Check out Danger Dan's Podcast here: www.dangerdanstalkshop.com/
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Follow along with other adventures from the Crew:
Danger Dan: dangerdanim...
Bryan Helm: bryanhelm?... and bryanhelm.com/
Nick: knivesmadeb...
Awais: 8thst_awais...
Carlos: bumwine?hl=en
Shout out to Biltwell for the the burnout footage of Carlos: www.biltwellinc.com/
We went down to Vegas to follow Danger Dan and Crew in the 2021 Mint 400 Desert Race! The boys were racing a 1985 Harley Davidson Ironhead Sportster, that Carlos had built, in the Hooligan Class. The Mint 400 has a long history of epic desert racing and the 2021 race did not disappoint. The bikes raced over 120 miles in some of the most challenging desert out there, and the Hooligan class bikes did it all on mostly vintage, mostly heavy Harleys!
The team was named 'Safety Third' because when you are racing a 35 year old 500 pound bike through the desert safety is definitely not your first concern! It's call Hooligan Racing for a reason. Comprised of Danger Dan and Carlos as the riders, Awais as the main tech, Nick the wise pit boss with a magic bag, Randall the sponsor and transporter, and Bryan the eagle eye photog this was a wining team for sure! All the fun really kicked off with tech inspection where, living up to their name, the guys had to do some wiggling to get all their gear and equipment cleared. With tech out of the road it was time to head out to the main pits and get ready for the race!
Carlos took the first half of the first lap and was able to run it pretty smooth and pretty fast. The bike was having some issues en route but nothing that slowed Carlos down too much. When he arrived at the Gonzo pit Dan was a little skeptical and a little hopeful that the route this year would be a easier than in years past. He was wrong. Dan rode the second half of the first lap and immediately started to get beat up by the deep sand, endless whoops, and intermittent bike issues. The team was able to track both riders on an app provided by the Mint 400 and Dan was moving considerably slower than Carlos had on the first half.
When Dan finally pulled into the Main pit he was beat up and missing the shifter peg as well as the brake peg! He had ridden the last few miles in third gear with only the front brakes. Not wanting to leave Carlos out of the fun of that last half Dan decided he would be switching which half each rider rode. In the Main pit the crew (and a few others) went to work rebuilding the carb and replacing the broken pegs. After some duct tape and bubble gum Dan was off starting the second of two laps.
When Dan rolled into the Gonzo pit he was all smiles. The bike was running smoother and he knew that his part was done for the race. Now all Carlos had to do was get the bike through the last half of the last lap. It proved much easier said then done and the difficulties started before Carlos even left Gonzo pit when he told the crew to not top off his gas tank. Only Carlos knows why he chose to do that but it did affect that last half.
Immediately into the last half of the race Carlos understood why the bike had come back tore apart from Dan's first run. He was fighting desert, fatigue, and the bike. In the first few miles he went down and lost the oil cap so he rigged one out of tape and a rag. In the next few miles he lost his shifter peg so he fashioned one out of vice grips. Finally he was seeing the home stretched then the bike sputtered, hesitated, and refused to start. Carlos had run out of gas in the middle of the desert with the finish just in reach.
After a call to the pits Dan and Bryan filled up a pedialyte bottle with gas and started walking into the unknown to help out Carlos. Not far from the Main pit they were stopped by officials who told them it was too dangerous to continue out into the desert but, that they had heard Carlos was out of gas and someone was taking some out to him. The race could be saved! With Carlos refueled and feeling rested he ripped through the final miles of the course over the finish line and into a sick burnout on the stage!
When Carlos pulled into the Main pit he dropped the bike and the whole team celebrated! He said that that last half was the hardest riding he had ever done and that he would have quite if all his buddies were not counting on him back at the pit.
All in all the 2021 Mint 400 did not disappoint! Out of 19 Hooligan riders only 6 finished. Danger Dan and crew came in 6 out of 6 finishers which was a huge win considering they had not finished before and over half the class did not finish this race.