Bret Holmes and the No. 23 Holmes ll Excavation team earned their seventh top-five finish of the season on Saturday night at Salem Speedway by capturing a fourth-place result. Holmes posted the fifth-fastest time during qualifying for the 200-lap affair. The 22-year-old driver was shuffled out of position at the drop of the initial green flag but settled into the eighth position before the first caution of the night waved on lap 23. Holmes reported to the Shane Huffman-led team of a loose-handling condition developing on long green-flag runs. The No. 23 pit crew serviced Holmes with four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment during a caution period around the halfway point of the race. Armed with fresh tires, Holmes worked his way into the second position by lap 102. As tires began to wear, Holmes slipped back to fourth but was able to maintain his position until the end of the event. With Holmes’ fourth-place finish, he was crowned the ARCA Menards Series CGS Four Crown champion.
Start –5th Finish – 4th Points Position – 3rd
BRET HOLMES QUOTE:
“I’m so thankful that we had a good run tonight at one of my favorite tracks. We had a rough little stint there over the month of July and a race in August, but we persevered and kept our heads up. To come back in September and have a good finish at Salem (Speedway), felt great. We also won the CGS Four Crown championship. That is really cool for me, and an honor to join the names of people like Davey Allison who have won the award. We were able to win the series by being consistent all season long. That starts with this team building fast cars every week. I’m proud of them for this accomplishment. We only have two more races left in the season, but we’re chipping away at the point lead. Our goal is to finish the season strong with a win.”
BHR PR
