Virginia City Grand Prix 2022 — The 51st Year, Red Race Shirts, and a Brother Who Climbed the Field
Seems we were just here...?
We were. The 50th Anniversary VCGP ran in October 2021 — cold, delayed, and unforgettable. And then May 2022 arrived and the 51st Virginia City Grand Prix was upon us before we'd even caught our breath. Back on the hill. Back in the vendor lot. Back where VCMCo. belongs.
The Weather (Mostly) Cooperated
The rain stopped. The snow stopped. The high desert decided to give us a weekend, and we took it gratefully. I won't mention the wind — because it did not cooperate one bit and it doesn't deserve the acknowledgment. But the race went on, the crowd came out, and the Virginia City Grand Prix delivered everything it always delivers: dust, noise, speed, and the kind of energy that only happens when 450 riders line up on a Nevada mountain and point their bikes at the terrain.
The Red Race Shirts — Gone But Not Forgotten
The 2022 VCGP was the debut of VCMCo.'s one-of-a-kind red race shirts — and they were a hit from the moment we unrolled them. The booth was the talk of the race and the talk of the town during the after-party. People wanted them. People wore them. And now they're gone — a limited run that sold out and won't be coming back, which makes everyone who got one that much luckier.
That's the VCMCo. way with event-specific designs: when they're gone, they're gone. If you missed the red race shirts, the spirit lives on in the design that started it all — the Make Checkpoints Great Again Men's Dirt Bike Motocross T-Shirt. If you were at the 2022 VCGP, you know exactly why everyone was asking for it.
Make Checkpoints Great Again
The crowd at the 2022 VCGP got the joke immediately — and they loved it. Everyone who knows the Virginia City Grand Prix knows that checkpoints are part of the race's soul. Navigating them correctly, under pressure, on terrain that doesn't forgive mistakes — that's the VCGP. The design leaned into that culture with the kind of levity that only works when the audience is in on it. And this audience absolutely was.
Our booth was the talk of the race. That's a win for me.
People from Across the Country and Across the Street
One of the things that makes the VCGP vendor experience special is the range of people who come through. We met riders and fans from across the country — people who travel specifically for this race, who have been coming for years or decades, who treat the VCGP as a pilgrimage. And we met people from literally across the street — locals who wandered over from the after-party, Virginia City regulars who know every vendor and every saloon on C Street. Both groups are exactly the VCMCo. crowd, and both groups found their way to the booth.
My Brother — Started 128th, Finished 71st
Every year my brother races the VCGP. Every year I watch from the vendor lot and try to look calm about it. And every year he does something worth writing about.
2022: he started at position 128 in a field of approximately 450 riders. He finished 71st overall. And he took 2nd place in the 50+ Expert class. In an endurance high desert race from hell, on a course that has been testing riders since 1971, starting more than halfway back in the field and climbing to 71st overall is not a small thing. The 2nd place class finish is the kind of result that takes years of experience and a very specific kind of toughness to achieve.
The man who draws VCMCo.'s artwork, who adjusted my handlebars at Topaz Lake, who organized the flat track fundraiser for first responders — he also races the Virginia City Grand Prix and finishes in the top 20% of the field. Congrats, brother. Every single year.
See You Next Year
Thank you to the VCGP for hosting us and for providing a parking lot full of vendors and services that make the weekend what it is. The Virginia City Grand Prix is one of the great American off-road races — 51 years in and still delivering. We'll be back on the hill.
See you next year. 🏁