The Road to the Mint 400 presented by BFGoodrich Tires
Many time, we see racers competing at the top level of their chosen discipline and really don’t give too much thought to how they ended up there. Since I grew up drag racing, I know how that progression works, and can see many parallels between the journey some of my friends have made and this video chronicling the journey one man took to earn a seat in the upper echelon of offroad racing.
Tracy Graf was born and raised in Saskatchewan Canada, hardly a Mecca for offroad racing that doesn’t require snowmobiles or dog sleds, but caught the bug for all things offroading. He started out rock racing like so many guys here in the south, but felt the need for speed and decided to pursue desert racing with a keen eye toward eventually competing in the legendary Baja 1000.
Graf would begin his desert racing journey in 2011 when he watched the Parker 425 and decided he wanted to give it a try. Tracy bought a Mason 6100 truck and jumped into the Sportsman class, where he won his first two races. He stepped right on up to Class 1, then wasted little time in continuing up the ladder to Trick Truck.
It was around this time that Graf decided to move his operation southward after operating out of Canada. This was a big move, obviously, but thanks to some connections made in the offroad world through the years, he was able to link up with Justin “Bean” Smith who has taken over the daily operations of the team for the most part. The team runs on BF Goodrich tires and as you’d imagine, consider that a huge part of their success. BFG has been winning in the off-road world for decades, far too often for it to be coincidence.
With such a great team behind them and Goodrich tires pushing the trucks through the sand and grit, Tracy and Bean managed a second place overall finish at the Parka 425, the race that first sparked Tracy’s interest in the sport. The team is now gearing up to compete at the Mint 400, where they hope to make that last step up and take home the checkered flag!
