Exotics Racing, Las Vegas

Exotics Racing is an amazing exotic car driving experience located just 15 minutes away from the Las Vegas strip. Despite the name, it should be noted that this experience doesn't involve racing of any kind. You just get to drive a capable car on a track as fast as you dare. The experience is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, and it's certainly something all car enthusiasts visiting Las Vegas should consider.

Interestingly, the best exotic car driving experiences are in desert locations on two different continents. The Mojave Desert in Las Vegas, Nevada, has two of them, and the United Arab Emirates hosts another two. Exotics Racing is one of the two in the Mojave Desert. It recently moved its operations away from its previous location near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway to the facility at Speed Vegas.

This move is good news for two reasons. The first is the experience is now closer to the Las Vegas strip and airport, so you won't have to deal with the long drive to the Speedway. The second is you now have a remarkable collection of supercars to enjoy on the longest straightaway in Las Vegas. Add to that the off-road and karting experiences, and you’ll only find comparable services in perhaps one other location on the planet.

Cars

Exotics Racing has an extensive collection of supercars that's relatively up to date. Current top supercars on the list include the Ferrari 488 Pista, Porsche 911 GT2 RS and the Lamborghini Huracan STO. The list of available cars grows every few months, so there's always a reason to go back.

Not to be outdone by the other big player in Las Vegas (Dream Racing), Exotics Racing has also acquired race cars other than the EXR race car. These include a McLaren 570 GT4 and a Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo. While it still doesn't have as many race cars as its rival, these additions have certainly closed the gap.

It's also worth noting that there appears to be an "arms race" between Exotics Racing and Dream Racing. They usually have the same set of super cars with a few advantages for one provider or the other depending on when you look. That state of affairs is great for competition and should give most of us a reason to keep going back.

We will continue to keep an eye on the fleets at both locations but at this point neither provider has a significant advantage over the other to make us recommend one based on the car collection alone. While we're on the subject of cars, if you're planning to drive just one car, allow us to recommend driving the Ferrari Pista. It is a joy to drive on a racetrack and it's more forgiving than cars like the Porsche 911 GT2 RS which doesn't do a whole lot of handholding.

Customer Care

Exotics Racing seems to have a great corporate culture around humor, and this radiates from most of their employees. However, while this hasn't been the case during all of our visits, their check-in process can be painfully slow. Unfortunately, it hard to predict when there will be fewer customers waiting to check-in but before noon on a weekday is likely a good bet. Then again, you never know when a group of convention attendees will show up.

For anyone interested in driving more than one car, look out for the combo packages which offer great discounts. However, driving in fewer cars with more laps in each one is a more rewarding experience than driving for just five laps in a lot of cars.

Be sure to also consider the VIP experiences too if you really want to spoil yourself while waiting for your drive. We're not going to claim it offers anything particularly special, but it offers more comfort.

Safety

The safety briefing at Exotics Racing is as good as it gets. The session includes a recorded lesson as well as an instructor-led lesson. The instructors are lively and will make you feel comfortable if you're intimidated by some of these cars.

The cars here are fitted with pedals on the instructor's side just in case the participants make a bad call while driving. After all, let's not forget that for many participants, this will likely be the first time maneuvering a car on a racetrack, so it's not unreasonable to expect that mistakes will be made.

Safety is taken very seriously at Exotics Racing, so they don't compromise on their safety measures. That includes disallowing additional cameras in the car. While this may be seen as rigid, it's important to remember that driving on a racetrack can be dangerous if proper precautions are not taken. The last thing you want is to lose concentration because of a falling camera.

Racetrack

The racetrack at Speed Vegas is 1.3 miles long with a long straightaway that offers the opportunity to go faster than at any other track open to amateurs in Las Vegas. As if that wasn't enough, it also includes eight turns and features corners that allow you to appreciate the capabilities of the cars you choose to drive. The track also features safety barriers and run-off areas, so there's little need for even first-timers to be intimidated.

All that said, the track at the old location was our favorite of all the tracks available to drive on in Las Vegas. It really is unfortunate that it is no longer an option.

Damage Liability

Full insurance with no deductible is included in the price you pay for the experience. While that may not sound interesting, it's worth noting that some other experiences charge extra for this, and in many cases, the price can be exorbitant.

You only need to take a quick look at the price tag of any one of these cars to realize how much of a hole in the pocket a bad accident can result in.

Experience Video

The experience video help you keep what will hopefully be an unforgettable experience forever. However, there are a few things to note. The quality of the video is satisfactory but the branding on it is excessive. It feels like they should be paying you for the video.

It's also worth mentioning that Exotics Racing will not allow you to use your own camera for "safety reasons" while some other providers allow it. The argument is somewhat valid but a little bit of care on their part can eliminate any safety issue. If you're not planning to do this often, the video is good enough for us to recommend purchasing so long as you're aware of what you're getting.

Bottom Line

We can't help but emphasize missing the old location Exotics Racing used to operate in near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The proximity to the Nellis Airforce Base also meant you got to see awesome low flying fighter jets hovering around in what ends being a free air show. We've been lucky enough to capture great footage of these flight in our multiple visits.

That said, it was a long drive from the airport and the Speed Vegas Facility is certainly a larger and more welcoming facility. Folks like our editor who used to go on day trips for these experiences will certainly appreciate the proximity of the new location to McCarran International Airport.

One other significant advantage the Speed Vegas track has over all others was the unmatched length of the straightaway and perhaps that's the best part of the move. Add to the other experiences available here like the off-road experiences and karting and it's difficult to be unimpressed.

This is a great destination for driving supercars on a racetrack where the only limit to how fast you can go is how brave you are. While I wouldn't recommend going to Vegas just for this (unless you’re like me), if you’re in Vegas for a conference or some other event, you should consider trying out Exotics Racing. It’s one of the best track driving experiences out there.