running behind the scenes to the partners and racers that put on such an amazing show. Special thanks to all the racers, celebrities, and athletes who helped promote ‘The Great American Off-Road Race.’ We’re already working hard on taking the Mint to another level for 2025, and we can’t wait to see everyone back next year!”

This year’s Mint 400 festivities began two weekends early with the return of the Republic Services Mint 400 Desert Cleanup presented by Sylvania Off-Road, where more than 200 volunteers collected more than 84,000 pounds of illegally discarded waste, the second-highest total in event history. Over nearly a decade, Mint 400 Desert Cleanup efforts have collected well over 458,000 pounds of trash, keeping the desert clean and usable for all.

Race week events kicked off on Wednesday with the return of the Mint 400 Vehicle Parade down the Las Vegas Strip, where tens of thousands of spectators watched as Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Famer and former Mint 400 winner Ivan Stewart led hundreds of off-road vehicles valued at a combined tens of millions of dollars to Fremont Street East, where the Mint 400 Kickoff Party returned to Atomic Liquors. Wednesday’s events culminated with the return of the Mint 400 Dinner of Champions to Oscar’s Steakhouse for the second consecutive year, where over 100 off-road luminaries and key sponsors enjoyed a multi-course meal and the debut of Mistura, the Official Wine of the Mint 400, produced by Doffo Winery under the Motodoffo label.

 

On Thursday, all 432 entries and dozens of the top brands in off-road returned to Fremont Street for the Mint 400 Off-Road Festival, as the tech and contingency line once again spilled into the Fremont Street Experience. Tens of thousands of off-road fans got their first chance to see this year’s entries up close and pick up the newest Mint 400 merchandise while Breaking in a Sequence, Stillwell, The Dollheads, and Minor Strut rocked the Llama Lot as part of a full weekend of shows.

The action would move to the Primm Valley Resort and Casino on Friday for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race. Friday’s race once again featured one of the most unique entry lists in all of racing, from the Class 10 cars and pro UTVs battling at the front of the field to vintage off-road racers, military vehicles, and even production electric vehicles. When all was said and done, UTV Pro Open racer Ronnie Anderson took the first major overall win of his desert racing career, beating Class 10 winner Tyler Mills for overall top honors by just 56 seconds after 400 miles of racing!

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Also on course on Friday were the top Unlimited racers in off-road, competing in Qualifying for their starting spots in Saturday’s Unlimited Race. 2022 Mint 400 Unlimited Race winner Kyle Jergensen paced the Unlimited Truck SPEC entries in the first session, outqualifying Troy Grabowski by just 2.6 seconds. In the second session for Unlimited Trucks and Class 1 cars, Conner McMullen’s 4:05.7 looked like it would hold for most of the session, until Nic Whetstone threw down a 3:57.2 to become the only racer to break the four-minute barrier and earn the right to start the race on his own.

The Mint 400 “Motorcycle Race” 2024

Saturday’s action kicked off bright and early with the return of the Mint 400 Motorcycle Race. 2023 California 300 winner Preston Campbell and 2019 Mint 400 and two-time and defending Dakar Rally winner Ricky Brabec teamed up to score a dominant victory. Saturday also saw the conclusion of two days of Youth Races, as future stars of the sport like Declan Shields, Mason Cotter, and Brody Berhorst claimed victories on the weekend.

Saturday’s Unlimited Race saw plenty of drama as Unlimited Truck racers Ryan Arciero and Householder established themselves as the racers to beat. With packed remote spectating areas as well as a sold-out start/finish, midway the racers put on one of the most thrilling door-to-door off-road races in recent history. On the second of four laps, they crossed the timing lines within mere seconds of one another before Arciero took an extended pit stop to fix mechanical issues. He’d respond by driving hard to carve into Householder’s 15-minute lead, but another setback on the final lap decided the win. The win marked Householder’s third consecutive class victory in UNLTD races. He would eventually be joined on the overall podium by Jergensen and Grabowski, the top two finishers in the SPEC class. The night concluded with a free concert for all attendees by psychedelic rock trio King Buffalo, who played the Great American Off-Road Race for the first time.

The 2024 UNLTD Off-Road Racing season will conclude with the third annual California 300, returning to Barstow, California on October 2-6. More information, including race sign-ups and exhibitor information when available, can be found at thecalifornia300.com.

About The Mint 400

The Mint 400 is the oldest and most prestigious off-road race in America, and is held each March in the treacherous foothills of Sin City. The multi-day event features a massive vehicle parade down the world famous Las Vegas Strip, a two day festival on historic Fremont Street, and two days of grueling off-road racing on a desolate and punishing 400-mile racecourse. Nearly 65,000 off-road and recreational enthusiasts come to watch 500 race teams in 50+ classes from 25 different states and 15 different countries go door to door, while the Livestream coverage is beamed to over 800,000 viewers worldwide.  No other off road race allows fans the thrilling experience of watching the top off-road race teams from around the world battle for fame and glory, in a festival setting – complete with a luxury VIP section. The Mint 400 is “The Great American Off-Road Race”!

About UNLTD Off-Road Racing

The Unlimited Off-Road Racing league was formed by The Martelli Brothers in 2023 after more than a decade of successful desert off-road race promotion, including The Mint 400, The UTV World Championship and The California 300. The league was formed to promote the sport of desert off-road racing, the off-road industry, and to expand the reach of off-road companies beyond the industry and into the homes of every off-road race fan, globally. Key attributes of the newly formed league include large racer car counts, competitive and challenging race courses, safe and family-friendly spectating areas, multiple days of racing and off-road festivities all located near major cities and markets that positively affect the off-road industry. The Martelli Brothers, owners of the motorsports powerhouse production group Mad Media have made it their mission to grow the league into a four race series that showcases the best off-road racers on the best courses in North America.