Mint 400

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. 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.

Mint 400 (album)

Mint 400 is Ammonia's debut studio album. It was released in Australia in October 1995. The album takes its title from an auto race described in Hunter S. Thompson's book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

The album was produced by legendary American producer Kevin Shirley (Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Slayer). Recorded in ten days at Festival Studios in Sydney, the recording captured the band's live sound, avoiding excessive overdubs and studio manipulation.

Mint 400 was an immediate hit in Australia, debuting in the National Album charts at Number 15. The album went out of print in March 2002.

The car on the cover is a custom 1968 Pontiac GTO.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Allan Balmont, Simon Hensworth and Dave Johnstone except where noted