by Alex Calixto. |  03 September 2026

If you’re headed to Las Vegas for SEMA, you’re going to see cars.

Lots and lots and LOTS of cars.

Cars on lifts. Cars under lights. Cars with 1,500 horsepower. Cars with $40,000 paint jobs. Cars surrounded by people taking cell phone pictures of other people taking cell phone pictures.

After a couple of days of that, you may develop a strange desire to actually DRIVE something.

That’s where SpeedVegas comes in.

Located about 15 minutes south of the Las Vegas Strip on Las Vegas Boulevard, SpeedVegas Motorsports Park is basically an automotive playground conveniently located in the desert. And if you’re already in town because you love cars enough to attend SEMA, this place should probably be somewhere on your itinerary.

The big attraction is Exotics Racing, where instead of admiring exotic cars from behind a velvet rope, you actually climb into one and drive it on a real racetrack.

And we’re not talking about putting around a parking lot behind an instructor waving little orange flags.

SpeedVegas has a purpose-built 1.3-mile road course, and you’re paired with a professional instructor who rides along and coaches you through the track. They’ll help you with braking points, turn-in, acceleration and generally prevent you from discovering just how expensive a Ferrari front bumper really is.

The current car selection is pretty ridiculous.

Depending on availability, you can choose from cars like the Ferrari 488 GTB, Ferrari 296 GTB, Ferrari 488 Pista, Lamborghini Huracán, Lamborghini Huracán STO, Porsche 911 GT3, Porsche GT3 RS, Corvette C8 Z06, McLaren 750S and Cayman GT4 RS.

And it gets even crazier.

They also have actual track-focused machinery including the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo, Ferrari 296 Challenge, McLaren 570 GT4, McLaren Artura GT4 and Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

So if you’ve spent two days at SEMA standing next to race cars while quietly wondering what one would actually feel like at speed, there’s your answer.

Bring your credit card.

Maybe Sideways Is More Your Style

If driving the track isn’t enough—or you’d rather let somebody else be responsible for the tire bill—SpeedVegas also offers a drifting ride-along.

You climb into a 707-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat with a professional driver and then hold on while that driver spends the next couple of laps demonstrating a somewhat different interpretation of the phrase “proper vehicle alignment.”

Basically, you go sideways.

A lot.

There’s tire smoke, horsepower and the strange realization that the professional driver appears completely relaxed while you’re reconsidering several of your life choices.

Sounds fun to me.

Or Go Jump a Baja Truck

Then there’s the Vegas Off-Road Experience, which might actually be one of the more interesting things at the entire facility.

Here you get behind the wheel of an honest-to-goodness Baja-style race truck and take it onto a dedicated one-mile dirt course.

The trucks make around 275 horsepower, but horsepower isn’t really the important number here.

The important number is six feet.

Because that’s approximately how far off the ground these things can get.

The course includes high-speed corners and three jumps, meaning you can come to Las Vegas to look at beautifully detailed show cars and somehow end up flying through the Nevada desert in a Baja truck.

Which, now that I think about it, sounds like a pretty successful SEMA trip.

If you don’t want to drive, they also offer ride-alongs with professional drivers.

And Yes, There Are Go-Karts

SpeedVegas also has Vegas Superkarts, and these aren’t the sad little electric karts wedged between the arcade and miniature golf course.

They run Sodikart RT10 gas-powered karts with 270cc Honda engines on a 1,600-foot outdoor circuit with 10 turns.

And if you’re traveling to SEMA with a group of friends, this may be where lifelong friendships are temporarily destroyed.

Because everybody is friendly right up until the lap timer comes on.

Then suddenly the guy you’ve known for 20 years is diving inside you under braking like there’s a Formula 1 contract waiting at the finish line.

Perfect.

SEMA During the Day. SpeedVegas Afterward.

SEMA is one of the greatest automotive gatherings in the world, and you could easily spend your entire Vegas trip wandering the show floor.

But there’s also something slightly cruel about spending days surrounded by incredible cars without getting to actually drive any of them.

SpeedVegas fixes that problem.

Drive a Ferrari.

Hammer a Porsche around a racetrack.

Ride sideways in a Hellcat.

Race your friends in go-karts.

Or go airborne in a Baja truck.

You’re already in Las Vegas.

You’re already there because you love cars.

You might as well do something irresponsible.

Headed to SEMA? Save a little time for SpeedVegas.