Randy Merritt and Mongo Racing Finish Mint 400 in Debut of New Ford Truck
- 9 May 2012
After a broken back sustained in a racing incident put Merritt out of action, the Mongo team appeared to be down and out. But last season, Merritt returned to the drivers seat and finished a remarkable second in championship points. This season, the Mongo team is jumping up a class in the Best In The Desert series, unveiling a new Ford at the prestigious Mint 400 in hopes of regaining the championship form of years past.
"After I broke my back, I decided I was done with the (8100) class," Merritt said, referring to the limited-travel stock class he was running in. "Last year, I got a call from Ford about building a F-150 EcoBoost for the 8100 class. I said to myself 'this is my last year in this class' and Tracy Rubio at TNC started building me a long travel unlimited V6." Merritt missed the first race of the season, instead having a substitute driver start the race so the team got starting points and stayed eligible for a championship. Round 2 found the team taking delivery of the new Mongo Racing Ford on the Friday before the Mint 400. After guessing on the setup, they managed to come home in sixth.
Merritt said he was extremely satisfied with the way the weekend unfolded considering the time crunch everyone was under. After the Mint 400, the team was able to get in the shop and put the finishing touches on the new Ford. They also spent several hours testing, hours Merritt thinks will pay off immediately. "With time in the truck as a driver, I will get more comfortable and learn what it can do out there. The one thing that was on our side is our experience, I have the same core friends and teammates that I had when we started racing, and we all know how to succeed." The new truck hopefully will take on a life that resembles its driver and team. The name Mongo came from an old radio commercial that featured a man named Mongo selling big clothes. The team was known for it's big trucks and big personalities and he name Mongo Racing was born. The team was successful from the beginning, winning five-straight Parker 400's at one point. Merritt said the support his team gets from K&N has been huge. "The race truck has K&N products anywhere I can put it," Merritt said. "But one of the more important things that is overlooked is the support vehicles. In the bigger races, the support vehicles go through some nasty, silty roads to get to the pits, and in desert racing there is no time for break downs so air filters are crucial to the support trucks." Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
