2026 Mint 400 UTV Race Recap
The 2026 Mint 400 brought another massive field of desert racers to Las Vegas and Primm, with the UTV Pro class once again one of the most competitive categories in the race. With 67 entries, top factory teams from Polaris and Can-Am competed for the overall UTV win at one of the most prestigious events in American off-road racing.
After qualifying and race day in the Nevada desert, Brock Heger captured the overall UTV victory in the Polaris RZR Pro R Factory alongside co-driver Justin Wilson.
Heger completed the brutal 400-mile Mint 400 course in 6:57:56.354, becoming the first UTV team in Mint 400 history to finish the race in under seven hours. The win also marked back-to-back overall Mint 400 victories for Heger and another major result for the Polaris factory racing program.
Our team at Double Zero Powersports attended the 2026 Mint 400 race week alongside our partners at Battle Born Offroad, the largest independent off-road shop in Las Vegas, covering the parade on the Strip, the Fremont Street festival, and the racing action in Primm. We continue to expand our selection of SxS performance parts and suspension components based on what we see used at events like the Mint 400.
Who Won the 2026 Mint 400 UTV Pro Class?
Brock Heger won the UTV Pro class at the 2026 Mint 400, taking the overall UTV victory in the Polaris RZR Pro R Factory. Heger started from the pole and completed the four-lap, roughly 400-mile course in 6:57:56.354 — the only UTV team under seven hours. Mitch Guthrie Jr. finished second and Phil Blurton third in a Can-Am to round out the podium. Polaris took four of the top five UTV Pro spots, with Ethan Groom fourth and Cayden MacCachren fifth. Attrition was heavy: of 67 UTV Pro entries, 28 cars completed all four laps.
Race Week Preparation
Teams began arriving in Primm early in race week to prepare vehicles, dial in suspension setups, and finalize race strategy before qualifying.
For Polaris RZR Factory Racing, the Mint came on a tight turnaround after King of the Hammers, with the shop working to dial in the current Pro R Factory chassis ahead of the program’s planned 2026 platform transition.
A Deep UTV Pro Field
The UTV Pro class featured 67 entries at the 2026 Mint 400, making it one of the deepest and most competitive classes in the race. The front of the grid was led by Polaris RZR and Can-Am machinery, with a national entry list drawing the sport’s top factory and privateer teams.
Teams throughout the field ran equipment from many of the leading brands in off-road racing, including Polaris RZR, Can-Am, Fox, King Shocks, Baja Designs, Method Race Wheels, Raceline, Rugged Radios, PCI Race Radios, Eibach, and DRT Motorsports.
The Mint 400 has increasingly become one of the most important events for manufacturers and race teams to showcase the latest technology in desert racing suspension, lighting, wheels, communications systems, and vehicle components.
UTV Pro Qualifying
Qualifying split the UTV Pro entry into two groups and set the combined race grid. Brock Heger was the fastest of every UTV Pro qualifier, posting a 6:19.627 to take the pole by more than ten seconds.
Top five UTV Pro qualifiers:
| Pos. | Driver | Vehicle | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Heger | Polaris RZR Pro R Factory | 6:19.627 |
| 2 | Kyle Chaney | Can-Am Maverick R | 6:30.162 |
| 3 | Corbin Leaverton | Can-Am Maverick R | 6:30.357 |
| 4 | Cody Miller | — | 6:31.245 |
| 5 | Mitch Guthrie Jr. | Polaris RZR Pro R Factory | 6:32.484 |
Ronnie Anderson (6:33.127), Hunter Miller (6:33.553), Cayden MacCachren (6:34.286), Phil Blurton (6:34.891), and Dustin Jones (6:36.492) completed the top ten on the grid.
Starting from the pole gave Heger clean air and track position over one of the deepest UTV fields of the season.
Qualifying Incidents
Drivers pushed hard through tight desert terrain with little margin for error, and incidents were part of the weekend as racers chased every second on the clock.
Brock Heger Qualifying Action
Heger demonstrated strong pace throughout qualifying as the Polaris factory team prepared for race day.
Pre-Race Staging
Before the green flag dropped, teams gathered in staging areas performing final vehicle checks and coordinating with pit crews.
The Polaris RZR Factory Racing team entered the race as one of the favorites, with both Brock Heger and Mitch Guthrie Jr. starting near the front of the field.
Race Start
Once the race began, the UTV field spread out quickly across the desert course as drivers pushed to maintain pace while preserving equipment for four laps of brutal terrain.
Race Action Across the Course
The Mint 400 course becomes increasingly rough over four laps of desert terrain, with deep ruts, rocks, and whoops pushing both drivers and machines to their limits.
Drivers must balance speed with mechanical sympathy as suspension components, tires, and driveline parts endure hours of punishment.
Pit Stops and Race Support
Pit crews played a critical role throughout the race, refueling vehicles, checking tires, and making quick repairs to keep teams competitive.
2026 Mint 400 UTV Results
At the front of the field, Polaris and Can-Am both had strong representation, but Heger and the Polaris RZR Pro R Factory ultimately secured the overall UTV victory.
Top five UTV Pro finishers:
| Pos. | Driver | Vehicle | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Heger | Polaris RZR Pro R Factory | 6:57:56.354 |
| 2 | Mitch Guthrie Jr. | Polaris RZR Pro R Factory | +8:43.995 |
| 3 | Phil Blurton | Can-Am Maverick R | +15:19.138 |
| 4 | Ethan Groom | Polaris RZR Pro R Factory | +16:42.509 |
| 5 | Cayden MacCachren | Polaris RZR Pro R Factory | +23:35.313 |
Heger’s winning run also produced the race’s quickest UTV lap, a 1:42:22. Cayden MacCachren finished fifth in class and seventh overall, the two Class 10 cars of Eliott Watson and Brody Aikins splitting the UTV Pro order ahead of him.
Polaris-powered teams continued deeper into the overall order as well, with Blake Wilkey finishing 10th overall and Brayden Baker finishing 11th overall.
Final Lap and Finish
After nearly seven hours of racing, Brock Heger crossed the finish line first, securing the overall victory.
The official Mint 400 account framed the finish as “HISTORY. MADE.,” noting Heger crossed in under seven hours, and afterward marked his run at the top of the Mint continuing for a second straight year. RZR Factory Racing’s operations director broke down the team’s race day in a post-event recap.
2026 Mint 400 UTV Podium
Qualifying vs. Finish: Movers and Attrition
The four-lap course punished the field, and the gap between qualifying pace and race-day survival was stark. Of the ten fastest qualifiers, five did not finish: Kyle Chaney (2nd), Corbin Leaverton (3rd), Cody Miller (4th), Hunter Miller (7th), and Dustin Jones (10th) all retired before the checkered. Ronnie Anderson, sixth on the grid, went the distance but faded to 14th in class.
Heger converted pole to victory cleanly. Behind him, the podium rewarded patience and reliability over raw qualifying speed: Phil Blurton climbed from ninth to third in the Can-Am Maverick R, and Ethan Groom turned a 15th-place start into fourth.
The biggest recovery drive belonged to Brice Allen, who started 54th and worked all the way up to 10th in class in his Polaris RZR. Blake Wilkey (22nd to 6th) and Brayden Baker (25th to 7th) also made major ground — Baker doing so despite an 11-and-a-half-minute speeding penalty. Speeding penalties reshuffled the order across the field, and PJ Jones was disqualified for outside assistance on course.
Manufacturer Breakdown
Polaris RZR took four of the top five UTV Pro positions — Heger (1st), Guthrie (2nd), Groom (4th), and MacCachren (5th) — all in the RZR Pro R Factory, extending the program’s run of front-running results through the early 2026 season.
Can-Am’s best finish was Phil Blurton in third aboard the Maverick R. The platform also showed front-row qualifying pace — Chaney and Leaverton qualified second and third in Can-Ams — but neither converted that speed into a finish, leaving Blurton to carry the marque’s result.
2026 Season Context
The Mint 400 win added to a strong early-2026 run for Brock Heger and the Polaris RZR Pro R Factory, which also took the overall UTV victory at the SCORE San Felipe 250. The Mint 400, BITD’s Silver State 300, and the SCORE desert series run under separate sanctioning bodies, so these results don’t roll into a single championship table. What the Nevada race showed was Polaris depth at the front of Pro UTV fields — a theme that carried into later rounds such as the SCORE Baja 500.
Other Notable UTV Results
Several other UTV classes also produced strong finishes during the Limited Race.
- Sara Price won the UTV Pro Stock Modified class with a time of 8:24:11.115
- Gage Tuohy won the UTV Pro Turbo class with a time of 8:26:11.611
- Wyatt Cotter won the UTV Pro NA class with a time of 9:04:03.729
One of the Biggest Events in Desert Racing
Known as “The Great American Off-Road Race,” the Mint 400 remains one of the most important and challenging races in desert motorsports. Race week begins in Las Vegas with the Mint 400 vehicle parade on the Las Vegas Strip and the Fremont Street Off-Road Festival, before the competition moves south toward Primm, Nevada for qualifying and race day.
With 67 entries in UTV Pro, a brutal four-lap course, and a record-setting overall winner, the 2026 Mint 400 once again highlighted how competitive and important side-by-side racing has become in modern desert racing.
More from the 2026 Mint 400
If you missed the earlier coverage from race week, check out: