BEST IN THE DESERT
Series
Mint 400 UTV Race
March 15, 2014
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Best in the Desert - Mint 400
- UTV Race Report
Jagged X Racing's
Brandon Schueler Wins UTV Pro Class
BEST
IN THE DESERT
Mint 400 UTV / SxS Links |
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Las Vegas, NV (4/28/2014) - The Best in the Desert series Mint 400 continues to gain momentum every year under the direction of the Mortelli Brothers, Josh and Matt. For 2014, the events leading up to the race were expanded to include a parade down Fremont Street right in the heart of downtown Las Vegas, and nearly all the racers were lined up along the side streets along with hundreds of vendors and thousands of spectators.
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Freemont Street in Las Vegas was lined with hundreds of vendors & thousands of spectators getting ready for the legendary Mint 400
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There were also some big names present in the Mint 400 truck division, including Travis Pastrana and Robbie Gordon. Even NFL star Demarcus Ware came out to play as one of the several celebrity racers that participated for the Best in the Desert Mint 400.
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Denver Broncos Defensive End, Demarcus Ware, & Redbull Signature Series Host Sale Masekela also raced in the Mint 400 |
Nitro Circus & freestyle innovator Travis Pastrana finish 4th in the BITD Trophy Truck Class |
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2014 Miss Mint 400 Dani Mathers |
FOX display on Freemont Street |
The SxS classes keep growing in events all over the country and the BITD Mint 400 had a record turnout with over 50 total entries for the 2-lap, 200 mile race. The UTV classes left the starting line on Saturday, just before sunrise, behind several of the truck divisions. The starting point was just west of Las Vegas in the town of Jean, NV. The track consisted of a mix of whoops, dry lake beds and mountainous terrain, which really challenged the SxS racers, and caused many of them to have issues over the course of the race. However, once the dust settled, it was the Jagged-X team of Brandon Schueler and Blake Van De Loo in the Polaris RZR XP 4 900 that would take the win.
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#1919 Jagged X / Polaris took over the lead in the Mint 400 in the final lap
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The Jagged-X machine was in second place after the first lap, but the team was lucky and only encountered minor issues with a flat tire, which allowed them to catch the leaders, Lonestar Racing, and pass them shortly into the second lap, and hold that lead all the way to the checkered flag. The 1919 Jagged X racing team finished with an overall time of 04:08:55.
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Jagged X / Polaris team of Brandon Schueler & Blake Van De Loo claimed their first ever Mint 400 win in their Polaris RZR XP 4 900
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“It was a great run! It was a rough course here and there, but it wasn’t bad at all. The Mint 400 win is incredible for us, it’s our first time, and we’ve been here three years and have had a bunch of bad luck, but it has finally turned around for us with the 900 machine “Old Trusty” as we like to call it,” said Shueler from the top of the podium.
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