Mint 400

The Mint 400 is an annual American desert off-road race which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was resumed in 2008 after a 20-year hiatus.

For the album by the Australian rock band, Ammonia, see Mint 400 (album).
K.J. Howe, Former Mint 400 Race Director being interviewed
Mint 400
LocationLas Vegas, Nevada
Corporate sponsorThe Mint Las Vegas
First race1968
Circuit information
SurfaceDesert off road race

The race was 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 real estate developer and friend of Howard Hughes, was owner of the Mint Hotel in downtown Las Vegas. It became known as The Great American Desert Race.

History

Norm Johnson created "The Mint '400' Del Webb Desert Rally"[2] in 1968 in his role as promotions director of The Mint Hotel & Casino. The first race sent 101 vehicles across roughly 400 miles (640 km) of desert, from The Mint Hotel in Las Vegas to the Sahara Tahoe at Stateline (Lake Tahoe).

The future of the Mint 400 race came into question in 1988 following the sale of Del Webb's Mint Hotel & Casino to Jack Binion, owner of the Horseshoe Club. However, as a testament to the race itself, the prestige and importance of the event created by veteran race director K.J. Howe and the Mint management team and the financial benefit this promotion brought to the City of Las Vegas, under new ownership the annual Mint 400 Off Road Race continued to be run in 1988 and 1989.

Unfortunately new owner Binion felt the race and its ancillary activities along Fremont Street had a negative impact on his casinos. Despite the race's importance to the sport of off-road racing and the local community, one of the toughest racing events on United States soil was gone following the 1989 Mint 400.

The Mint went quiet for nearly twenty years – but was resurrected by long-time sponsor General Tire with help from the Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts group. General Tire has been the title sponsor of the race ever since. SNORE eventually sold the franchise to film and television producers Matt and Joshua Martelli – marking the next significant chapter in the Mints evolution. The race resumed on March 29, 2008.[3] The race was preceded by inspections of the vehicles on Fremont Street in the Fremont East district.[3]

In 2012 The Martelli Brothers partnered with off-road industry veteran Casey Folks, owner of the largest off-road desert racing organization in the world, the Best in the Desert Racing Association. The Mint was added to the Best in the Desert championship schedule, and a new 100 mi (160 km) race loop was carved out for the 400 mi (640 km) contest. The number of entries swelled to an astounding three hundred and twenty three race teams, making the Mint 400 one of the largest off-road races in the world.

The Martelli Brothers featured a brand new event this year called the Method Race Wheels Pit Crew Challenge! Sixteen pit crews from the top unlimited truck teams competed in a head-to-head battle to decide who had the best crew. Each of the three-man teams were given one jack, one impact gun, and one spare tire. The team who completed two tire changes the fastest, advanced to the next round. Over 10,000 spectators on Fremont Street, showed up to cheer on the teams. After several close and heated rounds the General Tire/THR team – which included drivers Mikey Childress, Rick Johnson, and crewmember James Walker – out pitted the field to win the inaugural Method Race Wheels Pit Crew Challenge.

Winners

Motorcycle

Mint 400 Overall Four-Wheel Winners
  • 1968 Gene Hirst & Al Halz 16:01:32
  • 1969 John Johnson & Linda Johnson 12:19:00
  • 1970 Drino Miller & Vic Wilson 12:44:34
  • 1971 Fritz Kroyer & Bill Harkey 13:30:42
  • 1972 Fritz Kroyer & Bill Harkey 8:33:00
  • 1973 Parnelli Jones & Bill Stroppe 9:10:00
  • 1974 No race due to gas crisis
  • 1975 Gene Hirst & Rick Mears 9:31:46
  • 1976 Gene Hirst & Bobby Ferro 10:22:47
  • 1977 Malcolm Smith & Bud Feldkamp 9:09.30
  • 1978 Malcolm Smith & Bud Feldkamp 8:59.35
  • 1979 Bobby Ferro & Glenn Harris 8:34.94
  • 1980 Jack Johnson 7:38.37
  • 1981 Ron Gardner & Bernie Mayer 8:18:13
  • 1982 Jim Temple & Rolf Tibblin 9:32:39
  • 1983 Jim Wright & Billy Wright 9:17:52
  • 1984 Jim Wright & Billy Wright 9:20:31
  • 1985 Jim Temple & Kenny Cox 9:08:16
  • 1986 Larry Ragland 8:33:14
  • 1987 Steve Sourapas & Dave Richardson 8:50:00
  • 1988 Mark McMillin 7:46:16
  • 1989 Ivan Stewart 9:34:40
  • 1990-1994 Nissan 400
  • 1995- 2007 No race held
  • 2008 Brian Collins & Chuck Hovey 6:36:55
  • 2009 Andy McMillin 8:27:35
  • 2010 Roger Norman 8:37:29
  • 2011 BJ Baldwin 8:30:37
  • 2012 Robby Gordon 6:05:54
  • 2013 Bryce Menzies 6:19:59
  • 2014 Steve Sourapas & Andy McMillin 6:14:29
  • 2015 Justin Lofton 5:57:38
  • 2016 Justin Lofton 5:36:10
  • 2017 Rob MacCachren 5:30:32
  • 2018 Bryce Menzies & Jake Povey 5:52:03
  • 2019 Justin Lofton 5:24:26
  • 2020 Luke McMillin & Jason Duncan 6:49:52

Truck
  • 1971 Fritz Kroyer, Bill Harkey 13:30:42[5]

Classes
  • 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
  • Ultra4 4400

Notable entrants

Entrants in this event were worldwide 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, Jack Flannery, Walker Evans; international off-road competitor, Rod Hall; power boat champion Bill Muncey, film and television stars James Garner, Steve McQueen, Larry Wilcox and Patrick Dempsey; comedian Mort Sahl; astronaut Gordon Cooper and rock musician Ted Nugent are among the many racing and entertainment luminaries who competed in the Mint 400. Jay Leno raced with Jerry Zaiden from Camburg Racing, Heavy D & Diesel Dave from the Discovery Channel show, Diesel Brothers competed in the Mint 400 in 2017. Heavy D & Diesel Dave's race in the Mint 400 was featured on the show in the episode from Season 3, "Race Against the Machine".[6]

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 actress Lynda Carter 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.

The Miss Mint contest [7] was revived along with the race with the goal to become the premiere beauty contest in motorsports. In 2012 the prize purses were increased dramatically, driving up the number of entrants to nearly double from previous years. The contingent of beautiful off-road women competed for a combination of online votes and judges’ votes. After a heated online battle and tens of thousands of votes – the competition was narrowed down to three lucky ladies. The talented Vanessa Golub-Ferrara was picked as The 2012 General Tire Miss Mint. She walked away with five thousands dollars and a Dirtsports Magazine cover photo shoot.

In 2014, the coveted Miss Mint was narrowed down to 10 finalists that competed against each other in a series of questions during The Mint 400's KMC Wheels Pit Crew Challenge. On legendary Fremont Street in Vegas, the new Miss Mint was crowned Dani Mathers. The prize package was more than ever before; Dani walked away with five thousand dollars, a Dirt Sports Magazine cover and a brand new Honda Civic presented by Metro Honda Acura Dealership.

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. The race is also featured in the 1998 film, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas based on Thompson's book and starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro.

The 2010 and 2011 Mint 400 were featured on Fuel TV, while the 2012 Mint 400 was aired on Speed.

References
  1. "The Mint 400" Archived 2007-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, Las Vegas Sun, Retrieved January 7, 2007
  2. "Mint Names Starter For Desert Rally". Las Vegas Review Journal. 1968-02-25.
  3. "News at 11PM". KLAS-TV. 2008-03-29.
  4. "Vegas Rider Finally Wins Mint Jackpot" Archived 2006-12-10 at the Wayback Machine, dated between March 21 and 23, 1971 Las Vegas Sun Archived 2007-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved January 7, 2007, Warning: PDF file
  5. "California Pair Take Mint 400" Archived 2006-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, dated between March 21 and 23, 1971, Las Vegas Sun, Retrieved January 7, 2007, Warning: PDF file
  6. "Buggies roll at night" Archived 2006-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, dated between March 21 and 23, 1971 Las Vegas Sun Archived 2007-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved January 7, 2007, Warning: PDF file
  7. "Miss Mint", Mint 400, Retrieved January 7, 2013
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