Shirey Masters Mint 400
D
alton Shirey (3 Bros./SRT
Husqvarna) added his name
to the prestigious list of motor-
cycle winners with a convincing
victory at the BF Goodrich Mint
400, in Primm, Nevada, March
6-7, which served as round three
of the Kenda/SRT AMA Hare &
Hound National Championship
Series, Presented by FMF. He
completed two laps of the 80-
mile course in three hours, nine
minutes and 40 seconds aboard
his FMF/GPR Stabilizers/Troy
Lee Designs-backed FX 450,
beating runner-up David Kamo
by 42 seconds. The Slam Life
Racing (SLR) Honda rider was,
in turn, 1:11 ahead of Beta's Zane
Roberts. Points-wise, Shirey
moves to the top of the heap over
previous leader Roberts, 65-60,
with Kamo third at 55.
In only the second year of mo-
torcycles returning to the famed
Mint (last year, it ran as part of
Best in the Desert's team-orient-
ed series), many looked forward
to taking part in what's probably
the most historically notable off-
road event in the U.S., from the
hoopla of tech and contingency
in downtown Las Vegas to the
actual race.
But how would a hare & hound
fit into what's traditionally a team
event?
For starters, it was pared
down distance-wise, though at
160 miles (an 80-mile loop done
twice for most bike entrants), it
still was nearly twice as long as
the usual hare and hound. (Sev-
eral of the C and older age-group
classes would do only one lap,
IN
THE
WIND
P40
Dalton Shirey adapted
well to the fast Mint
course and became
the third different
winner so far this AMA
Hare & Hound season,
putting him into the
points lead.
PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA