Bret Holmes and the No. 23 Holmes ll Excavation Chevrolet team overcame an early-race incident to finish fifth at Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville. Due to inclement weather, ARCA Menards Series officials were forced to cancel qualifying and postpone the 200-lap event until Sunday afternoon. Lining up based on practice speeds, Holmes started the race from the fourth position. Holmes was running in the seventh spot on lap 72 when another competitor spun in front of him and caused damaged to the left side of the No. 23 machine. The Munford, Ala., native pitted under caution for repairs and fuel. Returning to the racing surface, Holmes took the ensuing green flag from the ninth position. Holmes battled for track position and was scored sixth when a caution was displayed on lap 122. The Shane Huffman-led team pitted for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Holmes restarted fifth and raced within the top five for the remainder of the main event. Holmes’ fifth-place finish on Sunday places him third in the championship point standings, 40 points behind the leader
. Start – 4th Finish – 5th Points Position – 3rd
BRET HOLMES QUOTE:“We had a really solid Chevrolet all weekend. I felt like this was the first race that we got the monkey off our back. We didn’t get to qualify, but I think racing during the day instead of at night played into our favor a little bit. We had a little run in during the race. It was a little body damage, which wasn’t bad. The pit crew recovered from that. They were on their game this weekend. Shane (Huffman, crew chief) made great calls all day long. I think overall, we brought a strong piece to the track this weekend. This was our first top-five finish of the season. I feel like we should have had it earlier this year, but I’m glad we have that milestone under our belt. It’s baby steps. Now we’re working towards a win. We just have to keep setting goals for ourselves, and we’ll be just fine.”
BHR PR
