Las Vegas car racing experience hands out $350K in bonuses to employees

Speed Vegas celebrated a record year for the super car driving experience company in south Las Vegas by handing out massive bonuses to its 120 employees.

In an email statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a spokesperson confirmed approximately $350,000 in bonuses were handed out of up to $10,000 for each employee.

While tourism saw a down year in the valley due to a number of factors, Speed Vegas said it saw a 7 percent increase in riders coming out to its tracks. Speed Vegas merged with Exotics Racing in 2021 and was originally founded back in 2009. Its fleet includes cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and McLaren.

Romain Thievin, the CEO of Speed Vegas and a former professional race car driver, said the company’s rise signals a bigger shift in what tourists and locals are looking for when it comes to entertainment options.

“Guests are looking for immersive, authentic experiences, and we deliver that every day with the best cars in the world. This record year was driven by our team, and we wanted them to share in that success,” he said.

Speed Vegas currently sees approximately 200,000 customers a year and has 70 cars. Thievin said since merging with Exotics Racing, he has worked on making the experience more professional for drivers while also focusing extensively on safety as the No. 1 priority.

The company also has an outdoor go-kart track and off-road dirt track experience where visitors can drive full-size Baja trucks, taking jumps on the 1-mile dirt track.

Doreen Thievin, also a former race car driver and instructor, who is the director of communications for Speed Vegas, said in a previous interview with the Review-Journal that Las Vegas is the perfect place for something like this and right now the most popular car to drive is the Ferrari 488.

Speed Vegas also has ride-along experiences for those who don’t want to drive, which anyone 11 years and up can do.

Doreen Thievin said now that they’ve established themselves as a go-to for tourists and locals alike, they want to grow the operation and keep expanding. She said parents are now starting to get their children into go-karting young with hopes of having them become the next Formula One star.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.