Jay Leno set for celebrity run in Mint 400 in Primm

Jay Leno, former "Tonight Show" host, will drive a Toyota Tacoma in Saturday's Mint 400 in Primm. (Mint 400)

Actor Patrick Dempsey is one of many celebrities who have raced in the Mint 400. (Norm Johnson)

It takes the Right Stuff to compete in the Mint 400 — and sometimes even that isn’t enough.

Gordon Cooper was an original Mercury astronaut who later was considered for the commander’s role on ill-fated Apollo 13. NASA launched him into space in 1963 aboard Mercury-Atlas 9, and he orbited Earth 22 times. He spent 34 hours, 19 minutes, 49 seconds in orbit, traveling 546,167 miles.

“Gordo” Cooper lasted about 150 miles at the Mint 400.

This year, Jay Leno will try his hand as a celebrity pilot.

The former “The Tonight Show” host and automotive enthusiast will drive a Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro in Saturday’s race originating in Primm, with off-road racer Ryan Millen as co-driver at the start. Leno is expected to turn driving duties over to car builder/racer Jerry Zaiden and off-road journalist Fred Williams at some point, at which time the TV cameras probably will stop rolling.

“He’s really a gearhead, but I don’t know if he’s ever competed before in off-road,” said K.J. Howe, one of the Mint 400’s co-founders. “But he knows how to drive, and he’s got plenty of money, so he’ll have good equipment.”

Leno’s Mint 400 experience will be featured in an episode of the Emmy-winning “Jay Leno’s Garage” and is expected to expose the sport to a new audience. He adds his name to a long list of celebrity drivers who have competed in Las Vegas’ treacherous and iconic off-road race.

James Garner, Steve McQueen, Lee Majors, Larry Wilcox, Patrick Dempsey, Mort Sahl, Buddy Hackett, Shecky Greene, Ted Nugent … the list of celebrity drivers who have tried to conquer the dusty environs in a humbling test of man and machine is nearly as long as the difficult journey.

A few considered themselves serious racers. A few did not. Most never made it as far as the notorious Rock Pile.

Norm Johnson, the Mint’s other co-founder, said Garner, McQueen and Dempsey have set a high bar for Leno. Dempsey won his class in 2013 and also has driven in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the famous sports car race with which McQueen also is associated.

Buddy Hackett? Not so high.

Johnson chuckled when recalling the comedian’s short-lived Mint 400 excursion in a replica of the “The Love Bug,” a 1968 movie in which he had co-starred.

“He was headlining at the Sahara, which was our sister hotel. It was funny just to see him trying to get into the damn car,” Johnson said.

“I think he lasted about a half-lap.”