The Mint 400 was in full force today with three great events that had fans excited and having a good time. Right after the time trials finished teams headed over to the Rugged Radios Meet & Greet where people were able to get autographs from their favorite racers and take photos to remember the Mint forever. Steve Strobel, Jerry Zaiden and Jason Coleman were a few of the drivers on hand to help spread the love of offroad.
Today we also crowned a new Miss Mint who join the likes of past Miss Mint’s Vanna White and Lynda Carter, along with recent winners Dani Mathers and Taylor Cox. Your 2015 Miss Mint is none other then the beautiful Amy Scott of Solona Beach, CA. Of 6 final contestants Amy was selected to represent The Mint 400 for the next year, and in doing so will take home $5,000 to go along with the title of 2015 Miss Mint.
The final event of the night at the Mint Experience was the KMC Wheel Pit Crew Challenge Presented by Mystik Lubricants. 4 Class 1500 teams and 10 Trick Trucks battled to take home some great prizes from Fox Shox, Impact Safety, KMC Wheels, Mystic Lubricants, and 212 Performance Gloves. To have a great team it doesn’t just take a great driver but a team behind them, and that is what the Pit Crew Challenge shows us. With racing so competitive nowadays a pit stop can win or lose a race, and having a crew that can handle that stress is key to winning.
This year to help speed things up all teams went one time (side by side along another vehicle) and it was the two best times who would go on to a sudden death match with another team. Some teams liked the new format because it was a do or die, if you don’t lay down a fast run you go home early.
The favorites going into the event were the teams of TSCO Racing (last years winner), Menzies Motorsports, and Jesse Jones team, but it was a team who qualified last night to grab a spot who took home the trophy. Steve Strobel and crew laid down a faster time in the head to head final with Steve Olliges, but two loose lug nuts would give them a 10 second penalty, and with that the win would go to Olliges. In Class 1500 the COPS Racing crew helped put Steve Hengiveld’s car on top against Ryan Hancock and crew.
Don’t forget that you can follow the 2015 Polaris RZR Mint 400 Presented by General Tire LIVE by visitinghttp://www.race-dezert.com/live
