A "Day of Play" for AARP Members: Start Your Engines

Adrenaline junkies met at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday to fill their need for speed—all part of the Richard Petty Experience, which paired AARP members for ride-alongs in official NASCAR stock cars for three laps at 165 m.p.h. This revved up the "Day of Play" preceding the AARP Vegas@50+ Member Event, set to kick off Thursday.

AARP member Rita Bintiff bought her husband, David, the ride as a surprise. As he removed his helmet after his two-minute, 4 1/2-mile ride, David declared the experience "awesome." In addition to the headgear, riders wore jumpsuits and neck-restraint devices, just like the pros. At the wheel were drivers who race locally in Las Vegas or who are trained by Petty drivers. After each car returned to pit row, the riders climbed out through the window (again, like the pros) with wide smiles on their faces.

When my turn came, I donned a jumpsuit and helmet and jumped in the car with Jimmy, a driver on the Vegas circuit. A serious NASCAR cynic, I asked him if there was more to professional driving than "just driving a little while then turning left." At that point, Jimmy punched it. By turn two, we were up to 100 m.p.h., and at turn four along the main stretch, we reached 165 m.p.h. We came inches from the wall, hitting 3 gs in the turns. The pressure on your chest was a reminder that speed is the boss. The thunder of the engines drowned out any screaming (of which there was some).

In addition to visiting the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, AARP members who registered for the "Day of Play" had the choice of playing golf at the Angel Park Golf Club or relaxing in a spa session at Canyon Ranch SpaClub. The Vegas@50+ Member Event concludes Saturday.