Maccachren hopes for repeat at Mint 400
Off-road race celebrates its 50th anniversary
It will mark its 50th anniversary Saturday, which makes this year’s Mint 400 off-road race special in the eyes of most drivers.
One thought the 49th anniversary of the Mint was a pretty big deal, too.
Rob Maccachren had won about everything there was to win in off-road racing with the exception of the Mint, which he added to his resume in 2017. Many desert racing even the third race in 1971, the one at which gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson almost made it to the starting line.
Green, white, checkered
Kevin Harvick, who won Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway so easily they should have called it on the mercy rule after 350 miles, has been penalized by NASCAR after his rear window sort of caved in during the race.
Did it give him an edge on the rest of the field? Who can say?
NASCAR, one supposes. It docked him seven playoff points, fined his crew chief Rodney Childers $50,000 and suspended his car chief Robert “Cheddar” Smith for two races after the rear window brace failed, according to Childers. The team also was docked 20 points and 20 owner points.
Nascar-mandated air guns that misfired during pit stops and caused consternation during the second race of the season at Atlanta caused a little more consternation at Las Vegas.
Wrote 26th-place finisher Daniel Suarez on Twitter: “It’s hard to explain the amount of people that work so hard to get sponsors, go to the racetrack, make race cars go fast, perform well in the race, then at the end of the day have an issue with something out of your control … that’s frustrating.”
The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway opens its 34th season Saturday night, with a 50-lap event featuring the NASCAR Super Late Models topping the 7 p.m. program.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ ronkantowski on Twitter.