No need to stay in the city or in a hotel/motel.
I don't like the hotels because they're way too noisy after a day at the drags.
We usually stay in a timeshare rental (we don't own a timeshare). There are lots of them available in Las Vegas.
The best place we ever stayed was a hotel up on Mt. Charleston - about 20 miles from the track. It's about 7500' altitude and we had snow on the ground when we were there years ago for the first NHRA national event at The Strip.
There are also lots of weekend vacation house rentals available in Las Vegas/North Las Vegas/Summerlin/Henderson. Check out alternatives online.