Bret Holmes and the No. 23 Holmes ll Excavation team finished third at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Sunday afternoon. Holmes started the 100-lap main event from the 12th spot and worked his way into the ninth position before a quick rain shower moved in over the Springfield, Ill., -based dirt track. ARCA Menards Series officials were forced to display the red flag and brought the field down pit road while the shower passed. Before green-flag racing resumed, crew chief Shane Huffman called Holmes to pit road for fuel and a small chassis adjustment. The veteran dirt racer restarted in the top 10 on lap 15 and began working his way to the front. By lap 31, Holmes was scored third and maneuvered into the second spot just two laps later. A late-race incident on lap 95 brought out the final yellow flag of the day. Holmes restarted fifth as the race went into overtime and was able to pick up two additional positions in the final laps to finish third.
Start – 12th Finish – 3rd Points Position – 3rd
BRET HOLMES QUOTE:“I’m really proud of this team. We had a rough month in July, but we brought home a good finish at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. We started further back than we wanted to but to finish third, that was a tough battle. It was a lot of fun, though. The way we came through the field like that, it really shows how fast of a car we had. I think we could have had a shot at the end there, but we needed another couple of laps. All-in-all, I’m proud of this team and all the effort everyone is putting in. We aren’t letting up. I still feel like we can win this championship. We have another dirt race coming up, so I’m heading home this weekend and excited to get back behind the wheel of a dirt late model at the Talladega Short Track.”
BHR PR
