Where can you drive fast cars in Las Vegas?
Romain Thievin has always had the need for speed, and the former race car and stunt driver is now helping others scratch that itch in south Las Vegas.
“You have to do it to really feel it,” said Thievin, who is the co-owner and chief executive officer of Speed Vegas, which is one of two places in the valley (along with Dream Racing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway) where you can drive fast cars without getting a speeding ticket. “And until you get in one of these cars, you don’t know that feeling.”
Thievin said the super car driving experience has exploded with the rise of F1, which now has come to the city twice as the Las Vegas Grand Prix and is backed by a popular Netflix series called “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”. He said tourists and locals alike are now coming out to the track to get their hit of speed — in a safe environment, of course.
“People are coming here for three reasons: One is they want to go fast and they want to go above the speed limit, but they also want to learn how to drive these cars and how to drive it fast and safe,” he said. “And they also want to drive the latest model, and we always buy the latest Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris, and McLarens. And even for rich people this would normally cost a fortune but we take care of everything, the course, the insurance, the car and you can do this for a fraction of the cost.”
Speed Vegas currently sees approximately 200,000 customers a year, they have 120 local employees and 70 cars which they buy instead of leasing, running them upwards of $15 million worth of vehicles at any point. Thievin said they took over Speed Vegas in November 2021, merging with Exotics Racing which was at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in North Las Vegas and have since worked on making the experience more professional for drivers while also focusing extensively on safety as their number one priority.
They also have an outdoor go-kart track and off-road dirt track experience where attendees can drive full-size Baja trucks, taking jumps on the one-mile dirt track. Doreen Thievin, also a former race car driver and instructor, who is the director of communications for Speed Vegas, said Las Vegas is the perfect place for something like this and right now the most popular car to drive is the Ferrari 488.
“A lot of people when they come to Las Vegas they want to do something that is on their bucket list and something they can’t do in their hometown. It’s more about having experiences these days than just gambling, and we are also a very Instagram friendly place” she said.
They also have ride-along experiences for those who don’t want to drive which anyone 11 years and up can do and Doreen 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 kids into go-karting young with hopes of having them become the next F1 star.
“We plan a huge extension of the main building as well as adding two more go-kart tracks,” she said. “The two other go-kart tracks are for kids and families which will be great for locals as well as tourists who come with their kids.”
Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at pblennerhassett@reviewjournal.com.
