S1 Ep213: Mint 400: The Chaotic Race Across the Las Vegas Desert

Past Gas

Donut Media

Leisure, Comedy, History, Automotive

4.9 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 December 2023

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“In some circles, the Mint 400 is a far, far better thing than the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby and the Lower Oakland Roller Derby Finals all rolled into one. This race attracts a special breed,” wrote Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. But how did a bunch of hospitality industry employees with little-to-no knowledge of motorsports turn a publicity stunt into The Great American Off-Road Race? Why did the Mint 400 go dark after twenty successful years? And what about this uniquely Vegas race ensured its eventual comeback? Buy the ticket, take the ride. Today on Past Gas: the story of The Mint 400.

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Transcript

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1:09.0	creative and you have to go in search of your creative spark again.
1:12.7	Maybe this is catching up with creative friends,
1:15.6	experimenting with a new look or trying out a new recipe.
1:18.8	And thanks to the Sims,
1:20.2	Inspiration is just one game and one spark away.
1:24.0	Ready to spark something, download The Sims 4 and play for free. In some circles the Mint 400 is a far, far better thing than the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby and the
1:40.1	Lower Oakland Roller Derby finals all rolled into one.
1:43.5	This race attracts a special breed, wrote Hunter S. Thompson
1:46.9	in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
1:49.2	Thompson had been assigned to cover the 1971 edition of the rally through the Mojave for Sports Illustrated.
1:55.6	But the Vegas Thompson encountered was far from the one we know today.
1:59.4	This was Old Vegas, Neon Lights, Nickel Slots, and $2 stakes amid the rough and tumble lawlessness of the desert.
2:07.0	It's in this colorful tapestry that the Mint 400 emerged as a casino promotion that would become a vital part of North American off-road racing.
2:17.0	How did a bunch of hospitality industry employees with little to no knowledge of motorsports
2:21.8	turn a publicity stunt into the Great American
2:24.5	off-road race. Why did the Mint 400 go dark after 20 successful years? And what
	...

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