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The Mint 400 is an annual desert off road race that was resumed in 2008 after a 20-year hiatus. 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.〔() "The Mint 400", Las Vegas Sun, Retrieved January 7, 2007〕 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== In 1967, Norm Johnson organized the first ever “Mint 400 Off-Road Rally” to promote and publicize The Mint Hotel. Norm sent two matching dune buggies across six hundred miles of scorching desert, from The Mint Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada - to the Sahara Hotel in Lake Tahoe, California. The coverage by the national media caught the attention of race teams and off-road enthusiasts everywhere - and the endurance race became famous overnight. The future of the Mint 400 race came into question in 1988 following the sale of Del Webbs Mint Hotel and Casino to next door neighbor 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, two years removed from previous ownership and upper management that were themselves race competitors and motorsport enthusiasts, who understood and appreciated the importance of this event to the sport of off road racing and the local community and; now owned by an individual that once remarked the race, its competitors, tech inspection on Fremont Street and surrounding ancillary activities, was a negative impact on gambling and his Bingo players, the rougest and toughest racing event on U. S. soil was gone following the 1989 Mint 400 event. Considered a motor racing icon, on the level of the SCORE Baja 1000, a legendary event was dead and a historic era in off road racing had come to an untimely end. The Mint went quiet for nearly twenty years – but was resurrected by longtime 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. The race was preceded by inspections of the vehicles on Fremont Street in the Fremont East district.〔 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 one hundred mile race loop was carved out for the epic 400-mile 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 KMC 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 KMC Wheels Pit Crew Challenge. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mint 400」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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