Ethan Ebert’s new Baja Passport will not be the only Passport in the field for this weekend’s Mint 400. A production model of the 2026 Passport TrailSport fielded by HART will take part in the Limited Race on Friday, competing in the Stock Production Truck Mini/Mid-Size class.

HART, or Honda of America Racing Team, is a group of volunteers from Honda dealerships across the United States. The team’s drivers Andrew Shapiro, Jordan Guitar, Thomas Accardo, and Craig Ackerman are all Honda engineers from Ohio.

The Honda Passport TrailSport is an off-road variant of the Passport, with the 2026 model featuring a redesign. While it still uses the same 3.5-liter V6 engine as earlier models, it produces slightly more horsepower at 285 hp and comes with a ten-speed automatic transmission rather than nine. Other changes include larger brake rotors and a stronger chassis, the latter based on the Ridgeline. The Ridgeline, despite being a pickup truck, was also the inspiration for the Passport’s redesign in 2022.

Of course, HART’s challenger is not fully identical to the stock model. Some changes are made for safety reasons like the installation of a roll cage and fuel cell. Others are to ensure it can withstand the Nevada desert like the use of 33-inch Grabber X3 tires from General Tire, three-way adjustable coilovers, and better air filtration.

It also comes with stronger skid plates and other components to protect the underbody, developed by HART with input from fabricators at the Honda Auto Development Center in Union County, Ohio.

Honda Racing Corporation will send engineers to the race to monitor its suspension.

The Passport will compete against three other cars in the Stock Production class, the others also arriving with factory support. Chad Hall will represent Chevrolet with his Colorado ZR2 while Ford Performance is entered with Brad Lovell’s F-150 Raptor and Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s Bronco.