Mint Condition
A relatively stock Raptor finishes the Mint 400 in the Factory Stock class
By Steve Turner
Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company
It was either the motivation from hard rock pumping over the SiriusXM satellite radio or the new F-150 Raptor is a formidable performer. Let’s face it, the music probably helped a little, but this truck must be something special to even be one of the 19 teams—of 68 total—to finish this Mint 400 race held in the desert near Las Vegas, Nevada.
In fact, the Raptor was the only stock truck competing in the new Factory Stock class for full-sized trucks, so it became the first to finish as well. Its duo of drivers—Greg Foutz and Tim Casey—climbed out of the new truck impressed by its capabilities.
“We’re really pleased with the F-150 Raptor’s performance,” Greg Foutz said. “The all-new F-150 Raptor race truck was strong throughout, and its new high-output EcoBoost engine and transmission are seriously impressive.”
As the name would suggest, the Factory Stock class means running a largely stock truck with a few modifications needed to make the trucks race-worthy. In the case of the new Raptor, all that was added race-spec FOX Shox, race-spec springs, a roll cage, Mastercraft seats, five-point harnessbelts, window nets, Rigid LED light bars, a fuel cell, a Lowrance GPS and a Racepak digital dash/datalogger.
Otherwise this was a stock truck that included all the creature comforts, like a 10-speed automatic transmission, power windows, air conditioning, and the aforementioned satellite radio, which has to tantalize potential buyers of the forthcoming production truck.
Moreover, the team even made use of one of the highly touted driving modes available on the production truck. In this case, it was the Baja terrain-management driving mode, and the results indicate it works quite well.
Last weekend, the 2017 F-150 Raptor tested its mettle in the grueling Best in the Desert Mint 400 off-road race and came away with the first finish in the Factory Stock class for full-size pickups.
With just a handful of race-prep mods—like shocks, springs, roll cage, and such—this streetable truck was the first vehicle to finish in category, and its team of drivers, consisting of Greg Foutz and Tim Casey, were one of only 19 teams to finish the race.
