Taylor Holdaway and Holdaway Motorsports announced last week that for the final weekend of racing, The Velocity 250 Special on September 25/26th, that the No. 41 ImageFactor.ca/OntarioOval.com Holdaway Motorsports Late Model would be painted pink, instead of the typical orange and black colors. It was added that for a minimum donation of $10 to cancer research, you could put a ribbon on the car that you have signed.
“We just wanted to do something a little different for the last race of the year,” Holdaway said. “There are so many people who have had their lives changed by cancer that we wanted to make a difference and raise some money for research. It’s neat for the fans as well because the ribbons will be placed on the car and allow them to see it during the weekend.”
The reaction that Holdaway Motorsports has got from the fans so far has been tremendous as people have already started donating.
“So far there has been a lot of interest with it,” he said. “We are hoping it is big and gets a lot of exposure. If everything goes well this year we will make it a yearly event to raise money.”
Like many drivers, Holdaway got into racing through his father.
“My dad followed racing and we were at Mosport watching a race at the oval track and there were go-karts racing,” he told me. “When I saw how young the drivers were I wanted to do it and got my first go-kart that Christmas.”
Holdaway has now worked his way up to the top division at Sunset Speedway, Late Model, and has impressed so far as he has two feature victories and sits sixth in points heading into the next five weeks.
“This season has had its ups and downs,” he said. “We got off to a slow start but made improvements every week. We are happy to be competitive each week and being in contention to win a handful of races.”
The first win that Holdaway scored this year marked his first feature victory at Sunset Speedway, in which stands as the most memorable right now.
“Every win is memorable in its own way, but I would say my first win at Sunset this year is my most memorable win,” he said. “With all of the competition at Sunset to get a win means a lot to the whole team.”
The competition level at Sunset is one of the highest that is seen across the province with the top cars in each division being close.
“The competition level is the best anywhere in Ontario,” he commented. “There are 12 cars atleast that can win any given night, which makes for great racing for the drivers and the fans.”
Though for Holdaway, he says they’re on par with their goals coming into the season of getting a win, finishing in the top five in points and being competitive each week.
Holdaway wants to continue to move up through the ranks, maybe running the CRA Series in the states.
“We are going to take it one year at a time, but I wouldn’t mind putting a car together to get down to the states and race in the CRA series,” he said.
Along the way so far though, Holdaway has picked up many lessons that have helped him have the success this year, including respect across the board.
“Biggest thing I have learned is to gain respect from other drivers,” he said. “Gaining respect allows me to race clean with other drivers without tearing equipment up.”
Hopefully down the road, Holdaway has the same success as the driver who he looks up – Kyle Busch.
“Anything he drives he is competitive and fighting for wins, and he sure can wheel a race car!” Holdaway commented.
Fans who would like to get in touch with Holdaway Motorsports about donating money towards cancer research and learn more about Taylor Holdaway, can either like their facebook page ‘Holdaway Motorsports’, follow Taylor on twitter @41holdaway, or e-mail Holdaway Motorsports at Holdawaymotorsports@hotmail.com.