(I learned this the hard way!) Please keep an eye on weather conditions and
lakebed conditions before traveling so far, in case the meet is rained out.
I've been to El Mirage twice, as a spectator. The first time, it was too windy and nobody
was allowed to race. I did, however, very much enjoy looking at the wide variety of vehicles.
The second time, about a year ago, the racing did happen. For much of the time, I sat parked
in my car, "beside" the finish line (a "safe" distance away -- I think it was about 500 feet),
listening to the radio broadcast of the speeds. It was quite nice. The acceleration is for 1.3 miles,
and some of the vehicles exceeded 200 mph. Most did not. There was a food vendor (for
hamburgers, etc.) and an adequate quantity of porta-potties, and a lot of room for racers and
spectators. Nice. Friendly people (no surprise). There was also a fee to get onto the dry lake
area, which is controlled by the BLM. I think it was about $15 per vehicle. No major complaint
from me about that.
Traction on the dirt has been an issue for some, as one might expect. There's a video on
youtube, showing a Honda car (an Insight, as I remember) going pretty fast -- I think it was
close to 200 mph --, losing traction, spinning around and rolling/flipping over lots of times!
Fortunately, this did not cause serious injury to the driver.
There has also been an issue about the BLM not allowing racing if the BLM finds too much
moisture in some part of the lakebed (regardless of whether it is near the racing area).
Controversial and sad . . . another reason to keep an eye on whether the event has been
cancelled (before flying out to California). In fact, since most people make their travel and
lodging plans well in advance, my advice to you is to have a "plan B" in place -- alternate
activities and places to see, while in southern California. There are a lot of automobile-related
things, as well as entertaining places, etc. you could research. Good luck.