Colin,
You did very well to get a room reservation during the air races. As I often don't know for sure that I will be able to attend until the last moment, I have found pretty good success at securing a room by calling reservations from the casino upon arrival in town! If you are staying downtown, a car may be more hindrance than help. All the major hotel/casinos contract for motor coach service between hotel and the races for a small fee. Much better than trying to find parking either downtown or at Stead. During the evenings you will find that staying in the downtown area provides nearly all the activities you can imagine. It's quite a street fair and party. You picked a good year to go for the first time as the racing participation is expected to be the biggest ever and you get both the Snowbirds and Thunderbirds jet demonstration teams this year. Bring appropriate clothing for conditions ranging from very hot and windy to cold and rainy. Last year, it was both! Make sure to buy a pit pass at least one of the days so you can inspect the racers more closely. If you have the spare cash, you can watch a race from one of the pylons on the course. Huge crowds are expected this year, so I suggest arriving at the races by 0900 to avoid the worst of the crush.
I sure hope I can break away from duties that weekend. As usual, I won't know 'til the last minute, but I'm less than 500 miles from Reno. In case you havn't checked it out, here is the official air races web address. Lots of good info there, including admission package options.
http://www.airrace.org/indexJS.php
Hope to see you there.
Westhawk