Brock Heger is on a generational run. After being the top UTV at the Baja 1000 to win the 2024 SCORE International Pro UTV Open title, he scored the SSV win at the Dakar Rally then two more victories at King of the Hammers.

On Friday, he added yet another trophy, this time at the biggest desert race in the United States. Heger set the fastest overall time to clinch the Mint 400’s Limited Race, heading a Polaris podium sweep ahead of RZR Factory Racing teammate Cayden MacCachren and fellow Dakar racer Mitch Guthrie.

“It’s cool looking back,” said Heger. “There’s a lot of big races there and it sure feels good, but for me, I’m just looking forward to the next event. We’re going down to Mexico (for SCORE) soon so I’m just focused there and hopefully we can keep doing cool stuff.”

After qualifying second among those in Group 2 (UTV Pro Open and Class 10), Heger went on the offensive from the start by immediately passing fastest qualifier Cody Bradbury. Despite an army of Class 5 and Class 10 cars—20, to be exact—in front of him from there, he quickly worked his way through the order to be the fastest car after one lap.

Heger enjoyed squaring off with the Class 10s since “they are completely different cars. I’ve driven one, they go fast. It’s fun battling with them. As the day went on, my biggest question to our team was, ‘Hey, what are the 10 car times?’ I know that’s a battle that’s been ongoing and we couldn’t let them beat us here at the Mint.”

He never lost the lead for the remaining three laps, though things “got a little interesting” as the race wore on due to lapped traffic. MacCachren moved up to second on the final lap but was seven minutes back.

Polaris enjoyed a banner day. Besides the podium, RZRs locked out the top six for UTVs with RFR’s Max Eddy Jr. ahead of clients Branden Sims and Ryan Piplic. Eddy also beat the Class 10 of Carib Potts by four minutes for fourth overall and thus earning a Polaris 1–2–3–4. Austin Campana won UTV Stock in a class where all but fourth-placed Paul Fitzgerald was in a RZR.

Of course, it was not all good news from the Polaris camp. Ethan Groom and defending Limited Race winner Ronnie Anderson both retired with mechanical failures, the former exiting in his debut for RZR Factory Racing.

While rival Can-Am had its share of class wins, it was a difficult Friday at the office. Joe Terrana initially won UTV Pro while Todd Zuccone was runner-up in UTV Stock Modified R but they were both disqualified since their suspension and/or axle parts, which are stock or OEM replacements, were ruled to be too wide in post-race inspection. Can-Am UTV Pro drivers Michael Mack and Kaden Wells along with Modified R racers Rick Ness and Ethan Sullivan were also excluded from the results for the same reasons.

The UTV Pro Maverick R of Dustin Jones crashed into the slower Stock Jeep of Zachary Forsberg to end his day. Sara Price’s Maverick R Rip & Dip Edition caught fire after the oil line fell off while she was leading Pro Stock by 25 minutes. Justin Von Metal capitalized on Price’s DNF to win the class for Polaris.

Can-Am salvaged some class wins courtesy of Jeff Martin (Pro), Jason Murray (Stock Modified R), Cody Piscitelli (Stock Modified), and Zach Quiroz (Pro Turbo). Martin was the highest overall Maverick in 11th.

Although the UTV rivalry is traditional Can-Am vs. Polaris, other manufacturers were present and showed out too. Corbin Leaverton, who contested the Dakar Rally for the first time in January, topped UTV Pro NA in his Honda Talon debut; incidentally, last year’s class winners Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes are also Dakar veterans. Max Gordon’s SPEED was the fastest in Group 1 qualifying before he and Robby Gordon were set back by vehicle problems. Still, the Gordons went the distance and finished tenth in Pro Turbo.

Carson Wernimont’s new RWD Racing Kawasaki retired. Wrestling great Stone Cold Steve Austin and GFI Racing teammate Zach Kisman were also in Kawasakis, though neither was able to run all four circuits either. Kisman’s #1941 Teryx KRX 1000 encountered engine problems on the final lap, so Austin—also a lap down and last in UTV Pro NA in his maiden Mint 400—took Kisman on as his co-driver and they reached the finish in Austin’s #316. Despite not completing Lap #4, Kisman was officially classified third for Normally Aspirated while Austin placed fifth.

Marc Burnett and Parker Christian’s races were basically over before they got going. In separate accidents, both overshot a jump and rolled multiple times before landing, Burnett on his passenger’s side and Christian back on his wheels.

Even with the UTVs beating him and his buddies in this episode, Potts has momentum with his second straight Class 10 win in as many Unlimited races. He won his class at the season-opening Parker 400 in January.

The Limited Race was divided into two tracks for the first time, with UTVs headlining those on the longer 95-mile course. On the 73-miler, Class 11 star Blake Wilkey and his Beetle was the quickest by just four seconds over David Lawler’s Jimco.

The Rivian R1T, whose driving duties were split between Nick Paris and Jordan Sellers, completed its second Mint 400 with ten percent battery remaining. It was one of two electric cars in the field alongside the new Chevrolet Silverado EV ZR2 of Chad Hall. Hall pulled double duty on Friday, racing the electric pickup before heading to his usual ride in the Colorado ZR2 where he finished third in Stock Production Truck Mini/Mid-Size; the EV finished with 40% of its battery left.

The new 2026 Honda Passport TrailSport placed fourth in the mid-sized production class. While it took HART 11 and a half hours to do all three laps, the team successfully reached the finish.

Ford-backed RTR Vehicles Off-Road Team swept the two Stock categories. Loren Healy topped the full-size production class in his F-150 Raptor. After a back and forth, Brad Lovell and his Ranger Raptor beat Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s Bronco Raptor in Mini/Mid-Size. Not unlike Heger, Lovell is enjoying quite the success in recent months as the reigning production class winner at the Mint, the Finke Desert Race, the Baja 1000, and King of the Hammers.

“The Mint is no joke. This course is so rough. I’ve only ever raced it in an Ultra4 truck,” commented Healy. “Stoked to get my first class win here with the Ford factory team. It was a lot. It was rough for a big pickup truck out there, but I’m stoked. Ford first three trucks to come across the Stock class and for us to win the Full-Size was a good day.”

Vintage “civilian” classes were also for the Fords. Eric Pond’s 1969 Ford Bronco topped it with a seven-hour time, nearly two-and-a-half hours ahead of Scott Grimm’s 1968 model. Cody Sears’ 1949 Willys, the oldest car in the field, had a chaotic day that began with him gradually losing power from the start before getting hit from behind by a Class 5 then having oil and water mix in the engine; despite not completing a full lap, he was classified third in Vintage. Another Ford reached the finish as the lone Vintage Open entry with NFL alumnus Brady McDonnell behind the wheel.

Flyer 22, a 1989 Light Strike Vehicle with Danny Novoa as lead driver, won Vintage Military by four minutes ahead of the “Beefy” Humvee led by Alex Hernandez. It was Flyer’s fourth straight win in the category and fifth at the Mint. Both cars are run by Warfighter Made, who also has a bike team competing in the Motorcycle Race on Saturday.

Martin Eskildsen’s SRTV-SXV-XL, one of three entered, was the only Modern Military car to do more than a single lap.

Class winners

95-mile course

Class	Overall Finish	Number	Driver of Record	Laps	Total Time
Class 1/2-1600	22	1621	Kevin Sanchez	4	8:31:30.360
Class 12	23	1206	Sammy Ehrenberg	4	8:33:55.015
Class 5 Unlimited	16	528	Derek Geiser	4	8:15:11.620
Class 7F	50	700F	Justin Park	4	10:34:44.067
Class 7S	98	7141	James Burman	2	9:46:42.129
Class 10	5	1061	Carib Potts	4	7:34:43.289
Class 1450	24	1499	Jordan Maxwell	4	8:36:35.475
TrophyLite	72	6001	Shawn Runyon	3	9:26:42.548
Ultra4 4600 (Stock)	75	4623	John Williams	3	7:36:51.729
Ultra4 4800 (Legends)	93	4873	Greg Neff	2	6:26:03.309
Ultra4 4900 (Pro Modified UTV)	23	R927	Renee Laurin	4	8:30:52.231
UTV Pro	11	P968	Jeff Martin	4	8:02:51.892
UTV Pro Normally Aspirated	29	1925	Corbin Leaverton	4	9:01:31.907
UTV Pro Open	1	P0996	Brock Heger	4	7:11:30.009
UTV Pro Stock	31	PS974	Justin Von Metal	4	9:09:19.263
UTV Pro Stock Modified	39	PM915	Michael Brouwers	4	9:21:21.879
UTV Pro Turbo	18	T950	Zach Quiroz	4	8:21:17.389
UTV Stock	79	U999	Austin Campana	3	8:31:53.644
UTV Stock Modified	74	UM975	Cody Piscitelli	3	7:30:554
UTV Stock Modified R	73	R917	Jason Murray	3	7:02:11.913

73-mile course

Class	Overall Finish	Number	Driver of Record	Laps	Total Time
Class 5-1600	3	596	Mark Winston	4	7:35:05.378
Class 9 Challenger	24	975	Jose Pereyra	3	9:22:29.185
Class 11	1	1157	Blake Wilkey	4	7:32:38.058
Class 2000	15	2013	Steven Olsewski	4	10:39:18.777
EV Production	37	EV100	Nick Paris	1	2:48:52.197
EV Open Production	42	EV230	Chad Hall	1	2:10:41.408
Gambler 500 (Hooptie X Modified)	35	614	Kelsey Gosser	2	8:29:42.394
Gambler 500 (Hooptie X Stock)	45	G101	Matt Alber	1	5:23:17.156
Modern Military	28	M965	Martin Eskildsen	2	4:58:10.970
Open Sportsman	2	8169	David Lawler	4	7:32:42.058
Stock Production Truck Full	20	867	Loren Healy	3	5:40:49.296
Stock Production Truck Mini/Mid	18	7373	Brad Lovell	3	5:12:12.871
Vintage	23	V100	Eric Pond	3	7:08:27.996
Vintage Military	32	M22	Danny Novoa	2	6:17:25.452
Vintage Open	36	V242	Brady McDonnell	1	3:00:14.354