Mint 400 remains ultimate test, can’t-miss social event

Norm Johnson likes to tell this story about the time Buddy Hackett drove Herbie the Love Bug in The Mint 400.

Johnson started The Mint 400, aka “The Great American Desert Race,” in 1967. It began almost as one of those stunts on the old “Candid Camera” show:

“We thought it would be really funny if we sent matching dune buggies across 600 miles of scorching desert terrain from The Mint hotel in downtown Las Vegas to the Sahara hotel in Lake Tahoe.”

It wasn’t long before the Mint 400 became famous: It was the ultimate test of man and off-road machine and kidney belt. It attracted famous racers: Indianapolis 500 champions Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Rick Mears, Rodger Ward; it attracted famous actors who became serious racers: Steve McQueen, James Garner.

Gordon Cooper, the astronaut; Mort Sahl, the comedian; Lee Majors, “The Six Million Dollar Man,” when he was wed to Farrah Fawcett.

Lynda Carter and Vanna White and various Playboy centerfolds were Mint 400 girls before they became TV’s “Wonder Woman” and TV’s Vanna White and various bosom buddies of Hugh Hefner.

Oh, yeah, and that Hunter Thompson guy, who feared and loathed the Mint 400 in a good way. I think.

The Mint 400 was one of the social events of the year: 400 miles and a cloud of dust, and then, when the dust settled, a major cocktail party. Woody Hayes would have loved the Mint 400.

Jack Binion, the story goes, did not love the Mint 400.

Binion owned the Horseshoe Club next door to The Mint. He believed the off-road race to be a hindrance to gamblers and bingo players, even if Buddy Hackett drove (a specially prepared) Herbie the Love Bug in 1969, and a lot of people came out to snap pictures.

Soon after Binion bought The Mint, the cloud of dust and roar of engines ceased, after the 1989 race. Desert tortoises were pleased. But a lot of people missed Herbie and Wonder Woman and Ivan “Ironman” Stewart.

There were various reincarnations of the 400: One year, when Nissan was the title sponsor, they even let sports writers ride along with pseudo celebrities.

I was cruising along nicely with John Clark Gable, Clark Gable’s son, until Robby Gordon flew over top of our heads in one of those monstrous Class 8 trucks with the multiple hemis and whatnot. It wasn’t long before my kidneys gave out, and the carpeting in our Class 7S Ford — the “S” stood for “Stock,” and that’s why it still had carpeting — caught fire.

But these adaptations of the 400-mile race capitulated, too. The Mint 400 finally returned in 2008 with help from General Tire. Saturday’s race — it begins at the crack of dawn near the Jean/Goodsprings exit on Interstate 15 — has attracted 256 entries, including one for Rob MacCachren of Las Vegas.

If MacCachren is racing, it must be the real deal. MacCachren is like Pigpen from Peanuts, a real dirt bag, when it comes to racing in the stuff.

Patrick Dempsey also will be driving a buggy in the Zero One Odysseys Class. Though Dempsey considers himself a serious racer, most people still mostly consider him as Dr. Derek Shepherd on “Grey’s Anatomy,” and his presence is sure to rekindle some of the celebrity vibe of past Mint 400s.

Last weekend, Dempsey drove in the 12 Hours of Sebring; in June, he’ll return for a second go at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also has competed in the American Le Mans and Grand-Am series, which is serious racing, as serious as it gets.

One, then, should not confuse Patrick Dempsey with Buddy Hackett when it comes to his motor sports. Paul Newman? He’s fine with that. In fact, a film crew will be following Dempsey around the rocky washes and suffocating silt beds this weekend for a documentary on celebrity racers that will air on the Discovery channel.

Dempsey was kind enough to return a phone call Wednesday morning, during which he spoke of his passion for fast cars (fueled by his father’s interest); the history and tradition of off-road classics such as The Mint 400 and the Baja 1000; Le Mans, the endurance race, and Le Mans, the movie; and that he still yearns to drive an Indy car because when he was a partner in the Vision Racing IndyCar team, the insurance people wouldn’t let him anywhere near those safety harnesses.

“To be in a racecar is a great thing,” Dempsey said, and he said it in the way I have heard other men who are serious about racing cars say it.

And so on Saturday, should Rob MacCachren come up on him fast and go flying over top of his head, Patrick Dempsey’s heart will not skip several beats as mine did, and the roar of the hemis won’t frighten him, and he won’t almost pee his pants.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.