Evie Harper has a need – a need for speed.
And the Burnaby resident was recently rewarded for that with a silver medal in her first race in the Mint400 off-road race in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Mint 400 is the oldest and most prestigious off-road race in America, and is held each March in the treacherous foot hills of Las Vegas. The multi-day event features a massive vehicle parade down the famous Las Vegas strip, a two-day festival on historic Freemont Street, and two-days of grueling off-road racing on a desolate and punishing 400 mile racecourse.
“Prior to the race I practiced in Squamish,” Harper told the NOW.
The car that Harper used in the race was customized, yet the options were limited in scope due to safety regulations.
“I chose Volvo for its reputation for safety,” said Harper.
With the XC90s robust unibody fame the 2” chromoly roll cage almost seemed redundant. OMP HTE-R seats and Sparco 5-point harnesses held us tight. Fox 2.0 shocks complimented the electronic OEM suspension provided in Dynamic Performance mode.
In addition the car also was equipped with custom spacers/adapters that were used to fit 20” American Racing Wheels wrapped around 33” BFGoodrich KO2 AllTerrain Tires. 4x Summit Racing halogen lights on the roof, 2x led cube lights mounted on the hood, and a 32” light bar assisted the LED headlights to flood our path with illumination.
Harper does not have a background in the automotive industry.
“A lot of it is self-taught or things I have learned along the way. I took a course last year and offered navigation when I was kind of still looking towards competing in the rebels,” said Harper.
Harper has been off-roading since high school.
She met her co- driver Elijah in January of this year through Instagram. Elijah lives in Las Vegas.
“Elijah is the person I can credit. All the things I had issues with on the build, he was the one to fix them out. He's definitely more mechanically inclined,” said Harper.
