Wrong turn does not stop fun for Mint 400 racers

By Brett Okamoto

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 | 6 p.m.

There are some jokes that just don't get old.

No matter how off-road racer Chester Williams or his teammates tell it, the story of their third place finish in the Class 18 division of this year's Mint 400 brings a smile to anyone's face. After taking first in the division just a year ago, the team didn't take long to get themselves into a little trouble this year.

"We had a little mishap on the first lap," said Williams' co-rider, Dave Smith of Boulder City. "Around mile marker 5 or 6 we were in so much dust you couldn't see anything and we lost sight of the race course. Chester was asking me, 'Where is the course?' I told him his guess was as good as mine. We hung a U-turn and ran the car right into a drainage ditch. It took us 30 minutes to get the car out."

The two were able to pull the car out and finish the race, but the delay dropped them to a 62nd finish overall. It did little to lower their spirits, however, as they were one of only 85 entries to finish the race out of a list of nearly 250, finishing in a time of 13 hours, 25 minutes.

It also gave them a great story to tell.

"I've been saying, Chester is a great driver and I'm happy to be riding with him," Smith said. "Except when he's driving into ditches."

Williams and Smith are both longtime Boulder City residents and have been racing partners for years. Both over 60 years of age, they still compete with the enthusiasm of guys on their first race. Williams, who drove 300 of the 400 miles last weekend, got a standing ovation when he crossed the finish line.

It's just one of many experiences off-road racing has given Williams, who first got the idea of becoming a driver after a trip to the Mint 400 in 1973.

"I spent all day at that race and I remember the drivers coming and saying they couldn't take it anymore," Williams said. "They made an announcement that they needed more drivers to finish the race. It was an open invitation, 'Please come, the drivers can't do another lap.' I've never been to another race where they had to do that."

The duo said they feel this year probably wasn't too far off from being similar to that race in 1973. The Mint 400 was comprised of four 100-mile laps on the most brutal course either could remember. The terrain was so rough, that Williams could barely talk his teammates into co-riding with him through the final laps.

"All said, the course just beat us up," Williams said. "I told the guys, 'I built a better car than you are a person.' It took the beating like a champ, better than the bodies that rode in it."

This year was just the second of the Mint 400's comeback, as the race took a 20-year break starting in 1988. It's been sorely missed by off-road enthusiasts like Williams, who has been racing for nearly 40 years.

When asked what it feels like to compete in the grueling race, Williams had to think a second before trying to put it into words.

"It tests everything that you have," he said. "You're basically dodging rocks the whole time. You come up on other drivers and you can't even see them. You crawl up in their dust and tap them to make them get out of your way. There are parts where you're driving through boulders, through rock quarries. You just try to keep a smooth course, when you're back goes off the ground you just hope it doesn't break when it lands."

The two will take a short break to fix up their car and their bodies before heading to Calient for the Dusty Times Caliente 250 on May 8. Already some of the older competitors in the off-roading circuit, they feel like they still have plenty of years left in their driving careers.

"It's the adrenaline rush for me," Smith said. "I don't know if it keeps me younger or not, but it keeps me active. You climb into a car and know you have to go 100 miles and try to survive it."

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].