Bret Holmes and the No. 23 Holmes ll Excavation / Memorial Day Tribute to Troops Chevrolet team finished eighth on Thursday night under the lights at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After starting from the sixth position, Holmes battled a loose-handling Chevrolet. Relief for the young driver came on lap 16 when a caution flag slowed the field. Crew chief Shane Huffman called Holmes to pit road for four tires, fuel, air pressure and chassis adjustments. Holmes took the ensuing green flag from the 12th spot but quickly advanced his position to fifth by lap 42. Still fighting handling issues, Holmes returned to pit road under caution on lap 88 for another round of adjustments. Quick work by the No. 23 pit crew placed Holmes in the second position for the restart. Holmes gathered momentum and jumped to the lead. The Munford, Ala., native paced the field until a late-race caution was displayed on lap 98. As the race went into overtime, Holmes’ loose-handling condition returned, and he slipped back to eighth after two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish.
Start – 6th Finish – 8th Points Position – 2nd (tied)
BRET HOLMES QUOTE:
“I’m really proud of the race we ran last night. We definitely showed up and showed how we’ve been improving every week. We led laps and were really close to a win. We were just a little too loose there at the end. I need to work on my restarts. So far, everything that we know we need to improve on, we have. We go back to the shop each week and replay the race. We make notes of areas that we need to work on, and we do that. It showed tonight. Everyone has worked really hard to get where we are. It’s a true testament to our team. We work together and make things right instead of tearing each other down when things don’t go as planned. It was a great feeling to lead laps last night. I’d never led at an intermediate track before, it’s nice not to see anyone else out front of you. I definitely think we can repeat this performance at Pocono (Raceway) and Michigan (International Speedway) in the upcoming races.”
BHR PR
