Mint 400

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Mint 400 was also an album by Australian trio Ammonia.

The Mint 400 was an annual desert off road race for both motorcycles and four-wheel vehicles (buggies, cars and trucks) sponsored by Del Webb's Mint Hotel and Casino. [1] Del Webb, a well known builder and friend of Howard Hughes, was owner of the famous Mint Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. It became known as "The" Great American Desert Race. [2]

Contents

[edit] History

The Mint sponsored this event from 1968 through the sale of the hotel and casino in the late 1988. For the first few years of the event Jim Beam put out special commemorative decanters. Billed as the richest off-road race, the Mint 400 attracted over 500 entries every year and brought in millions of dollars to the Las Vegas business community.

Pre-race activities included the closing of a portion of Fremont Street to conduct the vehicle technical inspection and race car impound. [3] The race was based at the Mint Gun Club. [4]

Norm Johnson, in 1967 was the public relations and promotion director for the Mint Hotel, when he created the "Del Webb Mint 400 Off Road Ralley," (the official title of the first race). Johnson was promoting the "Annual Mint Hotel Deer Hunters Contest" and had decided to award a dune buggy as the Grand Prize in 1967. To publicize the Grand Prize, Johnson hired two off-road specialist, to race from the Mint Hotel to its sister hotel, The Sahara Tahoe," completely off-road, with an official of NASCAR timing the car away and when it completed the nearly 600 mile journey. A writer and photographer from the Las Vegas News Bureau accompanied the two off-roaders. They only traveled by day, camping out at night. The publicity was so successful that Johnson asked the two men if they thought a race could be created. At that time a group of Jeeps had just completed running Baja, California (which would become known as the Baja 1000)and it was felt a race could be a great publicity stunt for the hotel and Las Vegas. Johnson contacted a friend and NASCAR race car driver, Mel Larson, in Phoenix, Ariz and asked him to race in the Mint 400. Larson agreed and the two then contacted Parnelli Jones in Los Angeles, who also agreed to race a Ford Bronco.

The first Mint 400 had a guaranteed purse of $15,000 (which grew to more than $30,000 with manufacturers money). A total of 101 started the grueling 400 mile loop in the Nevada desert, with only 32 vehicles completing the entire 400 miles. The first to cross the finish line was J.N. Roberts riding a Husqvarna motorcycle. Just as the sun was coming up over Sunrise Mountain the first four-wheeled vehicle, driven by Gene Hirst, crossed the finish line. Johnson was promoted to the Thunderbird Hotel (a sister hotel on the Las Vegas Strip) and remained a consultant to the race. Mel Larson was hired to be the race director for the 1969 race, and remained in that capacity for a number of years.

Submitted by Norm Johnson from his book "The Off-Road Racer,1976."

[edit] Winners

[edit] Motorcycle

[edit] Truck

  • 1970
  • 1971 Fritz Kroyer, Bill Harkey 13:30:42 [4]

[edit] Notable entrants

Entrants in this event were world wide and included some of the most well-known names from all racing genres as well as the television and motion picture industry. Indianapolis 500 winners Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Rick Mears, Rodger Ward, off-road champions Mickey Thompson, Ivan Stewart, and Walker Evans, power boat champion Bill Muncey, movie- and television stars James Garner and Steve McQueen are among the many racing and entertainment luminaries who competed in the Mint 400. [7]

[edit] Mint 400 girls

Each year the Mint racing committee chose a contingent of women to reign over the events' activities. Known as the Mint 400 girls, this group includes such names as Lynda Carter (who portrayed Wonder Woman in the television series) and Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White. Mint 400 Girls Tracy Vaccaro and Donna Speir were Playboy centerfolds and Vickie Reigle graced Playboy's cover subsequent to their Mint 400 publicity. Lisa Soule, Anita Merritt, Angela Aames, Lisa Hunter and Suzanne Regard later appeared in various movies and television series as well as Mint Hotel and Casino advertising campaigns.

[edit] Impact on journalism

Hunter S. Thompson's report on the 1971 race for Sports Illustrated was one of the earliest and most complete instances of gonzo journalism. His suggestion that he would ride a Vincent Black Shadow (one of the fastest production road bikes ever made) was most likely tongue-in-cheek, since this bike is too large for offroad riding and the last one produced would have been 16 years old by that time. The Mint is also featured in the movie based on Thompson's book, both named Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1] "The Mint 400", Las Vegas Sun, Retrieved January 7, 2007
  2. ^ [2] ORC Staff, "Off-Road.com Presents Coverage of the 2000 SCORE/Laughlin Desert Challenge", February 1, 2000, Off-Road.com
  3. ^ [3] "Fremont Street Historical Facts", information provided by the Fremont Street Experience, Las Vegas, 1995
  4. ^ a b [4] "California Pair Take Mint 400", dated between March 21 and 23, 1971, Las Vegas Sun, Retrieved January 7, 2007, Warning: PDF file
  5. ^ [5] "Champs Aren't Disqualified", dated between March 21 and 23, 1971, Las Vegas Sun, Retrieved January 7, 2007, Warning: PDF file
  6. ^ [6] "Vegas Rider Finally Wins Mint Jackpot", dated between March 21 and 23, 1971 [7], Las Vegas Sun, Retrieved January 7, 2007, Warning: PDF file
  7. ^ [8] "Buggies roll at night", dated between March 21 and 23, 1971 [9], Las Vegas Sun, Retrieved January 7, 2007, Warning: PDF file
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