For this answer, we turn once again to Mike Attisano, whose travel guide, Simplifying Las Vegas, is available on Kindle and as a pdf at simplifyinglasvegas.com.
Here’s Mike’s coverage of the Las Vegas options for getting your speed on.
You’re in luck. Whether you'd like to drive a stock car, a dragster, or a souped-up go kart, Las Vegas provides these opportunities at a handful of driving schools.
You’ll find the main attractions at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located about 12 miles north of downtown at 7000 Las Vegas Blvd North. The LVMS not only hosts professional racing, such as NASCAR and NHRA events, it's also a haven for people who want to put the pedal to the metal. Three main schools hold classes at the Strip. Not that Strip. This Strip is built for speed, not traffic.
Mario Andretti Racing School, 702/651-6300, offers several packages, including a ride-along (now discounted at $99) and an experience where you drive around the track at top speeds of 170 mph (that’ll set you back about $2,000). You can choose from different styles of cars: authentic NASCAR stock car, an Indy-type racer, Formula 2000, and a beefed-up BMW Z3. This school offers a lot of speed without a lot of restrictions. There's no lead pace car and, other than the ride-along, no instructors in the car with you, and the NASCAR race cars are real.
The Richard Petty Driving Experience, 702/643-4343, features a ride-along program with an instructor who will spin you around the track for three laps at up to 160 mph. Don’t want to ride shotgun? You can also get behind the wheel of a 600-horsepower NASCAR race car and take advantage of one of the several packages, ranging from Rookie (eight laps for $400) to the Racing Experience (80 laps in multiple sessions for $2,500). Your family and friends can watch you from a special seating area (so don’t crash into the wall).
Going around in circles not your thing? Try Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, 866/480-7223. This school is based in Florida, but visits Las Vegas in March, June, and October. The two-day course includes both classroom instruction and time on the track ($2,000).
For something a little different, try the Spring Mountain Motor Sport Ranch in Pahrump, 775/727-6366 (about 45 minutes west of Las Vegas). The 3.5-mile course is challenging, filled with twists and turns. They have everything from Ron Fellows Performance Driving School and Corvette Track Days to go karts that zoom up to 85 mph. Costs vary for the programs, but they range from $225 to $450 for the karts and $1,000 (one-day course) to $3,300 (three-day course) for Ron Fellows.
Regardless of which school you choose, they all have a few common themes: Safety first. You must participate in some instruction (such as a video) and submit legal forms ("I agree not to sue should I drive into the wall") before you get in a car. You must have a valid driver’s license. You have to know how to drive a manual transmission (stick shift) except for Indy-style cars for Andretti’s program. And you have to be in good health; for some programs (such as Fran Hawley’s), you need to fill out a doctor’s form stating as such.
VROOM!
