My Speed Vegas Experience Was Short, Sweet and All Too Brief
Drifting with Roush Stage 3 Mustangs
Hey, I drifted one of these last year, in fact, it might have been this exact car. The drift experience, in this instance, was that of a ride along. It turns out more people than intended went straight to the bar, so they couldn’t risk anyone driving tonight. This included my very sober self, who was rethinking skipping the sauce. Bummer.
Normally, Speed Vegas will give you basic instruction on how to drift, and then throw you behind the wheel of these Roush Stage 3 Mustangs. They produce 670 horsepower, and if this isn’t enough to help you drift, you’re likely hopeless. Even as a passenger it was fun, though, when it comes to fast Mustangs, I would rather be driving. My chauffeur was a bit taken aback by how non-plussed I was about his tire-slaying antics. After explaining that drifting is my hobby, he understood, and proceeded to kick the clutch again and make the Mustang howl, like a coyote under the desert moon.
After riding along, I hopped on the other side of the safety barrier and watched for a few minutes. Specifically, I saw a man in a suit that likely costs more than my annual salary nearly vomit onto said suit. Shortly after that I watched a woman wearing a very stunning dress, and heels, which I’d wager were about 4-inches high, require assistance getting out of the Roush rocket. She also required assistance finding terra firma, lest she risk falling over, entirely. That driver was certainly earning his keep.
On track with the GT3 RS
Eventually it came time to hop onto Speed Vegas’ two mile circuit. Again, no driving allowed. This proved to be a great disappointment in my life, and I have yet to truly recover. Snark aside, of all the very fast cars Speed Vegas has on tap the one I was most interested in was the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Purposeful, razor sharp, and packing a 9,000 RPM screamer of an engine, it was a no-brainer.
My Porsche chauffeur was very pleased when I told him to “go as hard as you want.” What followed was a casual chat between us, two, as he thrashed the GT3 RS as hard as possible around the circuit.
What a delightful car. Exactly as I knew it would be, the GT3 RS is razor sharp. The engine sounds lovely, and the PDK transmission clicks off shifts in rapid fire succession without missing a beat. In fact, the only slight surprises, at least, for me, was how loud a stock RS is. I was honestly worried it would be too quiet for my tastes. Nope, sounds lovely. Then there was the fact it exhibited, effectively, no corner entry understeer. The Porsche magic is in full effect here.
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Following this was a ride-along in a Baja-ready off-road truck. The merger between Speed Vegas and VORE has bore fruit in the form of a new off-road short course. Well, it’s short in name only, as a single lap takes over two minutes. There are also no less than seven jumps per lap. It could be more, but my rattled brain could only count so many. Even in the passenger seat, this is hilarious fun. These trucks feature mid-mounted V6 engines, massive tires and enough suspension travel to swallow up lesser trucks whole.
Eventually, I was steered away from the short course, and I enjoyed my time just watching supercars fly by on the race track.
This gave me ample time to think about the value this experience offers. If you’re already in Vegas partying your weekend away, why not pop down to Speed Vegas and knock out a lap or two. Prices start at just $49 for a quick lap with a Cayman S, and up to $99 per lap for seat time in a GT3 RS or Ferrari 488 GTB. Of course, buy a package, and the rate drops considerably. Even still, if I was in Vegas, and wanted a break from drinking and partying, I would much rather drop $4-500 here than at the club. This is better than any bottle service.
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