Assuming the roads have been graded / there hasn't been any big storms to cause washouts (or rain isn't on the horizon), one can get to the Racetrack in nearly any vehicle, certainly any non-4wd SUV/truck, cars as well. You have to drive carefully and be aware of the road ahead of you and not be dumb and try and drive through a sand drift, etc. Towing bills are spendy out there, even in the park proper (they get crazy stupid in the back country).
As another word of caution, just "renting a Jeep" doesn't mean you should go into all parts of the back country willy-nilly. Buddies and I have been going to Death Valley (and much of the back country) for over 14 years. We've never had a mechanical or other problem, but we are careful and we have had our share of road building (even just 2 years ago), helping out others, etc.
Sorry but this is terrible advice. The roads are deceivingly dangerous in the sense that there are so many sharp rocks everywhere that could puncture your tire. You have no idea what the condition of the roads are ahead of time, so taking any car without reinforced tires has the potential to get you in a lot of trouble, especially depending on the time of year. There is no cell phone signals and it's dozens of miles to the main highway.
Wouldn't this just mean we should bring one or more decent (not donut) spares, and possibly a plug kit and a 12V compressor? Isn't that just good advice in general for rural driving?
This isn't ordinary rural roads, the rocks you see are extremely sharp. Multiple flats are certainly a possibility, as it getting stuck, depending on the conditions, which as I mentioned you wouldn't know ahead of time because there are no weather reports or road reports for this area.
Most people aren't used to this environment, I certainly wasn't. But we rented a Jeep with reinforced wheels and a satellite communicator that we could use to get help at any time. And given how it's mainly tourists that would be going to places within Death Valley, you would get a lot of uneducated people attempting this trip in a normal vehicle, and without any proper way to contact help. Given that temperatures reach 120 F, it's not hard to imagine a scenario where people die because they are completely unprepared for how dangerous it is.
@jessaustin - the rule of any off road exploration is be prepared. Even renting a Jeep doesn't mean you won't have problems if you run into an issue and aren't prepared. Based on your prior messages, it sounds like you have a good grasp on that.
A drive out to the racetrack, assuming no recent storms/floods, in a 2wd drive vehicle is probably sane @25mph or so paying attention to where you are going. A jeep in the same situation, probably 35-40mph. I took my old tacoma 2wd pickup well back into the backcountry, but we were going through contortions to make up for lack of clearance (after 10 years of going, you know the challenges).
My last trip to DV two years back, a buddy and I rented a Jeep from Farrabee's near Furnace Creek (my buddy's 4wd vehicle was out of commission) and typically he rents to people taking the jeep to the racetrack or around the park, which makes total sense and if you are there for a day and want to do such is perfectly reasonable.
We were taking the jeep out for a week on a trip that included having to build up the road in places, a bit of trail blazing in one case, etc. For that adventure, since he hadn't rented the DV jeeps for such (Farrabbe has in his Moab location), we had to make him comfortable with our experience and knowledge.
All that said, it really comes down to being aware of what you are doing, where you are going, what the risks are, and being prepared. Lots of stories of people w/ 4wd vehicles going into the back country, getting lost/stuck (relying on GPS) and in some cases dying. It's not an area to take lightly, even in Fall/Winter.
It's a beautiful area in Death Valley and driving out there is one of the best experiences I've ever had. If you do decide to go, I wish you a safe but exciting adventure.
As another word of caution, just "renting a Jeep" doesn't mean you should go into all parts of the back country willy-nilly. Buddies and I have been going to Death Valley (and much of the back country) for over 14 years. We've never had a mechanical or other problem, but we are careful and we have had our share of road building (even just 2 years ago), helping out others, etc.