The Virginia City Hillclimb: Northern Nevada's Legendary Road Race

The Virginia City Hillclimb is a one-car-at-a-time time trial up Geiger Grade, the 5.2-mile, 21-turn climb on Highway 341 that leads to Nevada's most famous mining town. In one form or another the race has been run since 1964, which makes it one of the oldest continuing road racing traditions in the American West. Every September, drivers from across the country push vintage sports cars, modern track machines, and homebuilt specials up the same mountain route the Comstock ore wagons climbed in the 1860s.

A Race Born on the Comstock

The story starts in the early 1960s, when American sports car clubs were hunting for dramatic roads to run time trials on. The first organized event, the Martini Trophy Hillclimb, was staged May 23 and 24, 1964 on the older SR 342 route up the mountain. It captured exactly what makes hillclimbing addictive: no crowded grid, no door-to-door battles, just a driver, a car, and more than five miles of very steep pavement against the clock.

A Tradition That Has Run Since 1972

The modern, continuous chapter began in 1972 on the SR 341 truck bypass, and the Ferrari Club of America Southwest Region's event grew into the oldest surviving annual running of the course, with its 2025 edition billed as the 54th year. For decades the hillclimb ran twice a season, in June and September, with the fall round co-organized with the Shelby Club. Today it is a single September weekend, and the rhythm is unchanged: cars grid up in Virginia City, take their run on the mountain, and come back down for another pass.

Watching Race Day

Because it is a time trial, each car runs the grade alone, chasing a fast time up 5.2 miles and 21 turns. That makes it one of the most spectator-friendly races you will ever see. The paddock sits right in Virginia City, so you can watch machines line up on the main street, then walk to a switchback and listen to a flat-six or a small-block V8 scream up the hill. The course record belongs to Benn Godenzi in a McLaren, and the winning runs are genuinely astonishing for a public road that tourists dawdle over the rest of the year.

The Mountain's Racing Story Keeps Growing

Geiger Grade's racing history did not stop with the hillclimb. The Spectre 341 Challenge later brought a modern, wide-open edition to the same road, and in 2026 the FAST Model A Hillclimb revived a pre-1935-era tradition of racing up D Street in Virginia City itself. Add the car-club cruises and Hot August Nights runs that climb the grade every summer, and the Comstock has a real claim as the most race-soaked pavement in Nevada.

Live Where the Race Weekends Start

For many racers and regular spectators, the best part is that the course sits in their backyard. Carson City, at the foot of the grade, is the natural base: the gate to race weekend is a short drive from town, and the foothill neighborhoods put you minutes from the mountain. It makes sense that so many competitors end up calling the capital home. Browse homes in Carson City to see what the neighborhood looks like. And since every hillclimb machine needs a place to be prepped between events, Browse homes with 3+ car garages and give your project car a proper garage of its own.