Brabec Doubles Up At The Mint 400

As if Monster Energy’s Ricky Brabec hadn’t had a big enough year already, winning an unprecedented second Dakar Rally as an American, this past weekend he put a couple more substantial pieces of hardware on the mantle – winning, along with his Monster Energy/Honda Team Rally teammate Skyler Howes, the BFGoodrich Mint 400’s UTV Pro NA class, then doubling up the following day by winning, along with Preston Campbell, the Mint 400’s Open Pro Motorcycle division.

And joining Brabec in the champion standing at this year’s Mint 400 was Kyle Jergensen, representing Monster Energy’s “The Beast Unleashed” brand, who won the Unlimited Truck SPEC class.

“Yeah, you know, was a really good weekend for Monster. And a really good weekend for Honda,” said Brabec, who won the UTV Pro NA class in his Honda Talon, and the Open Pro Motorcycle on a Honda CRF 450R. “Dakar’s the dream, but to come to the Mint 400 for the first time in a side by side, with my Monster Energy/Honda HRC Rally teammate Skyler Howes, yeah we did a really excellent job. 1st in Pro non-turbo. Really cool to be a privateer team and beat the HRC Factory Honda Talon Ridgeline program. 

“That’s a big push there and we were really happy to accomplish this.”

Brabec’s teammate, Howes, was equally pumped – if not surprised at one point – with Brabec’s invitation to come race the stock Honda Talon that he rolled out of his garage and had RaceCo hop up a bit.

“I’m super stoked. This was a really cool opportunity and I’m really thankful to Ricky for giving me a spot in his car for the Mint 400,” said Howes. “He (Brabec) drove an essentially flawless two laps, and got us into the lead. I hopped in and, more or less with a descent lead, I just felt it out, made sure I hit solid lines and tried to stay easy on the car.”

Howes went on to say that was his “first time ever in the car,” and, in fact, he’d never drive a Honda Talon before. “It’s been three years since I’ve raced four wheels,” he admitted. “Took it easy the first lap, but my lap times were really close to Ricky’s.”

Following the nine hours of racing in the SXS division, Brabec would join Honda JCR’s Preston Campbell and log another seven hours in the Open Pro Motorcycle division – which he and Campbell won by just over 19 minutes ahead of Danny Cooper.

“That was cool as well,” said Brabec of the motorcycle division overall win. “That was two-for-two this weekend. Champion on the bike, and champion in a four wheel category.”

In the Unlimited Truck SPEC class, Jergensen continued to drive a hot truck as his The Beast Unleashed-shod Unlimited Truck SPEC entry held up in the rapidly deteriorating Mint 400 conditions, with Jergensen ripping to a 16:17.307 win over 2nd place Troy Grabowski. Monster Energy’s Ed Herbst would add a second glowing green M-claw logo on the Unlimited Truck SPEC podium, placing 3rd.

Rounding out the Monster Energy podium finishes at the ’24 Mint 400 were: