Bret Holmes Bio
Stacy Bret Holmes (born May 5, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver from Munford, Alabama. He is best known for winning the 2020 ARCA Menards Series championship and for his part-time efforts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Holmes most recently competed in the Truck Series driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Tricon Garage. He is the son of former racer Stacy Holmes, who helped shape his early path into the sport.
Over the course of his career, Holmes has built a reputation as a short-track and stock car racer who developed his craft on Alabama ovals before stepping up to national NASCAR-sanctioned series. He balances his racing schedule with his education at Auburn University, where he studies building science.
Early Life and Background
Stacy Bret Holmes was born on May 5, 1997, in Munford, Alabama, where he continues to make his home. He grew up around racing, as his father, Stacy Holmes, was a competitive driver in his own right. His father often raced at the Talladega Short Track and held the lap record there until Bret broke it in 2013, a moment that marked one of the earliest public milestones in the younger Holmes’s career.
Holmes began his competitive racing career at the age of eight when he entered go-kart events. Over four years in karts, he racked up about sixty wins, building the reflexes and race craft that would later define his stock car career. After his karting years, he moved into a variety of dirt and asphalt competition, eventually winning a championship in the Crate Late Model Division.
Path to NASCAR
Holmes progressed through the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, a national program that sanctions weekly short-track racing across the United States. His success at the grassroots level gave him the experience and visibility needed to take the next step into the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR’s primary development tour at the time. He made his ARCA debut in 2016 with Empire Racing in the No. 18 Ford, having participated in preseason testing at Daytona, although he ultimately withdrew from the season opener.
While continuing to develop as a driver, Holmes also enrolled at Auburn University, where he has studied building science. He used his family-run Bret Holmes Racing team as a foundation to compete in ARCA, gradually improving his results and building the consistency that would lead to a championship run.
Bret Holmes Career
Early Career (2015–2016)
Holmes captured the 2015 Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Series championship, a regional title that established him as one of the top young short-track talents in the Southeast. The Pro Late Model title came on the strength of consistent finishes and his growing comfort in heavier stock cars, signaling that he was ready for a larger stage.
In 2016, Holmes made his ARCA Menards Series debut with Empire Racing, a step up from weekly short-track racing. Although he did not compete in the planned Daytona opener, his arrival in the series positioned him within NASCAR’s official development pipeline and set the stage for his own team effort in the years that followed.
ARCA Menards Series Breakthrough (2016–2020)
Holmes continued to race in ARCA over the following seasons, building experience and refining his approach with his family team, Bret Holmes Racing. By 2020, he had planned only a part-time schedule, but a strong early showing convinced him to commit to the full season. The decision paid off, as he claimed his first career ARCA victory at Kansas Speedway, leading 82 of the 100 laps in dominant fashion.
He followed that win with four consecutive top-five finishes to close the year, locking down the 2020 ARCA Menards Series championship by twelve points over Michael Self. The title cemented his status as one of the top prospects in American stock car racing and provided a platform to move into NASCAR’s national series.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2021–Present)
In 2021, Bret Holmes Racing expanded to include a part-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series effort, fielding trucks for Holmes and fellow young driver Sam Mayer. The move marked Holmes’s entry into NASCAR’s third national touring series and gave him the chance to compete on larger tracks against established teams.
A memorable moment came on October 1, 2022, at the Chevy Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, where Holmes appeared to narrowly beat Matt DiBenedetto to the line, only to be classified third once officials reviewed the finish under caution. The result highlighted both his raw speed on superspeedways and the fine margins that define the Truck Series. On October 9, 2025, it was announced that Holmes would return to the Truck Series with Tricon Garage, driving the No. 1 Toyota, a deal that brought him back to a national series with a multi-truck Toyota operation.
Driving Style and Strengths
Holmes built his reputation on short tracks, where patient race craft and the ability to maintain pace over long runs are essential. His Kansas Speedway victory, where he led 82 of 100 laps, showed comfort in managing tire wear and controlling the field from the front. He has also shown composure on drafting tracks like Talladega, where positioning and timing are critical to surviving the closing laps.
Notable Races and Milestones
Holmes’s career is anchored by his 2020 ARCA Menards Series championship and his first ARCA win at Kansas Speedway. He also holds the family milestone of breaking his father Stacy Holmes’s longtime Talladega Short Track lap record in 2013, a symbolic passing of the torch on a track closely tied to the Holmes name. His near-victory run at the 2022 Chevy Silverado 250 at Talladega remains one of the most talked-about finishes of his Truck Series career.
Bret Holmes Career Wins
Holmes has collected wins and championships across short-track Late Model competition and the ARCA Menards Series, with additional starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. His verified victories include regional and national development series titles that served as stepping stones to NASCAR.
ARCA Menards Series Highlights
Holmes won the 2020 ARCA Menards Series championship, the first national touring title of his career. His first ARCA victory came at Kansas Speedway that same season, a wire-to-wire performance in which he led 82 laps. He closed the year with four straight top-five finishes, a run of consistency that secured the title by twelve points over Michael Self.
Other Wins and Performances
Before his ARCA success, Holmes won the 2015 Show Me The Money Pro Late Model Series championship and a Crate Late Model Division title at the regional level. He also posted a combined four-year karting win total of about sixty victories, providing the foundation for his move into stock cars.
Bret Holmes Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Holmes comes from a racing family rooted in Munford, Alabama. His father, Stacy Holmes, is a former racing driver who competed at the Talladega Short Track and held the track’s lap record until Bret broke it in 2013. The family has continued to operate Bret Holmes Racing, the team that carried the younger Holmes through his ARCA championship run and into the Truck Series.
Personal Life
Holmes lives in Munford, Alabama, and has studied building science at Auburn University while continuing to race. He balances his coursework with a part-time national touring schedule, a routine that has become more common for young drivers working their way up through NASCAR’s development ladder.
2025 Season Performance
Holmes’s 2025 campaign began with a return to the national stage. On October 9, 2025, it was announced that he would rejoin the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, this time driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Tricon Garage, a long-established Toyota-aligned team. The announcement marked his first confirmed Truck Series ride since his part-time 2021 and 2022 efforts with Bret Holmes Racing.
The move to Tricon Garage gave Holmes access to a multi-truck operation with established engineering and a manufacturer pipeline through Toyota. While the Truck Series schedule features a wide range of tracks, from short ovals to superspeedways, his experience at places like Talladega and his short-track background position him well for the variety of venues the series visits.
Looking ahead, the partnership with Tricon Garage is built around giving Holmes competitive equipment in a part-time capacity, with the potential to expand depending on results. Strong runs in 2025 could set up a fuller Truck Series schedule in 2026 and beyond, continuing his climb from ARCA champion to a regular presence in NASCAR.