MINT 400 LIVE! 2020
CLICK HERE LIVE! NOW!
-Archived----------------------------
MINT 400 LIVE! 2019
TEN YEARS COVERAGE MEETS THE NATION!
First Biggest Baddest Story of this event. [OPINION] Mad Media needs an Independent Race Marshal Service to administer ALL of its operations involving safety of the public!
A motorcycle racer was injured during this event, we don't see Mad Media supporting his recovery efforts, WHY?
Last Update: May 14, 2019
The proof is in the pudding. This event proved that the midgets at Mad Media cannot race marshal itself. They ALLOWED an inferior race tracking device
to be placed on racers equipment, during the MINT 400 2019. They were in charge and responsible for EVERYTHING once the green flag drops.
FAILED race administration.
They also failed in race safety and recovery.
The person in charge of race safety for the organization knew an inferior tracking system was allowed onto the vehicles and the service/system was inferior.
This individual was asked about this subject matter before the race and he admitted, simply "because of the money, the race was being handled in this fashion".
He also stated after the race, "There is zero doubt in my mind in anyway whatsoever that each and every driver saw emergency vehicles in advance of the incident. The Mad Media Retrieval vehicle with flashing lights was 200 feet back from the scene and acting as a buffer as we were only about 10 feet from the course while working. There is even less doubt that drivers did not see 3 flaggers waving another 100 feet before that. If they missed all that, then they come across 3 rescue trucks lit up like Christmas Trees. The terrain was gravel, sand and rock. There was a nearly a straight mile with a slight downhill grade. There was zero dust. The only excuse is they were focused on THEIR race and nothing else".
Why should THEY (the racers) follow the rules, if you-yourself aren't following the rules!
Mad Media and this schmuck have some soul searching to do...
Racers! Share your MINT 400 2019 experiences to us at offroadlive@live.com
MINT 400 2019 THE FUCT FESTIVAL!
Race Tracking FAILS as Predicted by NATIONAL PowerHouse! Second biggest story
Matt & Josh Martelli, a notice that you may NOT want to read through our reporting. Your customers have spoken.
"Martelli bros, let me give you a tip. When you get greedy, you get needy. CageMatch has 10 times the event you have. Why? They take care of the racers first, then themselves second. Putting yourself first will make your single event a short one".
A well known Mint racer
"Well done Mint guys! What a joke!"
A well known MINT racer
"Many times during the day I wished I had it in the car".
(The other service)
Jimmy Beaver, poser, finished 77th LMAO!
"But wait I thought YB was badass??? Sorry I just like calling it how I see it. This is the worst tracking since IRC. Biggest mistake they (Matt Media) made was going away from Racing Trax."
FishGizz, just an inbred cheater
THIRD Biggest Baddest Story?
No BIG Screens and NO MISS MINT!!!
Thanks Martelli Brothers MAD MEDIA!
Mad Media - Banners and Bull-Shit...
What's The Fourth BIGGEST Headline of the Day?
The Martelli's FucT the racers, HARD!
A longtime BITD racer:
"After all the money we spent as a team...we didn't even get Mint 400 T-shirts!! We asked and we were told at check-in that we could buy them!!!
Are you F##king kidding me!! I've raced a bunch of BITD races in the last 13 years and we ALWAYS got T shirts for drivers and co-drivers!!!
Martellis were to damn cheap to rent a hall at the golden nugget for registration and drivers meeting. We had to sit out there in plastic chairs and freeze our ass off!!
I don't think I'll be back to the Mint again after 3 years!!!''
BFGoodrich Tires & MONSTER Energy Drinks Comments:
LOADING NOW>>>
Drunk Pirate Lance Clifford hammered Mad Media:
"Last year we were screwed out of our driving experience! This Year had way fewer people at contingency, the Martelli's don't know what they're doing!"
Results Fall to the Fifth story of this event!
The tracking FAILED, DO WE KNOW WHO ACTUALLY WON? Great example of this is Rob Mac...he was leading the race at one time, then he disappeared...the announcers said
"a problem with the tracker".
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| Bryce Menzies TOYO Tires Started the Unlimited Racing |
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| Justin Lofton has now won three MINT 400 |
Motorcycle 3 Laps
Motorcycle 2 Laps
Saturday Afternoon 3 Laps
Saturday Afternoon 2 Laps
Sunday Morning 3 Laps
Sunday Morning 2 Laps
NOW! LIVE REPORTING>>>
WHO WILL BE MISS LIVE MINT 400 2020?
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| Miss LIVE MINT 400 2020? |
Who Will Be CROWNED MISS LIVE MINT 400 2020?
YOU can be 2020 Miss MINT!
Submit Your Entry NOW xcruise@live.com
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LIVE! MINT 400 2019 TOTAL COVERAGE
Mint 400 Rider Moto Down!
"My friend, teammate, and all around great guy Forest Smith had a bad get off this last weekend at the Mint 400. He broke his back and femur and is paralyzed from his belly button down. We are all hoping for the best with new medical technology and breakthroughs but right now things aren't looking great. We will never give up hope. He is a Dad, husband and RMEC (Rocky Mountain Enduro Circuit) President. He has given his all to the sport and anything anyone can do to help with medical costs would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance".
OFF-ROAD LIVE! sends get-well wishes.
CLICK HERE FOR GO FUND ME LINK
TRICK TRUCK DOWN!
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| Ryan Arcierro Levis Trick Truck Crash during Unlimited Race |
Update on the Ryan Arciero Levis Trophy Truck accident yesterday during the Trick Truck race. Ryan is ok and is currently with their codriver at the hospital. The co-driver was not Kyle Washington as has been reported.
The victim was a mechanic from the Herbst team. He has been awake and alert since the crash and the doctors are working on a back injury he suffered.
OFF-ROAD LIVE! sends get-well wishes.
PLEASE HELP SUPPORT THE INJURED CO-DRIVER THANKS!
SUNDAY THREE LAP LEADER BOARD
SUNDAY TWO LAP LEADERBOARD
CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL TRIAL RESULTS
CLICK HERE FOR THE 6100 CLASS RESULTS
CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE/UPDATED RACERS LIST
Remember back in 2009? LIVE Desert Racing?
2019 LIVE! MINT 400 Via NATIONAL PowerHouse,
Las Vegas Nevada, HQ @StratVegas
***
MEDIA REPORT March 11:
MEDIA REPORT MARCH 9: Nailed IT!
How many years of Crap Live Streams have the fans put up with?
Bob Bower:
Mr. Sphincter himself!
How many times does he reference
his anus? or someone else's?
Bob's psychological fixation goes back to his failed toilet training?
Bob's Quote of the Day:
"Brains don't have Gender"
OOps! Forgot about those damn HORMONES!
Scientist, Boob-Expert and Media Clown
Thanks BFGoodrich Tires, for this complete shit-head repping for the 'Culture'.
No wonder he's your guy, he's an idiot.
MEDIA REPORT MARCH 8: A LOOK AT THE RACE VIDEO STREAM
Starting on Saturday morning we'll offer the video stream of the racing event. Be forewarned, this feed has been the BIGGEST joke in media, for years.
Let's talk about all those fails... NOW LOADING
The two-day racing format (Saturday and Sunday) will focus on the sullied event’s wildly hilarious live video stream. This year’s program will allow NATIONAL PowerHouse to tune in on their computers and handheld devices from anywhere in the world to follow the progress and ultimate disaster of this Primm, Nevada desert off-road racing event.
For the first time since 1976, motorcycle competitors are returning to the LIVE MINT 400, they'll start off the line at 7AM WEST on Saturday, followed by the limited four-wheel vehicles beginning at 1PM WEST.
On Sunday, four-wheel racing resumes at 6AM (Even after the time change!) with the Pro UTV Classes and more limited race vehicles. Sunday afternoon at 1:30PM WEST will finish off a busy weekend with the 900 horsepower unlimited trucks competing for the overall competitive win.
The putrid on-air talent will include motocross puke Ricky Johnson, alcoholic Bob Bower (we drink a shot of liquid-vitamin T every time Bob laments having a heart attack when he drinks Tequila), UltraBore poser and Off-Road CageMatch announcer Jim Marsden, and our favorite desert male lion seminal fluid receptacle, Tiffany Stone-'Boner'.
The advertised stream display (when it's on) is:
UPDATED! March 8, 3PM
*Newly announced hours for the live race stream:
Saturday, March 9th from 10:00AM - 4:00PM and Sunday, March 10th from 9:30AM - 9:30PM
*9th SATURDAY FIRST DAY OF RACE RADIO 7AM; RACE COVERAGE 9AM-9PM
*10th SUNDAY SECOND DAY OF RACE RADIO 7AM; RACE COVERAGE 9AM-9PM
*The stream is a CF so, don't count on them holding to any real working schedule.(Told 'Ya)
It's a Joke!*
MEDIA REPORT MARCH 7: Qualifying Results
MONSTER Mike on OFF-ROAD LIVE! Radio LIVE!
***LIVE! Monday, 4PM WEST***
March 7 Report:
LIVE! MINT 400 OFFICIAL SCHEDULE
March 3 Report:
Martelli culture
The Martelli Brothers new, 'off-road culture'.
For years, this 'culture' has been hyped as part of the existing community. Lets be clear, the constant sticky fingers of the Martelli Brothers is not and never has not been, part of "off-road".
This ridiculous Matt & Josh speak is the central part of their money pitch to the community. Constantly selling crap is not and never has been part, of the 'off-road community'.
This constant, selling of the circus, is the central aspect, of the Martelli culture.
Lets examine the Mint 400 events immaterial money grubbing.
Immaterial, because some of their activities are mindless merch and luxury service gouging. Mindless, because the selling has no benefit to the larger group, the community as a whole.
If this part of the mint cash flow could be shown to be a supportive part of addressing the long term collective off road racing land use issue resolution, its material part of the effort would be easy to prove.
But, theirs is a private enterprise.
Which uses public lands.
Long story, we'll get to it, later.
Stay Tuned>>>
We'll need an independent moral auditor. We'll look deeper at the proceedings, beyond the obvious elemental monetization.
Today, we'll also need to understand the land use issues surrounding the mint racing agenda and mad media money grubbing. The new land use challenges will be the greatest threat to making money for the Martelli culture.
"Martelli culture">>>MORE LOADING>>>
We'll start the public policy stuff here. If you don't like POLITICS avoid this stuff like its the plague!
**Clark County officials say they are close to finishing a sweeping federal lands bill that could open old desert racing and recreation areas to new land development.
Moapa, Jean, Primm and Stateline, the rest of the historic desert off-road race courses of the Southern Nevada past, will be gone!
County Air Quality Director Marci Henson, who is leading the land planning effort, said she hopes to have the draft bill done. Back in June, county commissioners approved a resolution outlining what will go into the proposed legislation. That wish list included 45,000 acres of new land for development south of the Las Vegas Valley
*Clark County Commission put together a resolution seeking federal legislation to open almost 39,000 acres of public land for development and set aside more than 370,000 acres of new wilderness and protected areas for the desert tortoise and other threatened species.
Where's the OFF-ROAD RECREATION? We'll be answering that question in this coverage.
The four-page resolution outlines 15 separate transactions, including a 41,000-acre expansion of the Moapa River Indian Reservation, several new or expanded wilderness areas totaling almost 83,000 acres and nine areas of “critical environmental concern” totaling almost 293,000 acres. The document and related maps are available for review on the county’s website at https://bit.ly/2JHlh1d
OFF-ROAD RECREATION>>> MORE LOADING>>>
EXCLUSIVE Perspective!
NATIONAL PowerHouse
March 10 Reporting:
As predicted by NATIONAL PowerHouse, the Tracking was a Disaster!
Numerous Racers reports:
FishGizz sez Sunday Morning:
"Tracking times did not get set for daylight savings yet it looks like on the YB tracking. So remember to add an hour to what time it says it updated at unless they fix it".
Saturday Morning:
"This YB tracker is not doing good. The tracking page only shows names and numbers for a few random ones unless you click on each one to see who it is, also some of the bikes on lap 2 are still showing on lap 1 and the updates are not updating at 5min consistently, plus you have to keep refreshing the page often or it doesn't update. Hopefully it gets better for the car races or its gonna be very hard to tell whos in what position."
"But wait I thought YB was badass??? Sorry I just like calling it how I see it. This is the worst tracking since IRC. Biggest mistake they made was going away from Racing Trax."
Dave Cole, Poser & Hoser
"I literally had none of these issues running the same EXACT system".
Racers thoughts on 'Dave Cole':
"Dave Cole said it would work", Dave Cole has been lying out his ass for $$$".
"Tracking has got to go or drastically overhauled. The fact I’m voluntold paying for this crap is nonsense. I refuse to mount your trackers let alone pay for them again. Last year paid and didn’t even get one, this year paid and got one , but A) no one could track anything or anyone due to whatever reason, and B) what 2 (TWO) times it did load it was at minimum a half hour behind position. Already disputed CC charges on tracker, money already refunded for “service not provided as advertised”.
***"I loved getting sporadic updates all day long....... It was fun trying to figure out where we were relative to the guy behind us based on updates that varied as much as 10min at times. Manually having to refresh the screen and then find our car each time was also fun".
***"Now they put numbers on the vehicle markers, but they don't coincide with the vehicle it is representing. What a load of crap!"
***"Can’t even get to tracking from the YB site...grey’d out link..."
***"They better stick to Yacht race tracking".
***"Swing and a miss on tracking. Seems like a premiere event would have the best out there".
***"tracking sucks"
***"We raced today and spending another $250 for a tracker that does absolutely nothing for race truck is a f@#king joke!!! I spoke with many high up BITD volunteers and they all said the Martellis wanted racingtrax to pay them a substantial fee!!
Its all about money for Martellis!!
After all the money we spent as a team...we didnt even get Mint 400 tshirts!! We asked and we were told at check in that we could buy them!!! Are you F##king kidding me!! I've raced a bunch of BITD races in the last 13 years and we ALWAYS got T shirts for drivers and co drivers!!! Martellis were to damn cheap to rent a hall at the golden nugget for registration and drivers meeting. We had to sit out there in plastic chairs and freeze our ass off!! I dont think I'll be back to the Mint again after 3 years!!! The martellis also said race is on for at least 5-10 years...completely a lie!! There agreement is only for 3 years! Believe me...these guys will keep jacking up prices to make their money and disappear when agreements end!!! Wish KC was still here!!!Oh forgot to add...they told us Wednesday night that spectators were not allowed at TT qualifying. Martellis knew way ahead oh Thursday's qualifying that spectators weren't allowed. They blamed on government shutdown!!! What a joke!!!"
***"I have to say it seems the YB tracker was more for everyone else but the racers. The push to pass and Mechanical buttons are fantastic features to us back field runners. Yes the lower car counts per race and lack of dust were a big plus this year. I think a dusty race would have had a different outcome with accidents.
Kudos to David Clay for testing and improving the Race Trax system at the Mint even though he was pushed out. I agree with my racer friends, it seems everything was inflated cost wise and for what, less???
Yes I know that the Martelli bros own the Mint, but without the racers they have just a name.
It seems like such a Money grab.
They should leave the racing part to the experts like Jackson and Folks and stick to promoting".
***"I am probably already saying too much. At one point near end of the day we were waiting for 2 cars to go out on their last lap. Per YB it showed they had one to go. But when they crossed Start finish BITD timing had them finishing 3rd lap and done. We were expecting to stay an extra couple hours out there based on YB info. Fortunately night 1 ended at 2215 instead of midnight. Bonus for the course workers".
**"The transfer rate on the YB system race day was 20 minutes per".
Pat Dailey, Dailey Engineering
Self described racing expert
MORE>>>
February 28 Report:
$53,600 Estimated Profit Margin, just on tracking services to Mad Media at the MINT 400 2019?
154 Saturday Motorcycles, March 9 LIVE!
107 Saturday Afternoon Racers, March 9 LIVE!
158 Sunday Morning Racers, March 10 LIVE!
117 Sunday Afternoon Racers, March 10 LIVE!
536 Total Racers, So Far.
2019 is a Special Year for OFF-ROAD LIVE!
It's our 10th (tenth) LIVE MINT 400 Online.
Our Presenting Sponsor, NATIONAL PowerHouse
will be LIVE! from Las Vegas, Nevada for LIVE MINT 400 RaceWeek, March 4-10!
We are dedicated to follow one subject very closely in this race event. The decision to use electronic means to track and facilitate racing results for the Best In The Desert racing association conduct of this event. We are happy to discuss this entire topic in public, here on LIVEMINT400.com
February 27 Report:
Even the late, great Pistol Pete Sohren was fuct over by the juvenile race operations between BITD and Mad Media. Pete stated many times in public how he had no respect for the Martelli Brothers.
On his Mint 400 sponsors page (Las Vegas Hogs and Heifers) today it reads, "“We were mistakenly held back from our class at the start of the race and got off to a late start but despite our navigation system going, a flat tire and losing both doors, we came in 2nd place in our class, and 52nd overall, in our first race ever! That entire week was filled with great memories with Pete and his crew and I’m just happy we all had a chance to get to know Pete and his family.”"
"Held back from our class", means they were controlled from starting in the right position by BITD & Mad Media stooges who run this buttf++ck circus. "Navigation system going", means their 'Mad Media' chosen, mandatory, electronic race tracking system failed.
The race operations by Mad Media over their years of the Mint 400 have evolved into a massive, catastrophic Cluster F**K. Because all they care about is how much money they can make on the races.
This is not a sporting event. It is a business.
With the racers as customers and BITD & Mad Media as the 'business'.
Pete said so, many many times. LIVE REPORTING
February 26 Report:
"Essentially, Mad Media is the new kids on the block."
'Best In The Desert' Racing Association'
'Rescue Director' Explains 'Mad Media', Race Safety Decisions
"Well I can offer a few insights, a few facts and a few opinions that you all can take for what it is worth: (most of which will likely have me in an email chain or an office within a few hours but here goes)
First off, I am a big fan of the RT system. As the Rescue Director for Best in the Desert, I get the opportunity to work closely with them several times a year. The number of features they have put into a unit offer some great information about an incident before we ever commit resources to it such as inversion, g-out, medical alert, or mechanical alert. The tracking is generally fairly accurate and reliable on their side, even if not always on the end viewer side. However all that aside, what I appreciate most is their constant continued investment into their technology. They ask for feedback and make changes. I believe their new bike system once implemented will be exceptional and potentially prevent injuries and save lives in our sport once it is tested, and implemented. If it was my choice based on my experience with different race series, for one system at every event, it would be Racing Trax. Dave and his team are exceptional at what they do.
Make zero mistake in understanding how the Mint 400 operates. It is a event owned by Mad Media who hires BITD (Best In The Desert Racing Association) to handle the actually racing. Complaining to BITD about these decisions is not going to resolve anything. It isnt their decision. Right, wrong or indifferent, it is a Mad Media decision.
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| Mad Media - Violence promoting message board owners, Matt Martelli (L) Joshua Martelli (R) talks communication content and "how teamwork makes your dream work", Sure! |
Ok so how was that decision made?
Let me offer some behind the scenes - This isnt Matt and Josh laying on a bed of 100 dollar bills trying to think of the next big thing they can do in order to upgrade their lifestyles.
No, this was a long thought out business decision based attempting to balance a need for tracking, overall safety of the event, the Mint 400 Production values and the cost of the device at the end of the day.
I will be completely honest and upfront, my opinion, along with others, was asked very early on in the decision process. Specifically I was asked on my opinion of the Push to Pass and if it was essential to the safety of racers. As a safety guy, many would think I would be an overwhelming yes it is essential. However that was not my response. The Push to Pass has shown improvement. It has worked in many situations. It has also not worked in occasions and in at least 2 serious cases, it has lessened the awareness of the racer in his situation. As racers, many are becoming reliant on many forms of technology. From GPS guidance, to warning systems, some racers seem to be losing their edge on the battle of them vs the desert. They often drive over their abilities with trust in technology driven devices. This in my opinion is far more dangerous than any electronic do-dad put on a vehicle.
We have a total of 4 races for the Mint 400. Essentially 4 separate events over 2 days. Bikes and Vehicles will never be on the course at the same time for this event. That hazard and fear removed a big concern on the Push to Pass. With the classes broken up the way they are, it will also eliminate many of the traffic concerns. The way the break down is currently, there is no more than 150 vehicles on the course at any time. That is a dramatic chance from last years peak of 400+ on the course essentially at one time last year.
The Mad Media team made the decision for the YB program based on all the parameters they compiled and are going with that system. Does that mean that is the way it is forever? absolutely not. Essentially, Mad Media is the new kids on the block. They have a right and quite frankly a duty to racers, the sport and themselves to explore all the options before them to make a educated decision that effects their events today and in the future.
I have had the opportunity to work closely now with the Martelli brothers and everyone else at Mad Media since they approached Casey several years ago. They do not jeopardize safety and their interest in every aspect of it is actually very refreshing in my opinion. They care more about the overall safety of their event than anyone I have ever had the chance to work with. The Mint 400 is a year long passion for many on their team. Meetings every month with key personnel, constant review after an event, that immediately is part of planning for the next event. It is a constant rotating calendar, and safety is always at the forefront.
I promise you this, we will be meeting within days of the conclusion this years Mint 400 and this is a subject that will be reviewed on what kind of impact it had."
David Nehrbass
"What's the purpose of being stupid, if you don't show it".
*Public Safety Dispatcher at Lake Mead National Recreation Area
*Former Public Safety Dispatcher at Mercy Ambulance
*Manages Motorsports Safety Solutions
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Founder Norm Johnson Talks about the LIVEMINT400.com
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| Mint 400, Desert Off-Road Rally started in 1968 at the old Fremont Street casino of the same name. Billed as “The Great American Desert Race,” the original ran for 20 years. For years, it disappeared. Las Vegas News Bureau Photo |
MINT 400 is the one of the world’s oldest and most famous of Western North America's desert off-road races, having staged its "50th anniversary race", in 2018. In actuality, the event hasn't been run or operated for 50 consecutive years.
As someone who was there at the beginning of the race and played a key role in launching it (so humble), I’d like to share the story of how it got started.
In 1967, when I was an assistant publicity and promotion director for the Mint Hotel, I read a story about a group of four-wheel drive enthusiasts who had raced from Tijuana to La Paz in Baja California, Mexico. The complete history of Baja Racing now resides with the BAJA Racing HALL Of Fame.
SEE BajaRacingNews.com FOR HISTORY & UPDATED NEWS
Around the same time, I became acquainted with two locals, LeRoy Wickham and John Sexton, who were constructing glass-bodied dune buggies and had approached the hotel to suggest we purchase one of the vehicles as a prize for our annual deer-hunting contest.
We discussed various promotion ideas with the two buggy builders and came up with a wild plan. We would purchase one buggy and send it on an off-road journey from the Mint to our sister hotel in Lake Tahoe. The deal was approved by Bill Bennett, general manager of the Mint Hotel, and Wickham and Sexton agreed to make the trip. In August 1967, the two men left Las Vegas with a photographer from the Las Vegas News Bureau, two dune buggies and camping equipment.
The trip took six days at a cost of $560. News coverage of the trip was unbelievable. We began getting news clippings from the around the world, and that’s when a light bulb went off to have a race like the Baja event. Wickham and Sexton were hired to lay out the course. Permission from more than 60 landowners, including Howard Hughes, was obtained. Senator Alan Bible helped coax the Bureau of Land Management into approving the event, stipulating that it would charge $10 for each vehicle entered in the race. Bob Fuerhelm, who worked for a Jeep dealership in California; Pete Condos, a pioneer in off-road accessories; and Don Arnett, who had just designed a new glass buggy, agreed to help. We staged a news conference in Los Angeles, and responses from the publicity, word-of-mouth, and wire stories began to trickle in to the hotel. The Del Webb Mint 400 Desert Rally was on its way to fame and glory.
I talked to racing legend Parnelli Jones, my friend from my early days of racing, and convinced him to enter. The Ford Motor Co.’s Lee Iacocca, then best known for spearheading the development of the iconic 'Mustang', agreed to provide a newly launched off-road sports-car, the 'Bronco' that would be modified for Parnelli. Before we announced Jones’ entry, the Mint had received 56 entries. After the announcement, the entries just poured in. We ended up with 109 cars and motorcycles officially entered. The entry fee, $150.
With the assistance of Arnett, Condos and NASCAR driver Mel Larson, who also agreed to compete, we came up with some basic rules. Competitors needed a roll bar if they were driving an open-air vehicle, as well as a helmet, lap belt and fire extinguisher. We established a guaranteed purse of $15,000 for the race, plus contingency funding from auto equipment and oil companies. By race day, the total purse had grown to $30,000 plus a lot of free products. After the mayor of Las Vegas allowed us to block off Fremont Street the morning of the race, 109 vehicles lined up in front of the Mint. Del Webb was on the platform along with Lt. Gov. Ed Fike, who waved the starting flag.
With police escorts, the parade left Fremont Street and headed six miles to a junkyard, where a dirt road began. No race of this magnitude had ever been staged in the nation!
During pre-race staff meetings, it was estimated how long it would take for a race vehicle to arrive at a given checkpoints, through Mojave-Basin Desert locations such as Ash Meadows, Shoshone and Beatty. That would determine what time it needed to be staffed and ready to time each vehicle as it stopped. Our estimation for Beatty was off by nearly 30 minutes. A Mint staff member who’d been assigned to checkpoint duty arrived in Beatty only to discover that three motorcycles and a pair of cars had already been fueled at the checkpoint’s gas station and were on their way back to Las Vegas.
Fortunately, the station attendant had recorded the numbers and times. Although people have made false claims about the first race over the years — including that a checkpoint official forgot to show up and the original rules were borrowed from the new Baja racing events like the Mexican 1000 Rally, that had popped-up recently — those were the only real hiccups.
As early as 1905, automobile racing and hill-climbs had arisen in the west. A series of "Triple A" (AAA) sanctioned cross-country, point-to-point Western United States desert racing events had started in 1907. The 'Desert Classic' series of events had been almost totally forgotten at that time.
Our tiny event grew to the point that 400 cars were entered, but it was canceled in 1988 after the Mint was "sold". Stay tuned HERE, we'll talk more about the SMACK of the MINT, later!
In 2008, SNORE, the Southern Nevada Off-Road Enthusiasts brought the race back! From 2008 until today, OFF-ROAD LIVE! has webcast the LIVEMINT400.com free and online. 2019 is this years 10 Year mark of 'Total Coverage' of the desert off-road racing event, "and as they say, the rest is history".
Author Norm Johnson, is the humble Founder of the Mint 400 and a Las Vegas resident since 1965. Norm is a former sports columnist for the Las Vegas Sun and started racing cars at 14 while growing up in Southern California. Mr. Johnson is the foremost news-sports media personality on the center stage of the planet! Working in the State of Nevada, Clark County and the Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas.
Presenting Sponsor
NATIONAL PowerHouse
MINT 400 LIVE! 2019 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NATIONAL PowerHouse takes RaceDay control with Presenting Sponsorship!
LIVEMINT400.com Begins! The
desert off-road race coverage starts promptly at 4PM WEST, Monday,
March 4. LIVE! from from the DeZert Tower Studios! Jean & Primm are going away! it's the last remaining desert recreation area open for competitive events in Nevada, USA.
NATIONAL Power House is tapping into the secretive racing world today, we will be breaking news as the race proceeds, so stay tuned. This LIVE! MINT 400 is one of the most contested races of the DESERT Championship Off-Road Racing 2019!
Join
us here, with the teams, families and individuals vying for DESERT GLORY. This event holds some of the most cherished positions in this
years, West coast motorsports. Fastest Pit Teams, fastest lap times and
winning class competitions! All reported LIVE! 2019 MINT 400. Ten Years LIVE!
CLICK HERE FOR THE LIVE MINT 400 ARCHIVE
Treasure Trove Of Desert Off-Road Wins!
CLICK HERE FOR THE LIVE MINT 400 ARCHIVE
Treasure Trove Of Desert Off-Road Wins!
