This impressive facility is widely considered to be the premiere racing venue in the Southwest United States, and rivals fabled speedways in Talladega, Charlotte, and Daytona for its scope and the deep catalogue of year-round events. The main oval hosts a major NASCAR race weekend in March, packing pretty much every one of the 135,000 seats, but there are happenings on it and the other tracks more than 260 days a year. There is an NHRA-sanctioned drag strip that runs high-octane funny cars and motorcycles, two road courses, a dirt track, a short oval “bullring,” and more.

Of the many unique features (how many raceways have a view of the Strip?), one of the most interesting for race fans is the Neon Garage, an infield facility where the drivers and their teams set up camp for the major races. Big windows and overhead galleries allow people to watch the cars being worked on and give up-close access to the men and women behind the wheel. You pay a premium, obviously, but true speed freaks should get their tickets early.

If watching the action is not enough for you, there are several programs available to put you behind the wheel for some adrenaline junkie action. The Richard Petty Driving Experience (www.drivepetty.com; [tel] 800/237-3889) offers both NASCAR-style vehicles and new American muscle cars (Camaro, Mustang, Challenger, and the like) that are raced on the superspeedway; Dream Racing (www.dreamracing.com; [tel] 702/605-3000) has specially modified Ferrari race cars running the inside road track; and Exotics Racing (www.exoticsracing.com; [tel] 702/802-5662) has a full fleet of Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis, McLarens, and more that run on their proprietary 1.2-mile course. All give you classroom instruction and time behind the wheel, and while they are not cheap, there are few things more thrilling than going down the back straightaway in a race car doing 140 miles per hour, or trying to find the perfect path out of tight curve you are taking in a 430 Scuderia at stupid grin-worthy speeds.