Maj,
Figure on a day to drive from el Mirage and the high desert to the salt. A good stop is at Prim, NE near the California border where the room rates are $20-$25 a night, an easy evening drive from the dirt and a half hour or so from Las Vegas. There are wide open stretches along the road and there is Las Vegas with very heavy traffic (bumper to bumper, stop and go) at certain times of the day. You can always stop at one of the casinos for a cheaper buffet lunch for a break. Avoid Saturday going to Vegas and Sunday going back to Los Angeles, it can be stop and go the entire distance. My daughter lived a couple of blocks from the Peterson Museum in Los Angeles and figured on a ten hour drive to come home 710 miles to Salt Lake, door to door, using I-15. Cut a couple of hours off that when going through Ely to Wendover, 120 fewer miles to travel.
We start WOS inspection on Wednesday the 16th of September and continue on Saturday if necessary, by then just for 130 Club entries. We usually run out of contestants around noon to one on Saturday and with a few folks just running laps we shut down so we can start the wire pick up. Most folks have had as many runs as they need/want by that time and have either set their records, broken or realized they are not going to go as fast as they had hoped and are ready to pack it in. It's always fun to just spectate on the 130 Club course. Those folks have more fun than anyone on the salt.