The Mint 400
- March 01, 2016
The storied history of the Mint is steeped in celebrity, drama and excitement as the city of Las Vegas itself. The Mint 400 has held the title of the toughest, most spectacular off-road race in North America since 1967 when it was first run. The race was created by Norm Johnson who was race director through 1974 and a participant from 69 to 82. Initially the race was a public relations event promoting the Mint Hotel’s annual deer hunt but what started out as hotel promotion soon grew into a legitimate desert race.
The second year it was run, Norm enlisted the help of his friends, famed race car drivers Mel Larson and Parnelli Jones with their endorsements and a guaranteed prize purse of 30,000 the participant list grew exponentially. There were intrnational entries which 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, 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 over the years.
The Mint 400 race ended in 1988 after the sale of the Mint however the story continued in 2008 when the Great American Off-Road Race was revived. Bigger, badder and better than ever, the Mint 400 is everything that is, was and a whole lot more. Given the advances in off-road technology and the ever changing landscape of Las Vegas, the Mint has grown but all the classic elements are still in place.
YB are proud to be providing tracking for this years event. Each car will have one of our trackers mounted on them which will send data such as speed and gps location via the Iridium satellite network. The trackers will be set to collect and fire this data off every two minutes meaning the race viewer will never be any older that 120 seconds before it is refreshed with the participants where abouts, meaning all those left at the start line can follow their teams progress throughout this exhilirating race.
For more information and to follow the race please visit the Mint400 website.
