Racer Spotlight: Michael Holcombe

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This month we get to know Michael Holcombe of La Porte, Texas.

Racer Spotlight: Michael Holcombe

DC: How long have you been racing?

MH: I’ve been racing a total of 13 years. Junior dragsters from 1995-2001 and big cars since 2013.

DC: How did you get introduced to the sport?

MH: I was born into the sport, my grandpa and dad both raced. Alongside my cousin Rodney, we both had Jr. dragsters as soon as we were old enough to race.

DC: Which class or classes do you compete in?  Where do you normally race?

MH: I compete in Super Comp all over Division 4 and different bracket races. I mainly race locally at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas but venture out a few times a year to other tracks and big money races.

DC: Tell us about your current race car.

MH: My current car is a 2011 Ray Alan Race Cars dragster that I have owned since 2016. I went through everything on it making it brand new and exactly like I wanted.  It has a 615 TRE Racing Engines big block Chevrolet, Exner Racing Transmissions power glide, FTI torque converter, and fresh Brando Custom Paint.

DC: Please list your major racing accomplishments.

MH: All my “Major” racing accomplishments came in Jr. dragsters. I won a couple of track championships at Houston Raceway Park and Lone Star Motorsports Park. In addition, I won a Division 4 race and earned a Runner Up and Semifinal finish at the Jr. Dragster National Championship.

In “big cars” I have a handful of different wins between bracket racing, index, and Super Comp along with multiple upper finishes in points programs. But I’m still chasing a “big one”.

DC: What’s on your bucket list, what are your future goals?

MH: My future goals and “bucket list” items are in no particular order: A point’s track championship, a couple of “big money wins”, a Division 4 Super Comp win, and a National Event win!

DC: Tell us what you do for a living?

MH: For a living I am an Instrument Technician for ExxonMobil at the Baytown Complex. I’ve been working in the plant for a total of 13 years.

DC: How do you support your racing program?

MH: I support my racing program by working overtime when possible between races. Also, my wife “RayTay” has her company, Affordable Shade Patio Covers, here in Houston. In addition, I get help from TRE Racing Engines, Exner Racing Transmissions, SalterRacing.Com, Lone Star Auto & Offroad, and Stephen Hughes’s “The Pull Out”.

DC: Who do you hate to see in the other lane, and why?

MH: For the most part I’m comfortable racing anybody. When I show up to a race, I have 100% confidence I can win. But if I have to pick someone I hate to see in the other lane it would have to be my buddy Hunter Patton. He’s tough and seems to have my number.

DC: What’s the hardest part of drag racing?

MH: The hardest part of drag racing for me is the time it takes. It seems like there is a race I want to be at every weekend. It’s hard to maintain a racing schedule, work, family, and have a life outside of racing.

DC: What’s your most embarrassing moment in a race car?

MH: My most embarrassing moment in a race car I think would have to be last year in the semifinal round of a local bracket race. Long story short we knew we had a problem and couldn’t find it. Turns out I had the mechanical fuel pump lever pulled off (right in front of me on the dash) and never realized it. Cost me the round and a final round appearance.

DC: What are you saying to yourself just before you stage?

MH: Right before I stage I’m usually saying to myself “I got this”. Confidence and a good game plan seem to go hand and hand with making the correct driving decisions for me.

DC: What do you enjoy the most at the racetrack?

MH: I enjoy the friends/people at the track the most. The competition is what brings us together, but you can’t ask for a better group of people. You can’t win every time, so I try make sure to surround myself with a group of racers that can make a bad weekend of racing a great weekend with friends.

DC: Are you superstitious?

MH: I say I’m not very superstitious, but we do have tradition of the “good luck” fist bump before every round. I’ve done that in some sort of way since the early Jr. dragster days.

DC: Do you love to win or hate to lose?

MH: I Love to win more than I hate to lose, there is no better feeling than turning on a win light! I never want to lose, but I believe if you can learn from a loss and move forward, the next time won’t be so bad.

DC: Which are you better at the starting line or the finishline?

MH: I am better on the starting line then the finish line. The transition from a door car to a dragster hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be on the finish line. But that’s getting better with time. 

DC: What motivates you to continue racing?

NH: My goals, the competition, family tradition, the want to win, and the friends I’ve made motivates me to continue racing.

DC: If money were no object, what would your racing operation look like? 

MH: If money were no object I think my racing operation would have two sides. A complete operation of sportsman cars, dragsters, roadster, etc. and then another operation with a Pro Mod entry! I have a love for those cars and that type of racing as well as the competition of sportsman/bracket racing.

DC: How often do you use a practice tree?

MH: I use a practice tree in some sort of way weekly. Between phone apps, a set up using a steering wheel with the same button that’s in my dragster, and the connections to actually sit in my dragster and use it in the actual car. I try to find some way to get some practice time in.

DC: What is your daily driver?

MH: My daily driver is currently a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD with the Duramax Diesel. 210,000 miles and I have no worries about hauling my car/trailer anywhere I need to be.

DC: Favorite movie or TV show?

MH: My favorite movie/TV show is probably “Family Guy”. I watch it every night after we lay down!

DC: Favorite music, artist?

MH: My favorite music is “Texas Country.” We attend concerts every chance we get!

DC: Where do you spend the most time on the internet?

MH: Most of my time on the internet is spent on Facebook. Between that, Racing Junk, and “This Is Bracket Racing Elite” I can stay entertained for hours.

DC: What is your favorite sport? Favorite team?

MH: My favorite sport outside of Drag Racing is probably football and the Houston Texans. Baseball and the Houston Astros is a very close 2nd!

DC: Besides racing, what do you do in your free time?

MH: In my free time outside of racing we seem to stay busy with hunting season and traveling. We enjoy taking as many vacations/weekend get-a-way’s as we can.

DC: What are you really good at?

MH: My wife says I’m really good at “figuring things out”.

DC: Would you rather hang out with a crowd or have a quiet evening at home?

MH: I seem to enjoy both crowds and having quiet evenings at home with my wife. We try to keep an equal balance.

DC: What’s your favorite thing to eat?

MH: My favorite thing to eat/restaurant seems to be Hooters wings. We tend to have a night there at least once a week with friends.  

DC: Who would you like to thank, who helps you the most?

MH: I would like to thank my wife for not only putting up with everything that has to do with racing, but supporting me the whole way. My Dad, Mike Holcombe, for the hours and hours of help he’s given me and always supporting me no matter what. Bryan Sandlin who has been a major help with Super Comp racing the last year, and all the other racers that continue to help me with questions and advice.

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