Next Up - Mint 400

Sven Ellstrom and the Ellstrom-Oberto Race Team will return to action the weekend of March 9th and 10th at one of the biggest off-road races in the world - the rugged BF Goodrich Mint 400 in the desert outside of Primm, Nevada.

A huge field of over 300 racers in 50 different classes are set to compete, with the Ellstrom-Oberto team among 53 entries in the Pro-Turbo class - one of the biggest and fastest categories in the event.

Festivities kick off on Wednesday of race week with a huge parade of race vehicles down the fabled Las Vegas Strip. A very popular pre-race event is the tech inspection and display held in the hi-tech Fremont Street Experience. Race day will start early for the Ellstrom-Oberto team with staging set for 5am Sunday morning and the race starting at 6am.

Team owner Erick Ellstrom is optimistic after the team's strong showing at the season opener in Parker, Arizona in January. "We have run well so far in 2019," Ellstrom commented. "For the Mint we'll will have a new motor and new transmission and we look forward to being strong and fast for 400 miles."

Sven Ellstrom and co-driver Chazz Arenibas drew the 21st spot on the starting grid which means some of the fastest teams in the class will go off ahead of them while many will be trying to catch the two young pilots who have established themselves as among the fastest in the Pro-Turbo Class.

The 20 year old driver is happy with his starting position adding, "It could have been a lot worse. The course can be really dusty and it can be tough to come from way back. The first guys off the line will only be about 10 minutes ahead of us and once we get up to them we should be in good shape for a strong run to the finish. We have really run well on this course and look forward to another great race for Oberto Beef Jerky and our other sponsors; Baja Designs, Bf Goodrich, Sonic Tools, AZ West, Aim Data Acquisition, Walker Evans and Holz."

Troy Homberg, a veteran member of Ellstrom Racing's Unlimited Hydroplane Race Team will join team members Richard Corella, Mark Henry, Krister Ellstrom and Josh Rutz working the pit stops on the desert course.

The team's two trucks, the transporter and chase truck, will leave Seattle on Sunday, March 3 after checking the options for the best weather between the Edmonds, Washington home base and Las Vegas.

Here's a link to the Mint 400 SCHEDULE