Dream Racing Las Vegas

Not sure if this fits here or not but last week in Vegas for our wedding anniversary my wife surprised me with some track sessions at Dream Racing at Las Vegas Motorspeedway. For those that are not familiar with Dream Racing, they are the only place in Vegas to drive a "race" Ferrari that I know of. The cars labeled as "F430 GT DR", the best I could guess is that they are somewhat close to a Challenge car, wings, slicks, full cage, etc but certainly not a GT2!

The package my wife got me was the entry-level, five laps around their 1.1 mile infield road course. It started with about 10/15min in their iRacing simulator to get you used to the track and the cars, during the session you are paired with one of their instructors to walk you through the laps, the track, the car etc. Was really helpful and made you feel comfortable before heading out. I was also pretty happy that I was 5 sec per lap quicker than the other person in my group, though to be fair I have a modest amount of driving and karting experience!

From there we headed to the track where we had to wait as Total was having a corporate event that morning that was wrapping up. Side note, I asked a guy who was wearing a Red Bull polo if he was a Webber or Vettel fan, he just stared at me as if I was speaking Greek, apparently he just got the shirt in Austin last year as a guest of the company and had no idea what I was talking about.

The anticipation was growing as we saw the cars run down pit lane at the speed limit and then explode as the drivers got on the gas! Finally it was my turn to get in the car, the instructor in the car was most definitely Italian but was great, very calm and relaxed and wanted you to push as much as possible. This was my first time in a car with wings and slicks and wow, was it unbelievable! The cornering level was just crazy and most of the track was actually taken in third gear without braking for most corners.

From flipping the ignition switch and pressing the button to bring this beast to life to seeing the computerized Ferrari layout on the dash in front of me to hearing the howl of that V8 I have nothing but great things to say about Dream Racing! Complimentary transportation to and from Crystal's at City Center was nice as well since the track is pretty far out. Would highly recommend to anyone, supposedly they are getting 458's soon to replace the 430's and I would definitely say do more than five laps, I would have run all day if I could!

As for times, I have no idea what a "good" time is on the track but I did a 58sec lap on the simulator and a 1.00.2min lap on the track (lapped the other person in my group). I do not know if that is good or not but the instructor was pumping his fists, fist bumping me, etc and talking about how no one in the Total group that whole morning ran that fast, especially on their first time out. I am sure he says that to everyone but it I like to think maybe, just maybe there was some truth to it
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Dream Racing and Exotics are actually two different companies, though both are at the same location. From what I know both offer road cars though only Dream offers the "race" car.

I can only imagine how hot driving on the track in August would be! It was mid 70's and sunny my day and it was pretty toasty in the car.

 

Was there one week earlier actually (the 8th)! Too bad, would have been nice to have a "home town" reference. Will have to get my video put up somewhere. Would like to meet you some time as well, enjoy your posts on here and see your car parked at Road America frequently.

As for everyone saying 5 laps was not enough.....I couldn't agree more! I don't think 40 laps would have been enough. Definitely doing this again and from the sounds of it, will be in the 458's they are getting.

 

I think I've seen you parked at ALMS often, I make it up there for that every year. I don't do any of the club activities up there, I did a couple weekends with MVP Track Time back when they ran at Blackhawk Farms but the switch to Road America, 120k miles on my 2002 RSX and having a kid have precluded me from attempting to run now that they are at RA! Would love to get out on track there sometime though, I never have and I have desperately wanted to. Plus it would give me an excuse to dust off my helmet!

Your friend certainly is much more smooth than I am in my video, was this his first run of the day or one of the later sessions? Certainly I feel like I could shave a good amount of time off my quick lap now that I have "some" experience behind the wheel in the car and on the track. Interesting how the different instructors have people take different lines. Mine was not crazy about me getting close to the rumble strips and always had me lift during the right hander that preceeds the last two right handers. Kept thinking "I could take this flat" but wanted to be respectful of the rules.

 

I made it up to RA for the 50th on Saturday, had a great time. Would definitely be interested in heading down to K1, haven't been since it was CIR and have been trying to get back!

As for the racing line, not sure, the cars do have ABS and ASR so there is some saftey before it gets too out of shape, could just be a reflection of the instructors driving style for that matter.

I'll let you know if I ever plan on tracking at RA again. Pretty sure my current car has seen the last of its track days and getting close to end of its time with me. With a 2 year old now need something with 4-doors, Jag XF Supercharged is looking mighty tempting! But who knows, if I cannot get anything for my RSX, I may just turn it into a track only car

 

Glad you enjoyed it! Looking back at this, I did a 57sec lap in the 430, I was back out there in April and did the 458, my instructor asked me my 430 time and then said "I'll get you to 50sec in this car".....safe to say I didn't really believe him, after 7 laps my last lap was my fastest, 49sec. It's amazing how much faster the 458 than the 430!