Downtown set to deliver new ‘experience’

You might want to make alternative dinner plans if you're thinking about going to the California for the coffee shop's prime rib special this weekend.

If you haven't heard, downtown streets in close proximity to the Fremont Street Experience, including parts of Main Street and Grand Central Parkway, will not be very public during daylight hours Friday through Sunday.

The California is outside of the circuit, but your trip there won't be leisurely.

Speed limits have been raised considerably, over 175 mph on some stretches, because 2.44 miles of city streets have been converted to a race course.

The inaugural Vegas Grand Prix, featuring the Champ Car World Series circuit, takes over Friday morning.

There will be a few times throughout the three-day event, and throughout each evening, when the course will be open for use by vehicles and pedestrians.

For the most part, however, it will be a race track.

Street races are as much spectacle as speed exhibitions, and downtown has never been so racy.

The following are attempts to answer what likely will be common questions until the high-speed circus packs up and leaves town.

IS IT FREE?

No, but tickets for the estimated 30,000 seats are very reasonably priced: $12 Friday, $29 Saturday and $44 Sunday for general admission seating.

But it sounds like most major radio stations are giving tickets away, so you're chances of getting a freebie might be pretty good.

Organizers say you'll be allowed to watch from sidewalks, but recent tours of the circuit indicate much of the safety catch-fence, lining both sides of the circuit, has been covered, so views will be very limited.

But all activities at Fremont Street Experience are free throughout the weekend.

CAN I WATCH FROM CASINO GARAGES?

Sounds like a great idea, but I've been told that access to parking garages will be limited to those staying at the adjoining hotels.

WHERE IS PARKING?

The primary parking area is at Cashman Field Center, with a few satellite lots set up closer to the track. Free shuttle service will be provided. Just make certain you use a lot close to where you'll be seated.

The largest grandstand is on Grand Central Parkway, near the start/finish line, and it is a combination of reserved and general admission seating.

VIP and suite parking is at the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Alta Drive.

Shuttle buses will run to various drop-off points near the circuit, but wear your walking shoes.

And be patient, because any first-year event has snags, and a race on downtown streets greatly compounds last-minute changes.

CAN I BRING A COOLER?

Yes, unlike when you attend major events at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Grand Prix allows "small coolers for personal use." But even if you can throw down a case of beer, they're referring to a cooler that can comfortably fit between your feet.

You cannot bring in glass bottles or alcohol.

DO THESE CARS RACE IN THE INDY 500?

No. The Indianapolis 500 is part of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series, which was created in 1996 and virtually split American open-wheel racing into two factions.

Champ Car is the name of what used to be CART.

Champ Car and the IndyCar series use similar cars.

Champ Car drivers and teams, however, aren't precluded from running at the Indy 500 provided they use IRL cars.

WILL DANICA PATRICK BE THERE?

No. She's in the other series. And who cares? She's never won a race.

WILL COVERED WAGONS RACE IN THE HISTORIC GRAND PRIX?

Stupid questions deserve answers too.

The Historic Grand Prix is a race in which about 26 classic Formula One and IndyCars -- some valued at $1 million -- are driven by their owners, who are worth more than the value of their cars.

This could be the best race Sunday.

Millionaires racing between concrete walls at over 150 mph? How can you beat that?

WILL I NEED A WAKE-UP CALL IF MY HOTEL IS DOWNTOWN?

You must not be in town for the race. Save yourself the trouble of requesting a wake-up call from the front desk.

Race cars will be rumbling near your hotel beginning at 8:50 a.m. Friday, 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday.

WHO'S GOING TO WIN THE CHAMP CAR RACE?

Coming out of the last turn Sunday, we'd like to see Las Vegas homeboys Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani fight it out -- though hopefully not literally, as they did after wrecking into each other in a race last year. But three-time reigning series champ Sebastien Bourdais will win it.

He's one of the three best race-car drivers in the country, regardless of series.

WILL IT BE ON TV?

Yes, live on NBC (Channel 3), starting at 12:30 p.m.

Had the "adult" store at Bonneville Avenue and Main Street not been hidden by track fencing and signage, perhaps the race would have aired on one of the naughty cable channels.

CAN I GET A SUNBURN?

Fitting we send you off to the races with a final dumb question.

It's Vegas, baby. First you get burned in the casinos, then you get burned by the sun.

If you're not among the lucky ones invited into one of the covered VIP suites, you had better use sunscreen and wear a hat. There are virtually no shaded areas to be found.

Jeff Wolf covers motor sports for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at 383-0247 or jwolf@reviewjournal.com.