Ciaran Naran, Lyndon Snodgrass Win 2026 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 Motorcycle Race
The #N2 team of Ciaran Naran and Lyndon Snodgrass mounted a strong late-race charge to score the victory in the 2026 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 Motorcycle Race on Saturday, haunting top qualifier Dalton Shirey through the first two-thirds of the race before claiming the lead before the final lap and never looking back. Their finishing time of 7:44:26.254 denied Shirey back-to-back Mint 400 victories, while also backing up a second-place run in the American Off-Road Racing Championship season-opening Parker 400 in January.
“I’m super ecstatic,” Naran said from the podium. “First time at the Mint 400, first time on a Ducati. We had a great race and charged hard, but couldn’t have done it without my teammate Lyndon Snodgrass. I’m just super stoked to be standing here.”
“It was a really good day,” Snodgrass added. “Ciaran did the first three laps and had us in a really good position. I jumped on the bike and put my head down and went as hard as I could. I was able to make a few passes and get us into the lead, and it was a really good first time here.”
This year’s Mint 400 Motorcycle Race made history by welcoming quads for the first time, part of the combined efforts between UNLTD Off-Road Racing and Best in the Desert to create a unified AORC. That led to an entry list of 160 racers this year, 60 more than last year’s Mint 400 Motorcycle Race, and a major part of the race’s expansion to 550 total entries in 2026.
Atop that entry list was perhaps the deepest Open Pro Motorcycle class in recent memory. They set a blistering pace from the green flag, and the riders were on top of one another’s times all day long. In contrast to past Mint 400s where other classes have cracked the top five, the Pros had a stranglehold on the top spots throughout the race. While Shirey, Naran, and Parker 400 winner Shane Logan ran in that order for much of the day, they were still separated by under two minutes through four of six laps.
It was the fifth lap that proved consequential, as the entire podium order changed hands. Snodgrass would finally find his way into the lead, while Logan would suffer setbacks that would drop him to the back of the Open Pro running order. That opened the door for 2024 winner Preston Campbell and Nolan Cate to crack the top three, and they’d back that up by sneaking past Shirey on the final lap to score Campbell's second straight runner-up finish.
When all was said and done, Open Pro racers claimed the top six spots and seven of the top 10. Open Expert winner Caleb Tate was the highest finisher from another class, coming in seventh overall with an 8:46:56.886. Top finishing honors in Quad Pro went to Roberto Villalobos, who completed five laps of the course in 7:49:28.035.
Top finishers from the 2026 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400 Motorcycle Race were as follows:
- #N2 Ciaran Naran, Open Pro Motorcycle, 7:44:26.254
- #N3 Preston Campbell, Open Pro Motorcycle, 7:51:15.712
- #N46 Dalton Shirey, Open Pro Motorcycle, 7:53:26.800
- #N15 Nic Colangeli, Open Pro Motorcycle, 8:06:16.944
- #N13 Caiden Fenstermaker, Open Pro Motorcycle, 8:36:27.174
- #N18 Matthew Grant, Open Pro Motorcycle, 8:37:27.348
- #312 Caleb Tate, Open Expert Motorcycle, 8:46:56.885
- #N1 Shane Logan, Open Pro Motorcycle, 9:02:22.049
- #N7 Danny Cooper, Open Pro Motorcycle, 9:04:33.265
- #315 Logan Freeman, Open Expert Motorcycle, 9:11:16.392
For full results from the 2026 BFGoodrich Tires Mint 400, visit www.themint400.com/live.
The Mint 400 has carried the reputation as the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America since 1968, when it first roared to life in the Nevada desert. What began as a clever public relations stunt to promote the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt quickly evolved into something far bigger. A legitimate desert race forged in dust, horsepower, and bravado. By the 1970s, the Mint wasn’t just a race. It was a cultural moment. Immortalized by Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, it became a symbol of American excess, grit, and wide-open desert freedom.
After decades of dormancy, the event was revived in 2008 by brothers Matthew and Joshua Martelli, who rebuilt it from the ground up with a singular mission. To restore its mythic status while elevating the professionalism, safety, and prestige of modern desert racing. Since that revival, “The Great American Off-Road Race” has only grown larger, deeper, and more competitive. The fields get stronger every year. The stakes get higher. And winning The Mint 400 remains one of the hardest achievements in off-road racing.
This year’s Mint 400 will take place from March 4th - 8th in Las Vegas. More information on the event for racers and spectators is available at TheMint400.com, or follow the event on Facebook and Instagram.
Details regarding racer registration, sponsorship packages, exhibitor vending, spectator tickets, camping, and parking passes for the American Off-Road Racing Championship are live on americanoffroadracingchampionship.com
About American Off-Road Racing Championship
The American Off-Road Racing Championship (AORC) is the premier desert off-road racing league in North America, created through the unification of Best in the Desert (BITD) and Unlimited Off-Road Racing (UNLTD).
Best in the Desert, founded in 1984 by legendary racer Casey Folks, is the longest-running and most respected off-road racing series in the U.S., with a legacy that includes iconic events like Vegas to Reno, the Silver State 300, the Parker 425, and the Laughlin Desert Classic.
Unlimited Off-Road Racing, established by the Martelli Brothers in 2023, produces world-class events such as The Mint 400, The California 300, and The Parker 400. UNLTD is recognized for its focus on innovation, storytelling, and large-scale racer participation, with events known for high car counts, challenging courses, pre-running, and family-friendly fan experiences near major markets.
Together under the AORC banner, BITD and UNLTD preserve the heritage of desert racing while building its future—offering racers, sponsors, and fans a unified championship built on clarity, consistency, and world-class competition.