Caleb Holman's no. 75 Food Country Chevrolet

DOUBLE DUTY

Caleb Holman is taking a twofold approach to racing

JW Martin

Caleb Holman stood, arms crossed, surveying his racecar. On the far side of the Motor Mile Speedway garage his blue Chevrolet sat immobilized on jack stands, guarded by a pair of Hooters Pro Cup officials. Two weeks prior, Holman had stood a few yards away in victory lane, celebrating his third win of the season in Limited Sportsman competition at MMS.

But this wasn’t the same car. This wasn’t the same division. And this certainly wasn’t the same scenario.

Holman had finished ninth that night in the Kmart 250, a Hooters Pro Cup Northern Division race hosted by Holman’s home track. Although the team participated in the Southern Division, Holman had hoped to record a good finish in front of the hometown fans. Everyone on the crew had done their part, but an unfortunate set of circumstances were about to negate the top ten effort. Following a brief phone call and a strained discussion with the sanctioning body, Holman’s number 75 Food Country USA Chevrolet was disqualified for an unapproved transmission.

In an instant, everything had changed. It’s a facet of the sport that Holman is all too familiar with. Racing is a sport of extreme highs and lows, and they come as quickly as they go. No one participating at Motor Mile Speedway this season understands this concept better than Holman, because unlike most, the Abingdon, Va., native lives the life of a racecar driver once over. On some weeks, he is the wheelman of the number 63 Chevron Chevrolet, competing in the Limited Sportsman division at Motor Mile Speedway. On most weeks, he pilots the number 75 Food Country USA Chevrolet for Henderson Motorsports full-time in the Hooters Pro Cup Series.

Is it strenuous? Most certainly. Is it taxing? No doubt. But that’s racin’.

And not many do it better than Caleb Holman.

Substitute for success

The asphalt banks at Motor Mile Speedway are where he got his break. But Caleb Holman got his start on a much more soiled surface.

Clay.

Holman’s racing career began at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Va. Dubbed the world’s fastest half-mile dirt oval, a 13-year-old Holman cut his teeth racing against the best dirt trackers in the southeast.

Three years later, Holman was tapped to drive his Dad’s late model at Kingsport Speedway. His father -who had made a name for himself wheeling racecars in a number of different divisions including the Goody’s Dash Series- suddenly found himself incapable of hustling his late model due to health concerns. The only substitute worthy of the seat, he felt, was Caleb.

He was right.

“We had some good runs and won a bunch of races,” Holman recalls. “We even won a championship.”

Then, in 2005, Holman made the transition to Motor Mile Speedway, where track owner David Hagan gave the young racer his biggest break yet.

Through the driver development program, Holman was able to gain both exposure and experience. That season he would finish fourth in the standings, recording one win and eight top fives - even though he missed the third race of the season. It was during this period that his spotter, and eventual team manager Don Henderson, gave Holman an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“The driver development program really led into the Hooters Cup stuff. The way that worked was the guy who would come up and spot for me- he owns my Hooters car now,” explains Holman. “So I really owe a lot to David Hagan; driving for him led to that break- getting the Hooters ride.”

The pieces of the puzzle

Holman says that luck is preparation meeting opportunity. In reference to his racing career, he acknowledges that; “I’ve had a lot of opportunities come my way.”

Undoubtedly, his biggest break to date has been the opportunity to drive the number 75 Food Country USA Chevrolet for Henderson Motorsports in the Hooters Pro Cup Series Southern Division. Based out of his hometown in Abingdon, Va., Henderson Motorsports has long been a fixture in the sport of stock car racing. Three years ago, Holman joined a distinguished list of drivers who have sat in the seat of the number 75 Chevrolet. Names like Rick Wilson, Ward Burton, and Geoff Bodine have all piloted the blue Chevy in series’ spanning the Busch Grand National division to the Sprint Cup circuit.

“They turned down Tony Stewart when he first got started,” Holman recalls. “They were like, ‘Naw, we don’t want him.’”

The Henderson Motorsports resume is as deep as it is impressive, and although their current endeavors could include Nationwide Series races, Holman and the team feel more financially comfortable racing in the Hooters Pro Cup Series.

“We’ve got two [Nationwide] cars that we ran last year at Bristol, but it’s just gotten to the point where they’re money pits,” Holman says. “We can go Hooters racing for almost a full season with what we could run two [Nationwide] races for.”

Although the team doesn’t necessarily have a huge budget or the manpower –Holman is currently the only full-time employee- Henderson Motorsports is capable of competing competitively in the Hooters Pro Cup Series. Their performance proves it.

Holman has only three top five finishes so far this season in Pro Cup competition- a trio of fourth place efforts- but the results aren’t indicative to the overall performance of the team. Broken parts have plagued team number 75 this season; a break caliber at Georgia and gear at Concord- among others- have all voided top ten efforts.

“It’s not a performance issue,” explains Holman. “It’s a deal where as we run harder, we find the weak links.”

Despite the misfortune, Holman still sits seventh in the Southern Division standings following the July 19 event. With ability abounding, Holman is poised to gain ground in the standings if the team can just find a little good luck.

He has found plenty of luck in his other ride, however.

Out of the same stable as the number 75 Pro Cup car, the number 63 Chevron Chevrolet competes in the Limited Sportsman division at MMS. Picked to pilot the machine this season was Caleb Holman.

Although owned by fellow MMS driver Nick Cole, Henderson Motorsports houses the racecar, and its chief mechanic –when time allows- is Holman.

“We keep it at the same race shop with the Hooters stuff- just back in the corner, you know? When I need to work on it, I can- just at night, mostly,” Holman explains.

Even though the Hooters car is the priority, the Limited Sportsman ride is never neglected. Holman finds the time to work on it in the shop, and finds a way to win in it at the track.

Holman has three victories in the number 63 Chevrolet this season, and hasn’t tallied a finish worse than fifth. The outstanding record has reaped results in the point standings; although Holman has missed three races due to scheduling conflicts, he still sits fourth. While the majority of his competition has competed in every race thus far –a total of eight- Holman has managed to make the best of every outing. His improbable position in the points can be attributed to his outstanding work ethic behind the wheel. The Chevron Chevy is certainly not the fastest thing on wheels, but the driver has practiced patience and proven his proficiency in every event, and therefore, at the midway point of the season, Holman is still a contender in the points while maintaining a limited schedule.

“I’m gonna run every race possible in the Limited car, and if the rain fell right, I could still run for points. I’m not sayin’ I’m not going to, but it’s not the priority,” Holman says of his current position in the standings.

One in the same

Holman stays busy. He lives to race; likewise, racing is his life. Already this season, Holman has competed in a UARA series event at Bristol Motor Speedway, ran every Southern Division event in the Hooters Pro Cup Series, and has recorded five starts in the Limited Sportsman division at MMS. And while the focus remains the number 75 Food Country car, Holman feels there is much to be gained by racing different cars at different tracks.

“I told somebody the other day, ‘I go through more in a 50 lap Limited race then I do in a 250 lap Hooters race, because there’s just so much stuff happening,’” Holman says.

Holman feels the extra-curricular races that have filled his ’08 plate are molding him into a more versatile driver. The experience has been invaluable, and as the season progresses, Holman says the schedule will continue to grow. Whether he’s taking the checkered flag in the next Limited Sportsman contest, or he’s taking tires under caution preparing for the last fifty laps of a Hooters Series shootout, Caleb Holman is becoming a master of his trade. In just five races, his success at Motor Mile Speedway has been substantial. As for nights like the one the Henderson Motorsports team had after the Hooters Pro Cup Series Kmart 250?

Well, like the old saying goes, sometimes you can’t have it both ways.

But Caleb Holman thinks you can.

“I think doing double duty helps. As much as I race, I always learn something. Even if it’s miniscule, I’m always learning something each time I go racing. And that helps.”