Howdy Holmes (born December 14, 1947 in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is a former racing driver in the

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive event ...

series. He began racing in the early 1970s and was based in

Stockbridge, Michigan Stockbridge is a village in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Stockbridge Township about southeast from downtown Lansing. The population was 1,218 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Ce ...

, about southeast from downtown Lansing and northeast of

Chelsea, Michigan Chelsea is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,467 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled as early as 1820 within the Michigan Territory by settler Cyrus Beckwith. It would be organized ...

where his family owned a milling company. He raced in the CART series for 7 seasons (1979-1980, 1982-1985, and 1988), with 72 career starts, including the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

each of those years except 1980. He finished in the top ten 26 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1984 at Phoenix. He was the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the year in 1979, with a 7th-place finish. In 1978, he was the Formula Atlantic champion. Holmes is currently the President of Chelsea Milling Company, his family's firm that was founded in 1901. His grandmother Mabel White Holmes became famous for inventing the Jiffy line of baking mixes in 1930, and the family brand served as a sponsor for his cars.

Indy car career (USAC and CART)

Holmes would make his indy car debut in the

USAC National Championship From 1956 to 1978, USAC Championship Car seasons featured the top teams and drivers in U.S. open-wheel racing. Until 1971, the Championship contained road courses, ovals, dirt courses, and, on occasion, a hill climb. Thereafter, the schedule ...

during

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

for

AMI Racing AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version *AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...

in the No. 46 Jiffy Mixes/ Armstrong Mould Wildcat Mk. 2- Drake Goosen Sparks at the

. In the race Holmes qualified in 13th place and was the only rookie to qualify, meaning Holmes won the

rookie of the year award A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

. Holmes finished the race in seventh place. Holmes drove a second race, the Music 500 Presented by Musicland & Sam Goody at

Pocono International Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA ...

, starting and finishing seventh. Holmes finished 12th in the USAC points, while going unranked towards the rival SCCA/CART PPG World Series due to Indianapolis counting towards the points for drivers competing in their championship. In

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

USAC and CART merged to form the Championship Racing League while also counting for points in the CART championship. Holmes returned with

to drive the No. 43 Jiffy Mixes/ Armstrong Mould

Orbitor ''Blinding'' ( ro, Orbitor) is a novel in three volumes by the Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu Mircea Cărtărescu (; born 1 June 1956) is a Romanian novelist, poet, short-story writer, literary critic, and essayist. Biography Born in Bucha ...

Cosworth DFX The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

. While Holmes was attempting to qualify the car he spun out and missed the race in that car. Holmes also tried to qualify AMI's No. 45 Armstrong Mould Lola T6000-

, failing to qualify in that car also. During the season the Orbitor showed some promise, such as qualifying sixth at the Kent Oil 150 at Watkins Glen Grand Prix Circuit and an eighth-place finish at the True Value 500 at

. Holmes finished 12th in the CRL/USAC standings and 22nd in the CART standings. Holmes did not compete in any races in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

Holmes drove for

Doug Shierson Racing Doug Shierson Racing is a former racing team that competed in the CART Championship Car Series from 1982 to 1990. The team was sponsored by Domino's Pizza for its entire run in CART. Shierson Racing's biggest victory came at the 1990 Indianapolis ...

in the No. 30

Domino's Pizza Domino's Pizza, Inc., trading as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware domiciled and headquartered at the Domino ...

March 82C-Cosworth DFX. During the season Holmes got best finishes of fourth at the Provimi Veal Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park Speedway and fifth at the Detroit News Grand Prix at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is ...

to finish 13th in points. During the year Holmes qualified for the

(counted towards the USAC Gold Crown Championship) to finish 10th in the race and 26th in the USAC standings. For

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

Holmes returned with

to drive the No. 30 Domino's Pizza March 83C-Cosworth. During the year Holmes got a best finish of fifth at the Cribari Wines 300K at

Laguna Seca Raceway Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 near both Salinas and M ...

. Holmes also competed in the

(sanctioned by USAC, but counted for points by

), starting 12th and finishing 6th. Holmes finished 13th in the CART standings and 9th in the USAC standings. In

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

Holmes joined Mayer Racing to drive the No. 41 Jiffy Mixes March 84C-Cosworth DFX. The season started off well as Holmes finished second to teammate

Tom Sneva Thomas E. Sneva (born June 1, 1948) is a retired American race car driver who won the Indianapolis 500 in 1983. He primarily raced in Indy cars, and was named to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2005. A former math teacher from Spok ...

at the Dana Jimmy Bryan 150 at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. ...

. Holmes then qualified second to Sneva at the

. Holmes' car suffered mechanical problems throughout the race and Holmes finished 13th, 15 laps down. The rest of the season brought some more points finishes, although none were as good as Holme's early season form. Holmes finished the season 12th in the CART points and unranked in the USAC points due to scoring no points at Indianapolis. For

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Holmes joined Forsythe Racing to drive the No. 33 Jiffy Mixes Lola T85/00-Cosworth DFX. Holmes got a best finish of ninth at the Michigan 500 at

. Holmes also finished 10th at the

. The result came under some controversy as Holmes was criticized for making contact with then-second place driver and former teammate Sneva, which caused Sneva and

Rich Vogler Richard Frank Vogler (July 26, 1950 – July 21, 1990) was an American champion sprint car and midget car driver. He was nicknamed "Rapid Rich".

to crash. Following the Detroit News 200 at Michigan International Speedway Holmes was replaced by

Jan Lammers Jan Lammers (Johannes Antonius Lammers, Zandvoort, 2 June 1956) is a racing driver from the Netherlands whose most notable claim to fame is victory in the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours for Silk Cut Jaguar/ TWR, next to a four-season spell in Formula O ...

. Holmes finished the season 25th in the CART standings and 10th in the USAC standings. Holmes did not compete in any races in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

. In 1988 Holmes drove for

Morales Motorsports Morales is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfredo Morales (born 1990), American footballer * Alvaro Morales (disambiguation), several people * Amado Morales (born 1947), Puerto Rican javelin thrower * Bartolomé Mora ...

in the No. 21 Jiffy Mixes March 88C-Cosworth DFX. During the season Holmes got a best finish of seventh at the Quaker State 500 at Pocono International Raceway. Holmes also had a good run at the

, starting 33rd (last) and finishing 12th. Holmes finished the season with an eighth-place finish at the Nissan Indy Challenge at Tamiami Park in what was Holmes' final Indy car race. Holmes finished 18th in the CART standings and 12th in the USAC standings.

Post racing career

After retiring from racing, Holmes became the president of Chelsea Milling Company, the manufacturer of Jiffy Mixes, which was invented by Holmes' grandmother Mabel White Holmes. Holmes has also made appearances at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Legends Day (a day that honors past drivers of the

) and other times simply as a spectator. Holmes was also likely among the drivers who previously competed in Indianapolis 500s and appeared in a special event prior to the

2011 Indianapolis 500 The 95th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 29, 2011. The race was part of the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The track opened for practice on May 14 and time trials were held from Ma ...

(100th anniversary of the first race).

American open–wheel racing results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

( key)

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

CART/Champ Car World Series

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) : ''¹ Replaced by Jerry Sneva : ''² Race was delayed six days due to rain in the area. The qualified cars of Holmes,

Johnny Rutherford John Sherman "Johnny" Rutherford III (born March 12, 1938), also known as "Lone Star JR", is an American former automobile racing driver. During an Indy Car career that spanned more than three decades, he scored 27 wins and 23 pole positions in 3 ...

, Dick Ferguson, and Chip Ganassi did not return to the rescheduled race.

Indianapolis 500 results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Howdy Living people Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year Atlantic Championship drivers Racing drivers from Michigan SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants Forsythe Racing drivers 1947 births