Does racing without a limb count as weight reduction and make you go faster? If you ask Mitch Melott, the answer is yes.

In last Saturday’s Mint 400 Motorcycle Race, he opted to remove his prosthetic left leg while in the Gonzo Pit because it had gotten uncomfortable. He’s no stranger to taking the prosthesis off, even completing the 2021 Mint as an ironman rider with the leg zip-tied to his bike’s rear fender.

“I rode faster without it,” Melott quipped.

Melott lost his leg to an IED blast while serving in Iraq. In 2008, the Army sergeant and medic was checking on the site of a previous explosion when one went off just as he got out of his vehicle. The explosion knocked the vehicle onto him and the door crushed his leg, while he also suffered broken collarbones and facial lacerations while being shot by insurgents.

His leg couldn’t be saved and was amputated below the knee in 2010, then an infection forced another amputation above it in 2012. He was discharged soon after as a sergeant first class, ending nearly 22 years of service. Melott eventually linked up with Warfighter Made, a foundation dedicated to helping veterans transition back to civilian life through methods like off-road racing (“Adrenaline Therapy”, if you will), and his interest in bikes made him a natural fit for the team’s Mint program.

While he mainly rode bikes, he opted to try the 2026 race on a Yamaha Raptor. It was the first Mint to have quads, so he signed up in Quad Ironman Expert. Officially, Melott is classified as a retirement, though he mentioned he “was just happy to finish” and still received a medal.

On the two-wheel side, Warfighter Made fielded a KTM for Marines Alexa Barth, Dan Stoner, and Jesse Williamson. Melott did the 2025 race with Stoner and Williamson, the latter two also amputees (Stoner his right and Williamson both legs). Barth, the first woman to become a Force Recon Marine, has both of her legs, meaning the team had as many riders as legs.

Williamson, whose left leg came off during the 2025 Mint, was the team’s Lap 1 rider before trading off with Barth. Stoner did the third lap then Williamson got back on. The Marines ran top five in Open Amateur Motorcycle for much of the race, but were set back by 870 seconds in speeding penalties. This relegated them to a ninth in class and 76th overall.

The day before the Motorcycle Race, Warfighter Made’s personnel battled amongst themselves in the Limited Race’s Vintage Military class. Flyer 22, a Light Strike Vehicle that the team recovered from a scrapyard in 2016, has won its class every year since 2020 including Vintage Military since its introduction in 2021. WM’s 1993 AM General Humvee M998, nicknamed Beefy after Marine and late team member Angus Powers, looked to end that streak.

Beefy ended up on the brink of a DNF instead.

Joseph Contreras began the race in the Humvee before trading off with Amanda Kimbro, a Marine and Motor T operator in Afghanistan. She and Contreras swapped again before Vietnam War sailor Dwight Rockers came in as navigator. As Rockers drove through Beer Bottle Pass, the pitman arm bolt broke off the steering assembly. Contreras, who’s served in both the Army and Marines, tried to reattach it to no avail so he figured out a temporary workaround to get Beefy running again. Once Beefy trailed to the pits and was repaired, it rejoined the race.

Beefy’s issues effectively knocked it out of contention. Flyer 22, led by Warfighter Made bosses and Marines Robert Blanton and Danny Novoa, cruised to the class win by six hours. Like Barth, Blanton is a retired Force Recon Marine.

Blanton commented, “What’s really important for us is the fact that we get to come out here with so many veterans and put those vets who have never done anything like this behind the wheel, under the safety and guidance of myself and combat wounded Marine Danny Novoa, my right-hand man at Warfighter Made, and just come out here and have fun. Do it as safe as we possibly can. Seven times, we’ve won this thing in this class so just really enjoy it.”

Featured image credit: Mitch Melott