Five years ago, the Grant family couldn’t tell a servo from a shock tower. But a spontaneous trip for a Christmas gift sparked a curiosity that’s since snowballed into a full-blown passion. Today, they’re not just hobbyists — they own a racetrack, run a hobby shop, and crisscross the country chasing podium finishes and adrenaline. What started as leisurely spare-time fun has become a high-speed family affair, and the Grants wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chris and Erin Grant decided to do some holiday shopping for their son Keaton when he asked for a remote-control car. If they only knew then what they know now.
“To make a long story short, one of my boys asked for an RC car for Christmas, and after googling hobby shops in town, I found a shop,” Chris Grant says. “I found out there was an indoor racetrack there and said let’s go try it. Me being from a dirt bike background, it filled the racing vibe I didn’t have anymore.
“We got a family membership, and I started chatting with the track owner who was hitting it off with my son. He said, ‘I’m thinking about selling’ and added ‘maybe we can work something out.’ For six months my wife and I talked about it. Then we came to an agreement. We’ve revamped the shop. Now the goal is to ultimately host national caliber races here.”
Don’t discount Chris’ youth background of racing around on two and four wheels as a key factor in his relatively new-found passion for the RC car scene. Chris loved the competitiveness of dirt bike racing, BMX, go karts, and whatever else. He just didn’t like the scrapes, cuts, bruises, and broken bones.
“There were lots of injuries from motocross. After all the broken bones, it got to the point where my wife and I started having kids. My body already hurts in my mid-30s. I asked, ‘Do I want this for my kids?’ And of course, the answer was - no. They saw all my old trophies and wanted to moto.”
So, Chris and Erin found a hobby for their family and kids, one that’s just as competitive but a little easier on the body. Five years after Santa served up that first RC car, Keaton Grant has become an expert driver. His little brother Maddox, 5. and 3-year-old sister Liv are already taking a liking to the cars as well.
Keaton has become one of the top young racers in the Western Region and most months travels out of the Truckee Meadows to race against other competitive RC youth driving enthusiasts. He recently returned from racing at nationals in New Albany, IN. Keaton wasn’t alone in his travels from Reno. A team of five, Keaton and four others, compete for the Grant’s Whip It Raceway and Hobbies team.
Kaden Meeks, 21, is on the Whip It team, too. He also helps out at the track and hobby shop and is a regular at the venue’s Friday race nights.
“I was around 8 or 9 when we came here (to the racetrack) from Fernley, and ever since my dad and I have been coming every Friday night,” Meeks says. “The team is competitive and to go out of town, makes it fun. It makes us all better drivers. For me, it’s about sponsorship and what can I do to get to the next level.”
Watching the RC cars cruise around the Grant’s Whip It track is a site to behold. The 1/10 model cars can eclipse speeds of 30 miles an hour, turn on a dime, and vault over a jump many times their size into the air. While the Grants love to race, they are also driven to provide a great racing venue and fun environment for the RC crowd to participate in.
“The RC scene is wild,” Erin says. “It’s got its own world, its own niche. And you don’t know about it until you’re introduced to it. We are Nevada’s only indoor track. It’s an off-road clay track with pit areas. We have races every Friday night and trophy races every three or so months. We change up the track about every eight weeks to keep it fresh and exciting, to keep people coming back.”
The Whip It clay track, located in a Panther Valley warehouse, is 50 feet by 110 feet. Erin says they’ll see anywhere from 80-to-160 entries for Friday night racing. Racers can sign up for a monthly membership for $200 that includes a pit area for drivers to work on their cars as well as unlimited track practice time and racing. She added that Whip It typically has 50-to-70 memberships on file monthly.
“Earlier this month was our two-year anniversary of owning the track,” Erin says. “We have people travel from California, Arizona, Utah, and beyond. The growth in RC is there for sure. More people hear about the cars and the facility, and more people are coming.”