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, until 1977, 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 Mint Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. It became known as The Great American Desert Race.^[2]

Contents 1 History 2 Winners 2.1 Motorcycle 2.2 Truck 3 Notable entrants 4 Mint 400 girls 5 Impact on journalism 6 External links 7 References

[edit] History

The Mint sponsored this event from 1968 through the sale of the hotel and casino in late 1988. For the first few years of the event Jim Beam produced special commemorative decanters. Billed as the richest off-road race, the Mint 400 attracted 528 entries in 1983 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] Initially,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, Arizona 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.")

Mint Hotel PR executive, K.J. Howe, who competed in GT, Formula and Sports Car Races, and Hillclimbs and Rallys throughout Europe, succeeded Larson as Mint 400 race director in the early '70's. He headed the race until 1985, which attracted a record more 528 four-wheeled entries in 1983. Howe and Mint 400 Vice President, Andrew Zorne, regularly competed in the unlimited two-seat division in the Mint race, while Howe competed with brother, Sandy and son, Scott in off road events throughout the western US and Mexico. (ed note: Motorcycles were dropped from the Mint 400 in the mid '70's due to astronomical insurance increases for the "bike" divisions, deemed by the hotel to be unreasonable.)

Mint 400 Chief Steward, Walt Lott, founder of Walt's Racing Association(WRA),and later, High Desert Racing Association (HDRA, was Howe's operations right hand, along with Chief Technical Inspector, Denny Selleck, and course marking guru, Tom Camp, who, along with wife Irla, set the standards and procedures for off road race course marking found in all desert races today. Lott, Selleck and Tom Camp are deceased. Lott was inducted into the Off Road Motor Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies held in Reno, Nevada in August 2007.

One of Howe's many innovations was to conduct the racing cars' Technical and Safety Inspection on famed Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. "Tech" became one of the highlights of the Mint 400 race as it drew thousands of spectators to the downtown locale to view the extraordinary and innovative off-road racing machines. He also changed the name to The Mint 400 Desert Race to depict its true "racing" stature.

At the urging of racing journalist, Jean Calvin, an Off Road Hall of Fame inductee, Howe was the first major off-road racing promoter to allow a class for 1200 cc VW powered, open wheeled racing machines, realizing over 100 entries in that class alone in just its second year. Former motorcycle world champion, Rolf Tibblin of Husquavarna fame, nearly won overall honors in 1976, finishing second in a VW powered 1200 cc, single seater.

The Mint 400 became the must event all off road racers would enter due to its exciting Las Vegas locale, the demanding 400 mile course, its rich purse, and its independence as an "open-to-all" racers regardless of affiliation.

Significant of the Mint 400's import was the fact that Speed King, Mickey Thompson, founder of SCORE International, an off road racing sanctioning body and promoter of the famed Baja 1000, and Baja 500 events, was the first entrant in the Mint 400 every year.

Howe is currently writing a book, "Remembering the Mint 400", expected to be completed mid 2008, and maintains an association with the off road racing fraternity as a member of the "Off Road Motor Sports Hall of Fame" advisory committee. He was a racing consultant and, later, an event manager for the Vegas Grand Prix, a "Champ Car World Series" event, for open wheeled racing cars, held through the streets of downtown Las Vegas in early April of 2007.

The race ended after the sale of the Mint and the resulting breakup of the management team.^[5]

It was reported that the race will resume, possibly, in 2009.^[6]

The race resumed on March 29, 2008.^[5] The race was proceeded by inspections of the vehicles on Fremont Street in the Fremont East district.^[5]

[edit] Winners

First Overall 83 & 84 Jim & Billy Wright

[edit] Motorcycle

• 1970 Drino Miller, Vic Wilson 9:54:5 ^[7]
• 1971 Max Switzer, J.N. Roberts 9:54:5 ^[8]

[edit] Truck

• 1970
• 1971 Fritz Kroyer, Bill Harkey 13:30:42 ^[4]
• 2008
  • Heavy Metal,
  • Mini Metal,
  • Stock Bug
  • Stock Full,
  • Unlimited Truck,
  • CLASS 1,
  • CLASS 1/2-1600,
  • CLASS 3,
  • CLASS 4,
  • CLASS 5,
  • CLASS 5-1600,
  • CLASS 6,
  • CLASS 7,
  • CLASS 7S,
  • CLASS 8,
  • CLASS 9,
  • CLASS 10,
  • CLASS 12,
  • CLASS 13,
  • CLASS 15,
  • CLASS 18,
  • CLASS 1450,

[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, and Rodger Ward; off-road champions Mickey Thompson, Ivan Stewart, Walker Evans; international off road competitor, Rod Hall; power boat champion Bill Muncey, movie- and television stars James Garner and Steve McQueen; Comedian, Mort Sahl; Astronaut, Gordon Cooper, are among the many racing and entertainment luminaries who competed in the Mint 400.^[9]

[edit] Mint 400 girls

K.J. Howe, Mint Hotel executive and longtime Mint 400 Race Director, conceived "The Girls of the Mint 400" in 1972 to add glamor and PR value to the race. Each year the Mint racing committee chose a contingent of women to reign over the events' activities. Local media representatives would help select the final ten from the hundreds of entries received from contestants from around the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe. The Mint racing committee would select the final five who became known as the Mint 400 girls. This group includes Lynda Carter (who portrayed Wonder Woman in the television series) and Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White. Mint 400 Girls Tracy Vaccaro and Dona Speir were Playboy centerfolds and Vickie Reigle graced Playboy's cover subsequent to their Mint 400 publicity. Lisa Soulé, 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 novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas depicts the 1971 race in one of the earliest and best known 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 off-road 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.

[edit] External links

• www.themint400.com, rivival of Mint 400

[edit] References