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Justin Lofton Makes History With Third BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 Victory

2015 and 2016 winner takes unofficial 2019 victory by 2:56 over Brett Sourapas

Justin Lofton returned to the top step of the Best in the Desert podium on Sunday afternoon with an impressive victory at the 2019 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400. Lofton, who bested a field of dozens of the world’s top off-road racers, unofficially became the first driver in history to win three Mint 400s when he wheeled his #41 Unlimited Truck to the finish line. Lofton claimed $35,000 in combined bonuses from BFGoodrich Tires and Fox Shocks for earning the overall victory in this year’s Great American Off-Road Race.

“This is awesome,” Lofton said from atop the podium. “It takes a whole crew, and we’ve got some great partners, and they won this race. These big checks look good in the shop, but we’re going to get ready for the next race after this. We’ve got more races to win!”

Lofton started fourth in the Unlimited Truck field, entering the 119-mile course side by side with 2018 top qualifier Harley Letner to start the feature race. Initially, the entire field was chasing defending Mint 400 winner Bryce Menzies, whose new all-wheel drive truck paced Method Race Wheels Time Trials on Thursday. But Lofton quickly established himself as Menzies’ top rival, and the two traded the race lead multiple times on corrected time during the three-lap race.

However, things unraveled for Menzies on the final lap, beginning with a flat tire and subsequent issues in changing it. That enabled Lofton to take the lead for good, while more trouble for Menzies relegated the Las Vegas native well outside of the podium battle. He wasn’t the only one, though, as 2017 winner Rob MacCachren also punctured a tire after hitting a rock on the final lap while within striking distance of the overall lead.

22-year-old Brett Sourapas, winner of the season-opening Parker 425, drove a consistent and clean race to take second, just two minutes and 56 seconds behind Lofton. Multi-time Best in the Desert champion Jason Voss, still seeking his first Mint 400 win, took third, while Cody Parkhouse followed up on his top qualifying time in Class 1500 by earning the victory on Sunday afternoon as well.

“This year’s BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 was another spectacular running of the Great American Off-Road Race,” said Mint 400 CEO Matt Martelli. “Congratulations to Justin Lofton on a hard-fought victory, and to all of this year’s class winners and finishers. We’re grateful to all of our sponsors and partners who helped us put together such a terrific celebration of off-road racing, from Wednesday’s parade down the Las Vegas Strip to tonight’s exciting finish to our Unlimited Truck race. We already can’t wait for 2020 as we look to take the Mint 400 to yet another level next year!”

About The Mint 400
Known as “The Great American Off-Road Race™,” The Mint 400 is the most celebrated, prestigious, and challenging off-road race on the planet. This annual four-hundred mile marathon between the top off-road racers in the world includes over four hundred and fifty race teams in twenty-four different classes of off-road vehicles. Established in 1968, The Mint 400 is steeped in American lore. Thousands of racers and celebrities from around the world have attempted to tame the brutal Nevada desert, but less than half of them have ever finished the Mint. An entire week of events lead up to the famed off-road contest in and around Las Vegas, including a vehicle parade down the Las Vegas Strip, a drivers meet and greet, a pit crew challenge contest, the Miss Mint 400 beauty pageant, massive parties, a qualifying race, and a huge ten-block “contingency” gathering on Fremont Street East. Over forty-thousand spectators gather to watch the world’s best off-road race teams do battle at The Mint 400!

About Mad Media
Established in 1995, Mad Media is a San Diego based marketing and creative agency, specializing in adrenalized film and television production. Owners Matt and Josh Martelli have spent over two decades crafting authentic, culturally engaging brand messages in print, web, photography, and film platforms for some of the worlds top brands including Red Bull, BFGoodrich Tires, and Polaris Industries. Mad Media’s viral film projects, such as the Gymkhana series and XP1K series, have been viewed hundreds of millions of times. From their early days as pioneers of branded viral video content for skateboard companies Osiris and Expedition, to their most recent work spreading the gospel of off-road racing with the world famous Mint 400, Mad Media remains a powerhouse pioneer of digital media.

March 11, 2019
Justin Lofton Wins The 2016 Polaris RZR Mint 400 presented by BFGoodrich Tires

Lofton makes history by winning The Mint 400 back-to-back

Justin Lofton piloted his Jimco built unlimited Trick Truck nicknamed “Bad Co.” to the overall win at the The 2016 Polaris RZR Mint 400 presented by BFGoodrich Tires with an official time of 05:36:10.647. With his second Mint 400 win in a row, Lofton makes history being the first competitor to win on 4 wheels back-to-back in The Mint 400’s 49 year history. After over 360 miles of intense off-road warfare, Lofton finished 42 seconds ahead of two time Mint 400 Champion, Andy McMillin. The 2016 Mint 400 had 50 Unlimited Trick Trucks and 27 Class 1 cars, making the largest and most competitive race of the year. (more…)

March 15, 2016
Baja Designs Racers Justin Lofton and Sam Berri Victorious at the 2015 Polaris RZR Mint 400 presented by General Tire

The 2015 Polaris RZR Mint 400 presented by General Tire will undoubtedly go down in history books as one of the most competitive races in recent off-road history. Fifty-one Trick Trucks and thirty-four Class 1500’s rolled in to Sin City ready to throw down on the brutal Best in the Desert race course. After a momentary stoppage in the race due to a multi-vehicle collision, it was apparent that The Great American Off-Road Race would carry on past dusk, shifting the focus to visibility into the night. With the help of Baja Designs Off-Road Performance Lighting, Justin Lofton, Sam Berri and Brett Sourapas were able to push until the end and secure the Overall Victory and 1st place in Class 1500 and Class 6100, respectively.

After making the move up from Class 1500 to the Trick Truck Class, Justin Lofton has proven his newly built Jimco Trick Truck can race with the best. As if the deteriorating Mint 400 race course wasn’t tough enough, racers had to quickly shift to nighttime strategies after the first stoppage of a race in Best in the Desert history forced the race to push further into the night. A Baja Designs OnX6 Racer Edition Arc Series LED Light Bar guided Lofton over the finish line after completing the 400 mile course in just under six hours, 7 minutes ahead of the 2nd place finisher Robby Gordon.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Lofton said. “We set our sights on doing this and here we are. This race is the one you want to win.”

Similar to Justin Lofton, Sam Berri also has a brand new Jimco Class 1500 built for the 2015 season which has been outfitted with Baja Designs OnX6 Racer Edition LED Light Bars and Squadron Pro auxiliary lights. Berri ran a flawless race and was 1st to the finish line with an official time of 06:24:27.431.

“My crew came together. I couldn’t have done it without everybody who got involved in helping put this thing together and made it worth winning The Mint!” commented Berri at the finish line. “Baja Designs played a huge part in this win, allowing me to keep my pace into the night and hold off Parkhouse hot on my tail.”

The list of accomplished Baja Designs racers with strong finishes at the 2015 Mint 400 doesn’t stop there. Tavo Vildosola was a frontrunner the entire day and finished 5th overall. Tavo finished the race just seventeen minutes off Lofton’s pace. Dan, Luke and Andy McMillin also demonstrated the effectiveness of Baja Designs Lighting with 6th, 7th and 13th place overall finishes.

Hot off their win at the BITD Parker 425 earlier this year, TSCO Racing’s Gary Weyhrich finished with an impressive 8th place at the Mint 400. Baja Designs racers secured 8 of the top 10 positions in the combined overall rankings in addition to top tier finishes in Trick Truck, Class 1500 and Class 6100 placing Baja Designs in the forefront of the off-road lighting industry.

Trick Truck Top Ten Overall Results with Baja Designs Lights:

1st – #41 Justin Lofton
3rd – #6 Sourapas Motorsports
5th – #21 Gustavo Vildosola Jr.
6th – #23 Dan McMillin
7th – #83 Luke McMillin
8th – #98 Gary Weyhrich
9th – #1549 Sam Berri
10th – #1532 Cody Parkhouse

Fourteen seconds separated Berri from Baja Designs teammate, Cody Parkhouse. Parkhouse was fourth fastest at qualifying and went on to contest Berri as the two lead 1500 vehicles. Terrain conditions combined with Berri’s pace was too much for Parkhouse, who ultimately ended up in second place in Class 1500.#6119 Brett Sourapas secured Baja Designs a third win at The Mint in the 6100 Class with his dominating 06:48:47.691 run, over twenty minutes faster than second place. After winning the opening Best in the Desert race in Parker, AZ, this was Sourapas’ first finish at night in 2015. With the help of the farthest projecting LED light bar in the industry, Sourapas is now 2 for 2 after winning the 2015 Mint 400. Baja Designs advocates, #6103 David Kleiman and #6183 Jeff Terzo, rounded out the podium with 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the 6100 Class.

About Baja Designs:

For 20+ years Baja Designs (BD) has engineered revolutionary ways to stay at the forefront of motorcycle and automotive lighting. The first product developed was a Dual Sport kit that made a pure off road motorcycle minimally street legal. This intimate knowledge of motorcycle electrical capabilities led to a natural evolution to engineer the first HID motorcycle race light. Owner/Lead engineer Alan Roach and Product Development Engineer Stephen “Tex” Mitchell were avid Baja 1000 motorcycle racers who were able to fine tune a motorcycle’s limited light optics to maximize rider comfort, speed and safety. As a result, Baja Designs (BD) has won every professional and amateur motorcycle and ATV Baja 1000 class for over 15 years.

As their engineers and racers advanced to truck and buggy racing, the next evolution began. The engineers quickly adapted their race winning HID motorcycle lights to their new race vehicles. With amazing speed, Baja Designs (BD) HID lights were adopted by the vehicle race community and could be found on the majority of Baja 1000 winning vehicles. In the process, Baja Designs (BD) engineers became well known as “The Scientists of Lighting” and were sought out by professional race teams to develop and aim their vehicle lighting.

LED lights were the next natural evolution of lighting and Baja Designs (BD) was the first company to develop a forward projecting LED light bar that was introduced and raced in the 2005 Baja 1000. That original LED light bar has evolved into a line of the highest performing and race winning LED lights on the market.
Revolutionizing industry leading lights is not just a job at Baja Designs (BD), but a lifelong passion for both their owners and employees. The Baja Designs (BD) product line is dedicated to being BRIGHTER, BOLDER, and BETTER, which is why they truly are “The Scientists of Lighting”.

About Mad Media

Mad Media (www.madmedia.com) is a San Diego based marketing and creative agency, with in-house film and television production. We craft authentic, culturally engaging brand messages, and deliver them across print, web, photography, and film platforms. Mad Media has been leading the online content revolution since 1995 producing major commercial, television, online content and viral film projects such as The Gymkhana Series and XP1K Series.

March 19, 2015
Justin Lofton takes overall win in the 2015 Polaris RZR Mint 400, presented by General Tire

No. 41 Trick Truck driver Justin Lofton took the overall win in the 2015 Polaris RZR Mint 400, presented by General Tire, based on unofficial time.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Lofton said. “We set our sites on doing this and here we are.”

Tracking issues had fans uncertain who would be first across the finish line until Lofton, in his brand new Jimco truck, cleared the Red Bull Jump at the race’s end.

“We had a cleaner run than a lot of people had,” he said. “This truck is fast. This is (just) the second race for the truck. We were leading the Parker 425 before we had issues.”

Lofton was followed across the finish line by Robby Gordon in the No. 77 Trick Truck.

“We just ended up a little short here today,” Gordon said. “The truck ran flawlessly all day long.”

Gordon lost time on a tire change when the crew rounded off a couple of lug nuts.

The afternoon Unlimited race was stopped for about an hour following a multi-vehicle accident near RM32 that sent two racers to the hospital. The racers, whose names were not released, were taken to a local hospital and vehicles were removed from the course before racing resumed at 4:45 p.m.

“The safety of our racers is paramount,” said Mint 400 CEO Matt Martelli. “Best In The Desert officials stopped the race immediately upon learning of the accident and only resumed after the injured were treated and the vehicles removed from the course.”

Sam Berri took top honors in the 1500 Class on unofficial time, driving the brand new Jimco Class 1.

“This is for everyone involved in building the car.” I’m out here to give these younguns a run for their money,” said the 62 year old.

Full official results will be released soon.

About The Polaris RZR Mint 400, presented by General Tire
Known as “The Greatest Off-Road Race in America,” The Mint 400 is an epic four hundred mile battle between the top off-road racers in the world in over twenty different classes of off-road vehicles. The race was started in 1967, and is steeped in American lore, as thousands of racers, as well as celebrities from around the world, have attempted to tame the brutal Nevada desert. An entire week of events lead up the famed off-road race in and around Las Vegas, including a vehicle parade, drivers meet and greet, pit crew contest, crowning of Miss Mint, multiple parties, qualifying, and contingency / vehicle tech inspection.

About Mad Media
Mad Media (www.madmedia.com) is a San Diego based marketing and creative agency, with in-house film and television production. We craft authentic, culturally engaging brand messages, and deliver them across print, web, photography, and film platforms. Mad Media has been leading the online content revolution since 1995 producing major commercial, television, online content and viral film projects such as The Gymkhana Series and XP1K Series.

March 15, 2015