Street racing goes legal again Friday night in the northeast part of the valley.
The next Dodge Midnight Mayhem Presented By Tony Rowe Enterprises' Operation Street Legal will take place at 7 p.m.
Midnight Mayhem is The Strip at LVMS' safe alternative to illegal street racing. Instead of street racing illegally on the roads of Las Vegas and Clark County, The Strip at LVMS encourages enthusiasts to race each other on the safer confines of its NHRA-sanctioned drag strip. Fourteen Dodge midnight Mayhem events are scheduled for 2012.
Now in its 11th year, Midnight Mayhem is open to any licensed driver with proof of insurance and any street-legal car or motorcycle (vehicle must be registered – no temporary tags are permitted).
Thousands of fans are already here for NASCAR. The infield is filling up with RVs and the Strip will be filled with NASCAR Haulers Thursday evening.
There are some new events for race fans this year. For the first time, Neon Garage pass holders will be able to sit and listen to the drivers' meeting before the race.
"We are going to do it in the Neon Garage where all the fans can see it. This is the first public drivers' meeting that NASCAR has done anywhere, not at Daytona, Indianapolis, Charlotte. This is the first one," Jeff Motley with the Las Vegas Motor Speedway said.
Officials at the speedway say over the five days of the races they are expecting up to 300,000 fans to visit the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. There is space for 142,000 fans at the speedway. Organizers say they will hit that number for sure.
The grandstands at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway are not the only place that will be full of fans for this weekend's race. The infield is already filling up with fans in RVs.
Fans deck out their trailers or motor homes with the flags and colors of their favorite racers. The infield becomes home to huge groups of people. Some come back to camp at NASCAR year after year.
"We have all the equipment: good stoves and lots of coolers. We sleep inside. We sleep in our cars. It is great," Roxanne Denoyer, a fan from southern Utah, said.
It costs a little more than $1,600 for a camping spot on the infield for a week.
Dodge will reveal its 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car in Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Neon Garage on Sunday, March 11, prior to the start of the Kobalt Tools 400. The unveiling of the 2013 Dodge Charger for NASCAR competition will take place immediately following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series public drivers' meeting.
The unveiling will take place in Victory Lane in the Neon Garage. It will also be televised through the Sprint Vision screens so fans in the grandstands also will be able to see the unveiling.
Fast, furious and legal Dodge Midnight Mayhem returns to The Strip at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Friday night.
The event is a safe alternative to illegal street racing. People who love fast cars are encouraged to come to the speedway instead of racing on the streets of southern Nevada. Friday's event is one of 14 scheduled for The Strip this year.
The event is open to any licensed driver with proof of insurance. Cars and motorcycles must be street legal and must be registered. Temporary license plates are not permitted. Drivers must also provide proof of ownership or written authorization from the owner of the vehicle. Minors can also race, but they must have a signed consent form from a parent or guardian. The form is available through The Strip's office.
All cars must pass a safety inspection. The inspection is based on NHRA standards. The Strip is a NHRA-sanctioned drag strip. Alcohol, coolers and weapons are not allowed at Midnight Mayhem.