The Mint 400 Race

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 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. Initially,the race was based at the Mint Gun Club.

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.")

Mint Hotel PR executive, K.J. Howe, who competed in GT, Formula and Sports Car Races, and Hillclimbs and Rallys throughout Europe, succeded 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 Assoociation(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 will be indicted into the Off Road hall of Fame in ceremonies to be 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 is an Event Manager of 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.