Every vehicle is an adventure. United by horsepower. These are literally two of our taglines. And by this, we mean there’s a hugely diverse array of vehicles out there; we thrive on all sorts of different rigs. I attended my first Mint 400 race last week, and I’m happy to say, this is a an event with a wide variety of race cars to keep me totally overstimulated—and it was awesome.

I was there to cover the Chevrolet Silverado EV ZR2 concept. But I couldn’t help but get caught up in the festival atmosphere. The vehicular diversity was also fantastic. From high-end trophy trucks, to Volkswagen-powered dune buggies, motorcycles to near-stock Class 11 Volkswagen Bugs—the Mint 400 had a little bit of everything.

Tech Inspection and the Mint 400 Festival

My Mint 400 trip started on Wednesday with a parade of racers escorted down the Las Vegas Strip. But the next day is when we got up close to some of the iconic race’s entries. This included the Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) Passport, which looked amazing. This is, however, a new 2026 Passport body/skin on the existing Ridgeline tube chasses. Regardless, it had an awesome style.

Throughout the day, vehicles come through the narrow street lined with vendors, food trucks, and off-road enthusiasts en route to their mandatory tech inspection. But there are also cars simply on display. For example …

An off-road late 1970s Cadillac? Yes indeed. This was sheer ridiculousness, and I loved every inch of it. I believe it’s a 1977 or 1978 Seville with 4WD running gear and a big hairy-chested V8 in the engine bay.

As you can see, this is eight cylinders of go-fast Cadillac.

There are desert race cars, and then there’s this 1949 Willys from Cody Sears Racing. It is bone-stock except for the off-road tires and safety stuff. This was in one of the vintage classes and it’s freaking amazing. I hope he has a good chiropractor.

There were also motorcycles aplenty, such as these guys who were walking their bikes to tech.

This 1966 Ford F100 car driven by Robin Tulleners was simply oozed with character.

While this might not have been a racer, it was still one of my favorite vehicles. This 1926 Ford Model T rolls on BFGoodrich KM3 mud-terrain tires. It belongs to Scott Johnson, aka @squirrel_wurx. I pretty much love everything about this off-road hot rod.

Lots of Volkswagens Racers

Volkswagen is no stranger to off-road racing. The Beetles and dune buggies powered by the venerable air-cooled powerplants have been competing in desert races for decades, and there were plenty on display and in the race.

Here’s one of the originals, which was in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame booth. This single-seat buggy was built by John McNair and driven by Corky McMillin, and is powered by a VW engine. This car helped turn McMillin Racing into a veritable off-road racing dynasty

With big tires and big shocks, this isn’t your average VW Bug. This Class 5 Unlimited buggy driven by Tevon Murachanian embraces old-school cool with new-school know-how. What a Bug!

The Class 11 Beetles are possibly everyone’s favorite. With only limited modifications allowed, these guys really get after it when the green flag drops. One of my favorites is Tortuga, aka tortoise in English. With the shell graphic on the roof, you know it might not be the fastest car at The Mint, but it embodies the spirit of the Class 11 Volkswagens to a T.

You’ve got to love this classic Baja Beetle racer Kazunori Kizu from Tokyo. The Mint 400 truly is an international affair.

Harlen Mitchell and Woodrow Pittman came from my state, Oregon, to run the Mint 400 in this blue Class 11 VW.

The Boyer Boyz Racing buggy, with a 1,600cc VW engine, coming off of a jump at the start of the 2025 Mint 400. The track was located in Primm, Nevada.

A couple of Class 5 VWs duke it out shortly after the race’s start. Class 5 allows far more modifications to a VW Bug than the more stock-oriented Class 11.

The Mint 400’s Trucks and SUVs

Most people think of trucks and SUVs when they think of desert racing nowadays, and there were plenty. Some had big budgets, others—not so much. But there were some cool rigs, no matter the cost.

I was with Chevrolet to cover this vehicle, the Silverado EV ZR2 race truck concept driven by off-road legend, Chad Hall, son of off-road icon, Rod Hall. This all-electric rig made gobs of power, weighed nearly 10,000 lbs., and even crossed the finish line with 40% battery left. A very cool concept and possibly the future of off-road racing.

The classic Chevrolet vs Ford battle as Hall Racing’s, Chris Woo, battles against Ford Performance’s Loren Healy for the holeshot into the desert.

While Bailey Campbell might be best for her Ultra4 and King of the Hammers racing, she took to this Ford Bronco for the Mint 400 to get down in the desert.

Car 4623—another Bronco—was driven by John Willilams of the Ford Performance Racing School team.

Honda entered a 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport in this year’s race. The Honda of America Racing Team (HART) unveiled this racer at the 2025 Mint 400. It was minimally modified with 33″ tires, adjustable coilovers, and improved powertrain cooling and air filtration along with safety mods.

Including the 8171 car, there were a total of one Porsche Cayenne in the Mint 400 this year. This one was driven by Chad Allender. I love to see unique stuff like this on the track!

Everyone knows googly eyes make everything better, but the V100 vintage Ford Bronco was pretty cool even before the googly eye headlamps. This old Bronco was driven by Eric Pond.

I have to include one of these long-travel trucks.This is the 1499 Toyota of Jordan Maxwell which may have been driven by Cy Villegas. It was in the Open Production Full Sized or Mini Truck Class. They also must have a production steel body.

Many Other Classes

There are 50 different classes at the Mint 400. There is even classes for military vehicles.

Yes, this was a race car, specifically a race Oshkosh-made MRAP (Mine Resistant ambush protected) vehicle. It competed in the Modern Military class.

There was no shortage of UTVs at the Mint 400; in fact there may have been more UTVs than any other style of vehicle. And yes, the start line blows fire out of the two towers.

We were in the pits in time for several UTVs to come buzzing through.

The Mint 400 is The Great American Off-Road Race

This race debuted in the late 1960s, it died off in 1988, and was revived in 2008. It continues now as one of the most beloved races in North America, especially among off-road enthusiasts. I hope to be able to go back some day, or compete in it. It’s truly an all-American race with an international flavor and lots to offer in terms of motorsports and car culture.