[woodcote]

   

The Mint 400 - which is happening near Las Vegas this week - is probably the most famous desert race on US soil, given that the arguably more famous Baja 1000 takes place over the border in Mexico. Desert racing in the US and Mexico began as soon as there were cars and trucks to race - commercial drivers would time their runs from one town to another over long stretches of desert road. Racers then modified their cars, trucks and bikes to go faster in the dusty, bumpy and extremely hot conditions. By the sixties, specialist desert racing vehicles - dune buggies - were developed using big wheels with lightweight chassis and glass fibre bodies.

The Mint 400 ran for the first time in 1968 and the 1971 race was the backdrop for Hunter S. Thompson's 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' - he was paid big bucks by Sports Illustrated to cover the race. AutoWorld recently released a Baja Bronco that paid homage to the Bill Stroppe-prepared car driven at that 1971 Mint 400 by Parnelli Jones. That's the red, white and blue car...

   

The gold and white car - Big Oly - won the 1973 Mint 400 in the hands of Parnelli Jones. Both these might get a run out on my HO track this weekend. And I really should post up something about those AutoWorld off-road cars in the HO section.

Live coverage of the 2020 Mint 400 is online: themint400.com

Over the past week and through to Sunday there have been loads of different classes running through the desert circuits. The big race - The Mint 400 for Unlimited and Baja Trucks - is on Saturday. It'll be fun!