The has been running around the deserts near Las Vegas, Nevada for decades. It’s a 400 mile wasteland sprint between trucks, cars, buggies, and maniacs behind the wheels. This short video covering the 1978 edition of the event gives you a taste of what this world was like back in the day.

Classic footage starts at around 30 seconds in. The old film, shot by Robert O’Conner, follows the BG Goodrich team which ran two Chevy Blazers driven by Frank “Scoop” Vessels and “Baja” Bob Gordon (yes, ’s dad).

Lots of great footage of all kinds of machines though. After having just done a few hundred miles in this year’s Baja 1000, it’s still hard to imagine how brutal this speed and terrain would be with primitive equipment.

These cowboys sure put on one heck of a show.

Registration for the 2016 Mint 400 hasn’t opened yet, but you can stay posted on what’s going down with next year’s race on and here on Jalopnik.

Video via BF Goodrich/Mad Media

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