As an engineer, Tyler Holmes loves tinkering with things, especially in the race shop.
Sometimes, Holmes will make what he calls “wild setup changes” to his Baby Grand car just to see what will happen.
“When we get time we kind of tinker and make any adjustments,” Holmes said. “We enjoy seeing if there’s anything we can do to make it faster, even if it is counter-intuitive.”
It seemed like no matter how the car was set up, Holmes was finding success in 2023. He picked up three wins and 10 top-five finishes in 10 races at Alaska Raceway Park this season on the way to his third title in the track’s Baby Grand division, a NASCAR-sanctioned class.
MORE: Complete list of 2023 NASCAR track champions
Holmes won the track title by nine points, but the championship was much more secure than the points make it seem. He just needed to finish sixth or better on the final night to wrap up his third title in the last four years.
“You do want to make sure you don’t make that big mistake,” Holmes said. “There’s still kind of that pressure that, even though you know you’ve got to get sixth, you still want to try to get first, otherwise people are going to look at you like, ‘Well, why’d you win? You’re way in the back.'”
Holmes began racing bandoleros and baby grands in high school, but he didn’t stick with the sport. He admits “life kind of got in the way,” and the racing scene in Alaska dried up. That was until Alaska Raceway Park, a NASCAR Home Track in Palmer, Alaska, opened in 2016.
Three years after ARP opened, Holmes decided to get back into the sport despite the fact that he hadn’t raced in more than a decade.
“When Alaska Raceway Park opened up, we saw the same cars were racing again, and we thought it would be really cool to get back into it now that we have our own money and a little more time,” Holmes said.
After so much time out of the car, Holmes said he was “super nervous” going into his first race. So nervous, he said his hands were shaking on the steering wheel.
Once took a few laps, he realized racing is like riding a bike.
“Once you get out there, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, I remember how to do this,'” he said.
A year after he returned, Holmes’ brother, Travis, joined him in the baby grand class. Racing is now all in the family for the Holmes’. His grandfather and dad both raced, so he said “it comes naturally to everybody in the family, a little bit.”
Holmes’ mom, dad and Grandpa Steve help every week, and his dad is always there helping get the car ready and offering setup advice. His uncle also shows up every week and serves as his brother’s spotter.
Holmes enjoys the chance to race against his brother every week, as well as all the others in ARP’s baby grand class.
“It’s mostly fun. We get under each other’s skin a little bit, but by the time we get home, we’re over anything that happens. It’s a good experience overall,” he said of racing his brother.
“Honestly, I love the group we’ve got racing. When the races are over, we’re shaking hands, having fun, laughing about it. Everybody wants to help out, share parts when somebody gets in wreck or something, get all the cars back on the track. It’s a really good environment. It makes it really fun to get on the track each week.”
This offseason has been family-focused for Holmes, but he said he plans to get back to work on the car soon to be ready for 2024. He’s looking forward to having more fun with his friends and competitors next season, and he’s also looking to help grow the class and get more cars on the track.
His pitch to those who are thinking of giving racing a try is simple.
“I’d say, get out there,” he said.
“Talk to people who do it and see what’s involved. It’s not just getting on the track, it’s, do you like working on the cars? Do you have the energy to get the car ready? I don’t want to sound like I’m discouraging anybody. If you enjoy the working on it, and the friendships and all that kind of stuff, it really goes a long way to encourage people.”
Working on the car is fun, but Holmes joked he enjoys the racing more because “it doesn’t take as much work,” he said with a laugh.
But he isn’t afraid to work. And who knows what crazy setups he’ll throw out there next season.
“It’s fun just to make wild changes and work on the car all week to pick up a 10th of a second or less and you’re still ecstatic about it,” he said.