After competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series on a part-time basis last season, Bret Holmes Racing is focused on a full-time effort in the NASCAR Truck Series for 2023, the team announced Friday.
Holmes, who captured the 2020 ARCA Menards Series championship for his family-owned operation, will pilot the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado in all 23 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events in 2023, starting with the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.
“It’s a blessing and a dream to be competing for a championship in one of NASCAR’s top three series,” said Holmes. “This is a huge chance and opportunity that I’m ready to capitalize on. It’s been what feels like forever since we’ve been full-time racing which was back in 2020 in the ARCA Menards Series. Since then, we’ve been building up our inventory, experience, and notebook. All of that has ultimately led to this season, and I can’t wait to show what we’ve got. We’ve done really well on superspeedways, and I think we can start the year off strong there.”
Last season, Holmes competed in about one-third of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule, scoring a single top-five result at Talladega Superspeedway, and a pair of top-10 finishes for the No. 32 Chevrolet Silverado.
Jerry Baxter, who spent last season working alongside Tanner Gray and Hailie Deegan at David Gilliland Racing, will move to Bret Holmes Racing in 2023 to serve as crew chief of the single-truck operation.
In his 11 seasons as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series crew chief, Baxter has recorded a total of 16 victories, most recently with Brett Moffitt and GMS Racing in 2019.
“I’m thrilled to be joining BHR and working with Bret,” said Baxter. “Bret is eager to perform well behind the wheel, and I’m looking forward to working with the team. We have a small team, but our aspirations are big.”
AJ Heister, a long-time employee of Bret Holmes Racing, has been moved into the position of the team’s General Manager. Heister boasts an 18-year career in racing, where he most recently served as BHR’s shop foreman.
“It’s been a short off-season with some big changes at BHR,” said Heister. “We’ve been preparing since we unloaded from the last race in 2022, and I believe our hard work will show when we get to the track. All of our staff and I are very excited to get to Daytona and get the season started.”
Pate Holdings of Tuscaloosa, and owner Stan Pate, will serve as a multi-race primary sponsor of Bret Holmes Racing in 2023, including the season-opener at Daytona. Additional races of sponsorship for Pate Holdings will be announced at a later date.
“I think bringing in a veteran like Jerry Baxter to the team and moving AJ Heister into a General Manager role are two big things we’ve done this off season,” said Holmes. “I fully believe these changes will result in a great season. I can’t wait to be in Daytona in a couple of weeks.”
