In a race fraught with twists and turns plus family related teamwork, three competing tire manufacturers are claiming bragging rights following this past weekend’s General Tire Mint 400 in Las Vegas.
Roger Norman was the overall victor on BFGoodrich tires as General-sponsored drivers BJ Baldwin, Rick D. Johnson and Kent Kroeker also reached the podium along with Yokohama’s Heidi Steele, who won her first Class 7 race of the year.
Baldwin took second place in Unlimited Truck and third overall; Johnson took third in the class. BJ Baldwin ended up finishing in his father Bobby’s truck after a breakdown early on in the race, thus the result is credited to Bobby Baldwin’s vehicle even though BJ was doing the driving.
“This was an unbelievably tough course, and when the truck went down, I thought it was over for me,” says BJ Baldwin. “I really owe this finish to my dad Bobby for giving me the wheel in his truck so I could finish. It was teamwork at its best.”
The course took its toll on a number of Team GT drivers, including Kroeker, who debuted a new truck in Class 8 only to blow the transmission just four miles from the start. Kroeker came back to finish second in the class.
“This had to be one of the toughest courses,” says Terry Smouter, General’s manager of events. “Out of 27 drivers registered in Unlimited Truck, only 15 completed the race. So it took sheer grit and fortitude for anyone to reach the finish line.”
In Class 7, Heidi Steele drove her Ford Ranger, equipped with off-the-shelf Yokohama Geolandar M/T+ tires, for the first 200 miles and was in third place when she handed the truck over to teammate Jamie Campbell, who quickly gunned it into second place.
With one lap to go, Heidi’s husband Cameron jumped in and used his veteran skills to maneuver the Ranger into first place and onto the checkered flag.
“This is what teamwork is all about,” says Heidi Steele. “It was awesome,” agrees Cameron Steele, “and an honor to help win the Mint 400 for Yokohama and the team, and it was sweet to make it a Steele family deal, too.”
For more information, visit www.bfgoodrichtires.com, www.generaltire.com and www.yokohamatire.com.
