by Norm Johnson Send Me E-mail

Well, gang, I spent one heck of an exciting weekend out in good ol' Henderson watching the Henderson's Terrible 300 Off Road Race, promoted by Casey Folks and his "Best in the Desert" organization as part of the Silver State Series of Off-Road events.

It was my privilege to be the Grand Marshall, believe me. One of my duties was to start both the motorcycles and cars Saturday morning. That meant I had to be at the start / finish line by 6:45 a.m., meaning crawling out of bed at around 5:30 a.m. Well, gang, my heart doesn't even begin to wake up until around 9:00 a.m., and that's on a good day. But we made it out to Eldorado Valley, which was (and is) located about three-miles from Railroad Pass. It was super cold too (which of course I suffered with all this week).

I waved the green flag (to start them on their way) for the first five motorcycles and went immediately for some hot chocolate inside the timing van. At least it was nice and comfy inside the van. At about 8:30 a.m. the first of the cars and trucks roared away from the starting line. I stayed in there and waved that green flag for each vehicles - my right hand was almost frozen by the time the last vehicle left the line.

Casey had designed a special spectator area and pit zone for the vehicles and a bumpy short exhibition course which the race cars and trucks had to navigate five times during the race. The course itself was a distance of about 62 miles overall and each class (except for the stock Jeeps which only did four laps) had to traverse the terrain five times. A lot of the vehicles did not finish the race in the allotted time. But for those who did (it is not unusual to have a lot of breakdowns) it was one heck of a good race. If you were driving a Ford Truck and you won your class there was a very nice bonus check waiting for you at the banquet.

Bud Pico and his staff, including one heck of a lady named Charlene Ham, did a remarkable job of keeping everything they were responsible for running smoothly. Mistakes are made all the time and like Bud said after the event "we learn more and more every time we stage the race." One nice touch is when Water Street is closed from the Convention Center for about two blocks on Friday afternoon. The contingency people come in and set up a display and the race vehicles line up to go through technical inspection. This tradition was started with the original Mint 400 Off-Road Race when we closed off Fremont Street. At one time, around the early 70's Fremont was closed from the Union Plaza Hotel all the way to Las Vegas Blvd, with 400 some vehicles lined up for the parade to the start line. Bud and his staff made sure there were plenty of lights and various bands were on hand to entertain the spectators and competitors. It was a fun evening!

And, I must say, Casey Folks puts on a great race. As one of the top off-road motorcycle racers (at one time he was considered a Number One Rider) he knows what racers are looking for: a competitive, well marked course and a great big check. As I mingled with various drivers (many of them sons of guys I used to race against) I heard nothing but great things about Casey, Bud and the City of Henderson. One driver told me that The Best in the Desert Series is the best paying series of all off-road organizations.

Pico did tell me that they will try to expand the distance of the race in 2005 and spice up the Friday night technical inspection and entertainment on Water Street to make it even more fun than it already is. "We had a great turnout considering our race took place just two weeks after the Baja 1000," Pico said. There were 146 official starters.

Casey and his staff, Pico and his people along with the City of Henderson are to be congratulated for keeping a tradition going started back in 1968 with the very first Mint 400, which it was my honor to have created. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe the sport would be where it is today. It's a great sport and I honestly miss competing in the dirt, dust and rocks. Oh, those rocks: they can really hurt!

THIS AND THAT QUICKLY: RCM Productions along with Carrow's Restaurant will have a special Christmas Party and Toy Drive tonight (Dec 10) and Saturday. Entertainment is provided by some of the best singers and comedians in town. If you come in and donate a toy for a child (all donations will be delivered to Channel 8 TV) you'll get a free drink and an appetizer... Gosh, I can't remember the last time I actually watched a super star girl singer perform here in Las Vegas. Well, gang, I will be at the Sahara Hotel on Thursday evening (December 30) to see a Legend perform - Ms. Connie Francis! She will be there, with Kenny Kerr also making a very special appearance; through Jan. 1st. Showtimes are 8 pm. for the two regular performances with a 9 pm., time New Year's Eve... Kevin Spacey will be at the Stardust Hotel Dec. 26-27 doing his Bobby Darin tribute. Didn't even know he could sing, but I've listened to him on TV and he can actually sing. He does a great job singing Darin's music - and it's not an impression... Speaking of impressions one of my favorites is Bill Acosta (as you regular readers know). Well, he'll be at the SunCoast Casino in Summerlin this weekend. It's supposed to be a much different show with a video screen and two great tributes to Ray Charles and Rodney Dangerfield as well as his new Abbott & Costello comedy parody to the infamous "Who's On First." Of course he'll do his version of "12 Days of Christmas," which is a killer... Speaking as I was about the famous "12 Day of Christmas" I have the perfect gift for you. Fay McKay who created the original drunk version many, many years ago has a disc of her doing the skit. It's hilarious. If you would like to purchase one or many, email me and I will forward it to her...

Well, gang, that's it for another week. I'm outa here!

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