Justin Lofton Cracks Four-Minute Barrier, Posts Top Time in Method Race Wheels Qualifying For 2022 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400

Three-time BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 winner Justin Lofton put himself in prime position to score his fourth victory on Friday afternoon, posting the unofficial fastest time in Method Race Wheels Qualifying for the Great American Off-Road Race. Lofton’s blistering time of 3:59.349 was more than two seconds faster than any other competitor in the Unlimited Truck class, and will allow him to start Saturday’s Unlimited Race without having to line up side-by-side with another competitor.

Harley Letner qualified Kevin Thompson’s Concrete Motorsports Unlimited Truck second with a time of 4:01.770, while 2021 Mint 400 runner-up Ryan Arciero edged out 2021 winner Rob MacCachren by just under three tenths of a second for the third fastest time. Dale Dondel’s brand new build completed the top five, just 9.3 seconds off the top spot.

In Class 1, James Dean took the unofficial pole over Cole Barbieri by just two tenths of a second, while RJ Anderson qualified third for Adam Lunn at 1.5 seconds back. The Unlimited Truck Spec class saw 10 racers all qualify within 15 seconds of one another, but it was Todd LeDuc’s top time of 4:23.2 that came in ahead of Terry Householder and defending class winner Brent Fox. In Class 10, it was Preston Brigman atop the time sheets, with the largest gap to second in any class at 8.2 seconds ahead of Cade Garcia.

Unofficial Method Race Wheels Qualifying times for the 2022 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 were as follows:

Unlimited Truck
Justin Lofton, 3:59.3
Kevin Thompson, 4:01.7
Ryan Arciero, 4:05.0
Rob MacCachren, 4:05.2
Dale Dondel, 4:08.6

Class 1
James Dean, 4:10.8
Cole Barbieri, 4:11.0
Adam Lunn, 4:12.3
Loren Healy, 4:18.3
Nicholas Carolan, 4:24.7

Unlimited Truck Spec
Carey Chrisman, 4:23.2
Terry Householder, 4:25.4
Brent Fox, 4:26.9
Justin Blower, 4:29.6
James Scully, 4:35.6

Class 10
Preston Brigman, 4:43.8
Cade Garcia, 4:52.0
Timothy Craig, 4:55.1
Johnny Gould, 4:59.3
Mark Lewis, 5:22.1

Full live timing and scoring, as well as livestream and Weatherman radio coverage, can be found at live.themint400.com. Coverage of today’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Race continues with top UTV racers expected to finish in the next few hours.

The Mint 400 has held the title of the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America since 1968 when it was first run. Initially, the race was a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt, but what started out as a hotel promotion soon grew into a legitimate desert race. Since its 2008 revival, “The Great American Off-Road Race” has only gotten bigger and more prestigious, and deeper fields every year only make it tougher to win.