Third time offender now !
We go Mon usually, fly to San Fran, the flights are quicker and cheaper with no en route stops. The drive up takes about 4 - 5 hours and is very nice.
Hotels in Reno vary in cost depending on the day of the week, midweek, expect to pay $40 per night, Fri - Sun expect $140 for the same room, don't skimp, it's not worth it. Don't forget it's a gambling and - er - recreation town.
The event starts Wed but kicks in at the weekend, Sunday is the Unlimited Gold race which is where the 'problem children' come out to pay as the announcer said.
During the show, you will get plenty of other aerial displays including the odd visit from the military displaying all sorts, soemtimes you will see F16's or similar going round the course which is quite spectacular. What is stunning though is that the time the F16 posted was not much quicker than Dago Red, the Unlimited winner.
If the American forces teams are displaying expect crowd crossing displays - they have no sense of crowd line safety yet!
Tickets are not cheap but a discount is usually available through Scolari's, a local supermarket near the field.
Here's the web link
http://www.airrace.org/indexJS.php
Go - before they ban it !
p.s. Whatever you do, don't leave early. There is some excellent flying after the show finishes each day and if you are in the queue to get out you will miss it. Once the show finishes, you can go through into the VIP area for a great view. We saw the first impromptu jet race in 1999 or 2000 between the Stoli Migs and an L39 and T33.