AUTO RACING: Father And Son In the Fast Lane

BY JIM CNOCKAERT
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Caleb and Darrell Holman figure it’s appropriate they’re spending this Father’s Day driving home to Abingdon, Va., from a stock car race. It is, after all, what they do almost every weekend from March through October.

In that respect, Father’s Day often is every day. That’s what happens when son and father have similar passions for the same sport.

“I get to do what I love to do – and spend a lot of quality time with my dad,” Caleb said.

This weekend, the Holman family was at the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway for the Grand Strand 250, the fifth stop on USA Racing’s Pro Cup Series. Caleb was behind the wheel of the No. 75 Henderson Motorsports/Food Country Chevrolet on Saturday night. Darrell was somewhere high in the stands, spotting for him.

It’s been like that for many of Caleb’s 25 years, though obviously the roles have changed over time. Early on, Darrell drove and Caleb helped out. Now, it’s the other way around.

“It tickles me a bunch that he loves driving race cars,” Darrell, 51, said. “His career was taking off just as I was having health problems with my back and neck and arthritis. That made it easier for me to quit driving. It helped me to help him drive.”

Caleb’s parents took him to his first race when he was still in diapers, but Darrell never pushed his son to get behind the wheel. The truth is, he didn’t have to.

As soon as he was old enough, Caleb was hanging around the garage and poking his nose under the hood. He liked football, and he was a darn good baseball player. But as team sports began to conflict with his driving, he opted to focus on his first love.

It made sense to him. All the men he admired while growing up, particularly his dad, drove race cars. It’s all he’s ever wanted to do, he said.

Caleb started racing go-karts when he was seven, and he started driving mini-stock cars on dirt tracks when he was 13. He’s moved up steadily since. Last season, he ran a full campaign on the Pro Cup Series, winning once (at Bristol Motor Speedway) and earning five top-five finishes. He also ran the Limited Sportsman Division in Radford, Va., winning three times.

When it comes to driving a race car, Darrell said he sees a lot of himself in his son. Their styles are similar, particularly in terms of their aggressiveness on the track. But, Darrell said, Caleb is easier on the brakes, more consistent over the long haul and a little more even-keeled when it comes to his emotions when he gets behind the wheel.

“I might have been a little more hot-headed,” Darrell admitted. “I’ve advised him that he should learn from my example. Nothing good comes from being mad in a race car.”

Darrell still wrestles with his emotions when he’s watching his son drive during a race. For instance, it was all he could do to keep from screaming into his headset last August as his son closed out the victory at BMS.

“You have to separate being a dad from being his spotter,” Darrell said. “If someone spins him out, you have to stay focused because he’s got to get the car straightened out and back in the race.”

Where father and son are completely on the same page is in terms of their work ethic. Neither minds getting his hands dirty. That attitude, Caleb said, comes from his father, who made it clear from the start that driving is only a small part of making a car go fast.

“He told me early: ‘If you want to race, you’ve got work,’ ” Caleb said. “Unless you’ve got a lot of cash to shell out, you’re working on races cars. Even when the car is perfect, you’ve still got a week’s worth of work to do.

“No matter what you’re running, you can’t be flippant about it. It’s a lifestyle, and you have to look at it that way. God and family come first, but racing has to be your next priority. It better be, because someone else is always trying to beat you.”

The willingness to work was a start. Hanging around the shop and watching his dad work, Caleb learned what makes a race car tick. That knowledge, father and son agreed, make him a better driver.

“If you want to be good, you have to know how to build the car and work on the car,” Darrell said. “That way, during the race, you can tell the crew chief what needs to be done. Or, if you don’t have a lot of help, you can do it yourself.

“The good drivers know the nuts and bolts and mechanics of a car. A huge part of success in racing is communication.”

Caleb got more of that kind of education after he graduated from Abingdon High School in 2002, when he went to work in the Morgan-McClure race shop. At first, he just cleaned the race cars, but once he demonstrated that he knew and could do more, he became the shop’s jack of all trades. He does all that and more at Henderson Motorsports – as well as drive.

Any time he gets into a bind, whether at the shop or on the track, he knows he can give his dad a call. And he knows he’ll get what he needs, whether it’s a good piece of advice or a helping hand.

“Sometimes, you can take that for granted,” Caleb said.

Darrell said he never feels as if that’s happening. There’s no better place to be, he said, than around race cars, particularly because his family is involved.

“I didn’t have anyone to help me get started in racing, but that’s all [Caleb] ever knew,” he said.
“But I never pushed him into it. He was a real good baseball player, and it would have been OK with me if he’d wanted to pursue that. But he’s always wanted to race, so I’ve done everything I can to support him.”

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