Brock Heger and co-driver Justin Wilson won the 2026 Mint 400 UTV Pro class in record-setting fashion, completing the four-lap Nevada desert race in 6:57:56. The result gave Heger and Polaris RZR Factory Racing consecutive Mint 400 victories and made the team the first limited-class side-by-side entry to finish the race in under seven hours.
Mitch Guthrie Jr. finished second in another Polaris RZR Pro R Factory, while Phil Blurton placed third to complete an overall UTV podium sweep for racers using BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2 SXS/UTV tires.
Heger Breaks the Seven-Hour Barrier
Heger entered the 2026 Mint 400 as the defending UTV winner after leading a Polaris sweep at the 2025 Mint 400. His return began with another strong performance in qualifying, where he earned the UTV Pro pole with a time of 6:19.627. That was more than 10 seconds quicker than the next UTV competitor.
The Mint 400 Limited Race covered approximately 400 miles over four laps through the desert terrain near Las Vegas. Rocks, ruts, dust and increasingly rough conditions made vehicle preservation as important as outright speed.
Heger encountered problems during the opening lap, but the RZR Factory Racing crew quickly returned the No. T96 car to the course. By the middle of the second lap, Heger had worked his way back toward the front. Once he took the lead, he and Wilson maintained a pace no other UTV team could match.
Their official time of 6:57:56.354 was more than eight minutes faster than Guthrie’s second-place time. It also made Heger the first limited-class UTV racer to complete the modern Mint 400 course in less than seven hours.
“Our goal was a win, and that’s exactly what we accomplished,” Heger said after the race.
The victory added another major result to Heger’s growing résumé with Polaris. He entered the Mint after winning the 2026 Dakar Rally with Max Eddy Jr. and has become a central part of the modern Polaris RZR Factory Racing program.
Guthrie and Blurton Complete the UTV Podium
Guthrie delivered a consistent four-lap race in the No. T51 Polaris and finished second in 7:06:10.348. Blurton followed in third with a time of 7:13:15.491 after a late problem took Joe Terrana out of podium contention only a few miles from the finish.
Ethan Groom brought another Polaris home in fourth. Cayden MacCachren recovered from a final-lap issue to finish fifth, followed by Polaris racers Brayden Baker and Blake Wilkey in sixth and seventh.
In total, Polaris-powered UTVs claimed six of the first seven finishing positions. Heger, Guthrie, Groom and MacCachren were racing purpose-built RZR Pro R Factory vehicles developed for long-distance desert competition.
The Polaris RZR Pro R Factory race UTV combines a race-tuned 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with a purpose-built chassis, race-spec MaxLink suspension, FOX Live Valve X2 shocks and DYNAMIX DV control. The Factory platform also uses 35-inch BFGoodrich KR2 tires designed for high-speed desert racing.
2026 Mint 400 UTV Pro Results
| Position | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Heger | T96 | 6:57:56.354 |
| 2 | Mitch Guthrie Jr. | T51 | 7:06:10.348 |
| 3 | Phil Blurton | T44 | 7:13:15.491 |
| 4 | Ethan Groom | T74 | 7:14:38.863 |
| 5 | Cayden MacCachren | T21 | 7:21:31.667 |
| 6 | Brayden Baker | T77 | 7:21:57.970 |
| 7 | Blake Wilkey | T57 | 7:24:14.890 |
| 8 | Shawn Saxton | T18 | 7:31:26.183 |
| 9 | Sierra Romo | T929 | 7:34:26.797 |
| 10 | Brice Allen | T875 | 7:48:14.439 |
BFGoodrich Racers Win Across the Mint 400
All three overall UTV podium finishers used BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2 SXS/UTV tires. The tire company reported 16 class victories across the Mint 400 race weekend.
Sara Price added another UTV result for BFGoodrich by winning the UTV Pro Stock Modified class. Her victory extended the tire manufacturer’s involvement beyond the headline UTV Pro podium and into one of the event’s production-based UTV categories.
Another Major Victory for RZR Factory Racing
The 2026 result confirmed that Polaris’ 2025 Mint 400 performance was not a one-time breakthrough. Heger won both races, Guthrie secured second in 2026 and RZR-based entries again occupied most of the leading UTV positions.
The sub-seven-hour finish was especially significant. It demonstrated that a limited-class UTV could maintain a pace traditionally associated with much more powerful desert race vehicles while surviving nearly 400 miles of increasingly damaged terrain.
For Heger, Wilson and RZR Factory Racing, the 2026 Mint 400 delivered more than another trophy. It established a new UTV benchmark at one of America’s oldest and most recognizable off-road races.
