The Mint 400 is the Great American Off-Road Race
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MotorTranscript
00:00 (engines revving)
00:02 - This week on Dirt Every Day,
00:20 we're going desert racing at the Mint 400.
00:22 (engines revving)
00:27 (rock music)
00:29 (engines revving)
00:32 - Woo!
00:39 (engines revving)
00:42 (engines revving)
00:56 (engines revving)
00:59 - Check it out!
01:12 We are downtown Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip.
01:15 This is the parade for the Mint 400.
01:18 We will be racing this weekend in this Toyota Tacoma.
01:22 Right there's the Camberg Trophy Truck.
01:23 We're surrounded by trophy trucks.
01:25 It reeks of race gas, it's like the best day ever.
01:29 The Las Vegas Police Department has shut down
01:32 the entire road for us,
01:34 so we're kind of like professional superstars right here.
01:37 We got people lined up on the side of the roads
01:39 waving at us.
01:40 Here we're headed down to Fremont Street,
01:42 and that's where we're gonna park all the trucks.
01:43 People are gonna come out and check 'em out.
01:45 They're gonna have a big old party.
01:47 (siren blaring)
01:49 (engines revving)
01:52 (engines revving)
01:55 That was pretty awesome.
02:03 Not every day you get to drive your race truck
02:06 down the main street of Las Vegas.
02:08 The Monster Energy Camberg, General Tire,
02:13 Fox, Wiener Schnitzel, Tacoma's doing awesome.
02:16 We were passing people the whole way down here.
02:19 Tons of fans coming out to check everything out.
02:21 I'm gonna go walk around and look at some other race cars,
02:23 go to a big party tonight.
02:25 We have four days here in Vegas before we go racing.
02:27 I can't wait.
02:28 (upbeat music)
02:31 This is day two of our Mint 400 fun.
02:37 We are out of the Las Vegas concrete jungle.
02:40 We are now up in the high desert north of Las Vegas.
02:42 Today is time trials.
02:44 This is when the top class,
02:45 the guys in the trophy trucks and the big buggies
02:47 go racing to determine their starting order
02:50 for the main race, which is Saturday.
02:52 Our little Tacoma is racing in the morning on Saturday
02:55 and we don't have to do time trials.
02:56 These guys will all be racing in the afternoon
02:58 when the course is really tore up,
03:00 but they've got huge tires, big horsepower and huge wallets.
03:04 And they're all gonna be out there battling today
03:06 to try and be the first guy off the line
03:08 come Saturday afternoon.
03:09 There's guys out here like our Camberg trophy truck
03:11 is out here.
03:12 Plus other people you've probably heard of
03:13 like BJ Baldwin, Rob McEachern, Kurt LaDuke,
03:16 and it's gonna be wicked.
03:17 We're gonna hang out today.
03:18 We're gonna watch them take off.
03:19 We got our bright yellow safety vests on
03:21 so we don't get run over.
03:22 And we're gonna see who is winning by the end of the day
03:25 to see their starting order.
03:26 (engines roaring)
03:29 All right, here goes our Camberg trophy truck.
03:42 Now what they're doing is they're staggering starts.
03:45 Every 30 seconds, they're sending another truck out.
03:47 They're doing a lap to start and learn the course.
03:50 And then they'll do their official starts later on
03:52 after everybody gets back and lined up.
03:54 So every 30 seconds, they send another truck out there.
03:57 And when you're actually doing your time trial,
03:59 you're gonna have to deal with having another truck
04:01 on the course in front of you, dealing with the dust.
04:03 So hopefully you run your first lap,
04:05 learn the course as best you can,
04:07 and then actually get to run it as fast as you can
04:09 on your second lap.
04:10 Pretty cool stuff.
04:13 All right, we're here with Matt Martelli from Mad Media.
04:15 These guys are putting on this race.
04:17 Matt, what's going on today?
04:19 Like why here?
04:20 Why are you guys doing the time trials here?
04:22 And what are we looking at?
04:23 - Start position is super important to this race
04:26 because of all the dust and the traffic.
04:29 We have 370 teams going off the start line.
04:32 So wherever you start is gonna be a huge advantage.
04:36 So we're out in an area that we call apex,
04:38 which produces some of the roughest terrain.
04:41 So it's a true test of, you know,
04:44 these guys and their vehicles.
04:46 And really it's a glimpse into what the race
04:48 is gonna be like on Saturday.
04:50 The guy who finishes first today gets to start by himself.
04:54 And then the rest of the people start two by two.
04:56 So it's a huge advantage.
04:57 - Oh, wow.
04:58 (engines revving)
05:01 (rock music)
05:03 - That was insane.
05:23 He just launched that thing.
05:24 There's giant whoops on the other side of this hill here.
05:27 And he never even stopped going through all of that.
05:29 (engines revving)
05:32 (rock music)
05:34 (engines revving)
05:37 - There you go. Never left.
06:03 Just stay in it to win it.
06:04 (engines revving)
06:07 - Most of the guys have done their lap.
06:31 I think they're gonna do one more lap
06:32 and then they're gonna head back into town.
06:34 I'm clogged up, breathing all this dirt in.
06:38 Tomorrow is Contingency.
06:39 So tomorrow we will be back at it,
06:41 hanging out downtown Fremont Street, Vegas,
06:43 checking out all the race trucks
06:44 while they all get tech inspected.
06:45 (rock music)
06:50 All right, it's day three of the Mint 400.
06:52 This is Tech and Contingency.
06:53 We are on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.
06:56 There are tons of people out here.
06:57 Everybody has come out to check out the race trucks,
06:59 all the different cars and vehicles
07:01 and all the different classes.
07:02 What they do today is they push the race trucks
07:04 down Fremont Street.
07:05 The fans get to check out everything.
07:07 And then at the end of the street,
07:08 they have tech inspection.
07:09 That's where they make sure the vehicles are legal
07:11 to race in the race tomorrow.
07:13 Tomorrow we go to war.
07:14 Today is still part of the fun.
07:16 So right here is the truck that I'll be co-driving in.
07:19 This is the Camberg Tacoma.
07:21 Camberg has a booth here.
07:22 There's a lot of companies here that have their booths.
07:24 They're showing off all their different wares.
07:25 We're gonna go in here and see what Jerry has to say
07:27 about the race truck, see if it's ready for tech
07:30 and find out what they're looking for
07:31 when they do a tech inspection.
07:33 - Hi, I'm Jerry Zaden.
07:34 We're here on Fremont Street.
07:35 It's the 2017 Mint 400 race.
07:38 It's pretty crazy.
07:39 There's 380 individual off-road race vehicles
07:43 at this year's Mint 400.
07:44 So we're here in the Camberg setup.
07:47 This is where we'll put our race vehicles on display
07:49 'cause we're a business here that sells off-road parts
07:51 and builds trucks.
07:52 You definitely need to stop by
07:54 when the Mint 400's happening
07:55 'cause it is something you definitely don't wanna miss.
07:58 So when the trucks go through tech,
08:00 you go through and there's all the different businesses
08:02 that offer up what's called contingency.
08:04 So if you run their sticker and they put up a prize,
08:07 like for us, we're doing first place, we'll give $300,
08:11 second place, 100, third, 50, and we do this for 20 classes.
08:15 We put up a decent chunk of money
08:17 if you run our logo and win.
08:20 And a bunch of businesses do different things.
08:22 You can get product, you can get support, you can get money.
08:26 Everyone will do that.
08:27 And then you get to the very end of it
08:28 and that's where they'll check your helmets,
08:30 check your driving suits.
08:31 There's a large rule book you follow.
08:33 There's a bunch of different rules.
08:34 They want roadside reflectors,
08:37 they want your horn to work,
08:38 they want your gas tank to vent properly.
08:40 They wanna look at the roll cage and fabrication,
08:43 like the quality of it and everything.
08:45 They check for all the safety gear,
08:46 make sure everything's up to par.
08:48 And they slap a sticker on it saying,
08:51 go have fun at the race, basically,
08:52 and we're ready to rock and roll.
08:59 All right, it's Saturday morning,
09:01 it's about 5.30 in the morning.
09:02 We are out at Main Pit.
09:04 We're about 15 or 30 miles south of Vegas,
09:07 right on the Nevada, California border.
09:09 This is where all the action's gonna happen today.
09:11 The guys are prepping the truck.
09:13 They're finishing up all the last minute things,
09:15 putting in cameras and bolting in
09:16 all the final preparations.
09:18 There's a group of guys that are gonna take it
09:20 on the first lap, then it's gonna come back around
09:22 and I'm gonna hop in it for the second lap.
09:23 So I'm gonna go find my race suit, my helmet,
09:25 and I'm gonna be waiting here
09:26 for them to come back after that first 100 mile lap.
09:30 - After three days soaking up the sights and sounds
09:33 of Las Vegas and the race qualifying and contingency,
09:37 it was finally time to battle for a Mint 400 finish.
09:39 It was go time.
09:41 As a desert sun dawned over Prim, Nevada,
09:48 the limited race got underway
09:49 and a wide variety of vehicles,
09:51 from stock mini and full-size trucks,
09:53 to UTVs, Ultra 4 buggies,
09:55 and highly tuned desert race cars lined up
09:57 to start their staggered races by class.
09:59 Our tough little Tacoma joined their ranks
10:03 as the 7300 stock class was called to the starting line.
10:06 But like the story of the turtle and the hare,
10:09 we were less concerned with speed,
10:10 instead setting our sights on the goal of a clean finish.
10:13 We wanted to prove the metal of this truck,
10:20 and so the whole team was planning
10:21 a conservative yet consistent run.
10:23 (upbeat music)
10:26 We waited nervously in the pits
10:40 as the first driver's team plodded along.
10:42 And though confident our taco would return,
10:45 it was hard not to get antsy as faster classes
10:47 started filing in after their first lap.
10:49 - We got race cars coming in.
10:51 How soon can I suit up
10:52 and get ready to get in the car?
10:54 - We'll probably suit up about half an hour
10:55 before they come in.
10:57 Right now I think they're at mile 35.
11:00 We started about 50 minutes
11:02 behind the current leaders who came through.
11:05 And they're doing what's called a Grand Prix finish.
11:07 So once the first guy finishes
11:10 in our whole group of morning racers,
11:12 then everyone finishes who comes into the finish line.
11:15 - We don't wanna get run over by trophy trucks.
11:17 - They're gonna pull everything off,
11:19 because there's stock class 11 bugs out there.
11:21 These are bone stock Volkswagen bugs
11:24 that are racing on them.
11:26 - If they get here in time,
11:27 we'll hop in and go on our lap.
11:29 If they don't get here before the class 10s finish,
11:31 our truck may end before we actually get in.
11:34 - That's a possibility.
11:35 It looks good right now.
11:36 - All right.
11:37 - So I think we'll be good.
11:37 - Now it's watching the clock.
11:39 So the Tacoma is about 20 to 30 minutes out.
11:46 So everybody's getting ready.
11:48 There's a lot of commotion in the pits.
11:50 We're getting my race suit on,
11:51 my helmet's getting fine tuned.
11:53 This is my neck brace.
11:54 So they're gonna attach this.
11:56 There's a bracket that attaches to here
11:57 that attaches the helmet.
11:59 So making sure that's all dialed in.
12:01 Jerry, who's gonna be driving,
12:02 he's getting suited up now.
12:04 We have a guy named Mike Sweers,
12:05 who'll be riding in the back seat.
12:06 He's from Tacoma TRD.
12:08 So he'll be riding along.
12:09 So we're gonna have a three passenger truck
12:11 for the next 100 miles.
12:12 It's gonna be a good few hours out in the desert.
12:14 So any minute now,
12:16 we're gonna see a truck roll in here
12:17 and it's gonna be mayhem.
12:18 Hop in the thing and peel out.
12:20 (upbeat music)
12:23 It's a little big.
12:24 I'll grow into it.
12:25 (upbeat music)
12:27 (upbeat music)
12:41 (engines roaring)
12:48 (upbeat music)
12:50 All right, so the truck is in.
12:59 The driver in the first round is talking to Jerry,
13:01 giving him some pointers about anything
13:02 he noticed on the course or noticed with the truck.
13:04 The pit crew is going over the truck,
13:06 making sure everything's still tight and good,
13:07 checking tires under the hood, everything like that,
13:10 splashing some fuel in it.
13:11 As soon as they give us the green light,
13:12 we're gonna hop in and peel out.
13:14 (upbeat music)
13:17 We got the crew working on the truck.
13:18 We have more time.
13:19 It's a stock truck,
13:20 so we just wanna go over everything,
13:21 make sure everything's good
13:22 because it's a four hour lap for us
13:24 versus the unlimited trick truck we run.
13:27 It's about a two hour lap.
13:28 So there's a lot more abuse that happens to trucks
13:30 if you're not skipping over everything
13:32 or driving into everything.
13:33 We're playing that by ear
13:34 and I'll get in the truck, get into the finish line
13:37 and TRD Tacoma Pro will get a race finish.
13:39 (upbeat music)
13:43 - It's right there, it's good.
13:45 - Let's go race him.
13:58 - Yeah, it's gonna be fun.
13:59 Jay did a good job.
14:00 He said that someone blasted him
14:02 on the side of the course here.
14:03 - Yeah?
14:04 - And took the mirror off.
14:05 Other than that, he said he had a great, great run.
14:07 So that's good.
14:08 - Nice.
14:09 (upbeat music)
14:11 - All right, we're on the slow section on the Mint 400,
14:16 riding into Hamburg Tacoma.
14:19 We got Mike Sweers, Jerry Ziden and Fred Williams.
14:23 Hi mom, we're being real safe.
14:25 I got my safety helmet on just like when I was a little kid.
14:28 - Does she still have the leash connected to it?
14:30 - Yeah.
14:32 The one I had had like a zapper in it.
14:33 So if I got out of control, she could shut it down.
14:36 (upbeat music)
14:38 (car engine roaring)
14:42 - Let me know if you see a resume race speed.
14:47 - I just saw one.
14:48 - Oh, you did?
14:49 - Yep.
14:50 - Fred, can you see out your mirror at all?
14:58 - Yep.
14:59 - All right, just let me know if anyone comes up on us.
15:00 - All right, I will.
15:01 - Yeah, so what Jay was saying was,
15:07 I couldn't believe how many guys passed him
15:09 and were on the side of the road in five minutes.
15:11 - Oh yeah, there was a picture on Facebook
15:13 of a class 10 car that the engine had blown out of.
15:16 - Oh wow.
15:17 - They said the engine flew 20 feet.
15:18 - Wow, that guy crashed pretty hard?
15:20 - Yeah.
15:21 - That sucks.
15:22 Yeah, so you can just see how much more
15:24 tore up it is right now.
15:25 - Oh yeah.
15:26 This is just from one lap?
15:27 - Well, the other classes have done like two
15:29 or somewhere on their third lap.
15:31 - Oh yeah.
15:32 (upbeat music)
15:37 - It looks like we're gonna go around that mountain
15:39 right here and catch back up over there somewhere.
15:43 Oh, look at all the rocks.
15:44 We love these.
15:46 This is where a lot of guys lose races.
15:51 - Yeah.
15:52 - All these rocks is like--
15:54 - Eat tires.
15:55 - They just eat tires.
15:56 So my whole philosophy is like,
15:58 okay, say I can go 35, okay, you go about 25, 30,
16:03 get through it.
16:04 This is like the worst part of the course is going backwards.
16:09 Yeah, so a lot of these rocks are getting
16:12 way more exposed too.
16:13 And then after the trophy trucks come through here,
16:15 it's third lap, it's brutal.
16:18 (upbeat music)
16:20 - Somebody's behind us.
16:30 - Did they just hit us?
16:32 - Yeah.
16:33 - They're not supposed to hit us.
16:34 - I'll start checking them here more often.
16:37 - Yeah, you can see how much faster they go.
16:42 - Oh yeah.
16:43 - He didn't hit us very hard, just so you know.
16:46 - Yeah.
16:46 - It's cool 'cause all those little trucks
16:48 have our suspension.
16:49 I don't know, did you look at the tires when we got in?
16:56 - They didn't look too tore up.
16:57 - They look good, huh?
16:57 - Yeah.
16:58 (upbeat music)
17:01 (truck engine roaring)
17:04 - We got somebody on our tail.
17:08 (upbeat music)
17:11 - He didn't pun us too bad.
17:22 - Yeah.
17:23 - You really gotta go for a ride in the trophy truck.
17:25 - I know, this must be killing you.
17:27 - I'm just Sunday drive right now.
17:29 - I know, like compared to your normal office.
17:33 - But this is what you would do, you know?
17:34 Like you're in a stock truck and it's surprising
17:38 'cause when you get in a bone stock truck,
17:40 you couldn't even drive through here.
17:41 - Yeah.
17:42 - That's the crazy part.
17:43 - Or you'd just be like.
17:44 (truck engine roaring)
17:45 - Yeah.
17:46 - We got another one coming up behind us, not there yet.
17:48 (upbeat music)
17:51 (truck engine roaring)
17:54 - Kind of hard to hold the gas pedal like halfway down.
18:13 - Oh yeah.
18:13 (laughing)
18:14 - All the way or nothing.
18:15 If I knew this road, we could rip this road,
18:18 but man, I just don't wanna hit a rock.
18:20 - Yeah, I think we're going around this corner.
18:23 (upbeat music)
18:25 - So right when you think you're finishing
18:43 and you're getting to get there,
18:45 then they put you back in the rocks.
18:47 (upbeat music)
18:50 (truck engine roaring)
19:18 - At the finish line, at the finish line.
19:21 - After two laps of rocks and sand and desert abuse,
19:26 we rolled into the finish line.
19:27 Our plan had worked flawlessly,
19:29 race at a Sunday drive pace
19:31 and get to the finish in one piece.
19:33 On a course littered with broken race cars,
19:35 it was awesome to make it to the end
19:37 in a running driving truck.
19:38 Sure, we had no heroic long jumps or two wheel drive saves,
19:42 but we did have a truck that crossed
19:44 under the checkered flag.
19:46 And that's pretty hard to beat
19:47 when recounting race stories.
19:48 (upbeat music)
19:51 - That was awesome.
19:58 Awesome time.
19:59 That was so much fun.
20:04 Abusive, abusive course, lots of rocks.
20:09 But the Tacoma was so much fun to ride in.
20:14 It's the first race track I've been in
20:15 with air conditioning.
20:17 We were bashing through some rocks,
20:19 tons of stuff broken down out there.
20:21 I was watching the mirror,
20:22 making sure guys weren't gonna nerf us from behind.
20:24 We had a good time.
20:26 Jerry's a great driver.
20:27 Mike in the back from TRD was keeping track of,
20:30 I don't know, taking notes
20:31 for his next Monday morning Toyota meeting.
20:33 So overall, it was an awesome time.
20:36 That's it for Dirt Every Day.
20:38 We're gonna go celebrate.
20:39 (upbeat music)
20:41 (engine revving)
20:44 - That's so cool.
21:00 Selling everything and buying a trophy truck.
21:04 (dramatic music)