Popular Local Racer Eying 25th Win in Sunday’s Race to the Clouds
Trevor Phipps
As the clock ticks for the 103rd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb this Sunday (June 22), two local racers from the famous Vahsholtz family are gearing up to challenge the 156-turn course once again.
In fact, a member of the Woodland Park-based racing family has competed in the sprint up America’s Mountain every year since 1977.
Last year, Clint Vahsholtz couldn’t quite get his car ready for race day and Codie Vahsholtz unfortunately had mechanical issues that prevented him from summiting. But this year, that scenario has changed, as both racers have spent much time preparing their vehicles for race day.
Codie Vahsholtz has made some changes to the open wheel racer, which was once part of the Vahsholtz racing team. He now owns the car, and as a result, is better prepared to make a good finish for 2025.
As for Clint Vahsholtz, this year he sports a new ride with a different racing team and division. Clint will be testing his Rotek Racing-owned 2023 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport in the rather new Pikes Peak GT4 by Yokohama division. This car attracted a tremendous amount of attention during a Chamber of Commerce After Hours gathering, recently hosted by Park State Bank & Trust.
Clint Looking to Secure 25th Win on the Mountain
Currently, Clint Vahsholtz has won more titles on Pikes Peak with 24 victories while racing both motorcycles and cars. In 2020, Vahsholtz got the fastest time in the race and was crowned “King of the Mountain.”
During the offseason leading up to the 2025 race, Clint met with several racing teams searching for a good fit. He finally got connected with the Rotek Racing team in Denver, and they decided to put him in the Porsche that Robb Holland raced in 2024.
The second-generation Vahsholtz racer’s prospects scaled the finish line when he secured local sponsors, Teller Wifi and the America’s Mountain Music Festival. The car will now be ready to race in the second year of the GT4 division. In this division, drivers race vehicles built by car manufacturers that are race-ready off the showroom floor.
“It was just a big group of people that want to see Clint get his 25th win,” said the popular racer and local business owner. Besides his racing stint, Clint Vahsholtz co-owns the Woodland Park-based Vahsholtz Automotive auto repair shop.
The car Clint will be racing has power windows and windshield wipers along with roll cages already built in. The GT4 division will feature all cars that were made in the factory as racecars. These models are vastly different from street cars.
“A lot of the drivetrain is identical to a streetcar you would see on the road,” Vahsholtz said. “A normal streetcar (Porsche) would be pretty similar to this other than it wouldn’t have the race package. You would just have to put license plates on it and drive it down the road. It is street legal.”
As with every racer on Pikes Peak, weather is always something that is on their minds. Even with all of his experience Clint Vahsholtz wouldn’t give a straight answer when asked, “What do you think the weather will bring for 2025?”
“I have no idea,” Vahsholtz answered. “The mountain brings what it brings, and you adapt accordingly. It is a driver’s nightmare to not have a clean run all the way to the summit. It’s just not fun for anybody. So, we just keep fingers crossed that we don’t have inclement weather on race day.”
Codie Seeking Open Wheel Division Trophy
After suffering from mechanical failures last year, the third generation Vahsholtz family racer, Codie Vahsholtz, has made a few changes before challenging the mountain once again this year. The car will remain basically the same as what we used previously. But his team make a few changes to reduce the weight, which added some horsepower and torque.
Last year, the Codie’s open wheel racer didn’t finish the race due to a brake line failure. This year, Codie and his team revamped the entire braking system with new brake pads, calipers and rotors.
This year marks the first year that Codie Vahsholtz will be racing the Vahsholtz Racing open wheeler as the sole owner of the vehicle, after purchasing it from his family. For the 103rd running, Codie Vahsholtz will emerge as the only racer who will challenge the mountain with a carbureted vehicle as opposed to a electronic fuel injection. He is also one of only a handful of competitors that will be racing a vehicle with a manual transmission.
Codie also agreed with his dad that it is hard to say what Mother Nature will bring to Pikes Peak on race day. “I feel like you have to be prepared regardless,” Codie Vahsholtz said. “You just never know, it can change up there in a half an hour. You could take off at the start line and it be 80 degrees, and then you are driving through snow at the summit.”
Being the third-generation racer, Codie Vahsholtz has been up on Pikes Peak on race day every year since he was a toddler. And according to Codie’s mom, Shelly Vahsholtz, there are four, fourth-generation children of the family that have also been attending every practice as infants and older.
When asked who the fourth-generation racer might be one day, Codie Vahsholtz was quick to answer. “My daughter is showing a bunch of interest, her name is Willow (who is 11 years old),” Codie replied. “She is showing a crazy amount of interest, and she has been out helping me every day until bedtime.”
