Bret Holmes and the No. 23 Holmes ll Excavation Chevrolet team finished fifth at Madison International Speedway despite receiving a pit road penalty in the late stages of the race. Holmes started the 200-lap event from the ninth position. The first half of the race was run under green-flag conditions and allowed Holmes time to advance his position into the top five. The 22-year-old driver pitted under caution on lap 113 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. After the field took the ensuing green flag, a quick rain shower blanketed the Oregon, Wisc., area. ARCA Menards Series officials brought all drivers to pit road for an extended red flag period. Prior to restarting the race, Holmes received right-side tires and fuel. As Holmes was leaving pit road with various other drivers, the stop sign was displayed and penalized the No. 23 team for exiting pit road too soon. Holmes was forced to restarted at the tail end of the line on lap 170. In the final 30 laps, Holmes improved his position to fifth before crossing the finish line.
Start – 9th Finish – 5th Points Position – 2nd
BRET HOLMES QUOTE:“We had a good finish at Madison (International Speedway). I feel like we should have finished in the top three, but we got held up on the outside on the final restart. We had a great Chevrolet and picked up a lot on our short track program. We’ll keep working on it over the next few weeks. That pit road penalty set us back, but things like that happen. We’ll move on from it. I’m just happy with the progress that we’ve made and where we’re going. We’re getting top-five finishes every week, and they’re coming without a lot of struggles. I really wish we could have gotten another third-place finish, but we’ll try again next weekend.”
BHR PR
