Crew Member Profile: Roush-Fenway Transporter Driver Jimmy Holder

By Ben White

Jimmy Holder, secondary transporter driver for Roush-Fenway and driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr., was introduced to NASCAR through his uncle, a longtime crew member for seven-time champion Richard Petty and Petty Enterprises.

“My uncle, Donald Holder, was in NASCAR in the late 1960s and early 1970s and worked for Richard Petty,” Jimmy said. “Everyone called him, ‘Duck’. He worked with the Pettys for years and years, and they remained friends until my uncle passed away.”

Since the age of 18, he has held a commercial driver’s license. His passion wasn’t about the shape or make of the bodies of the race cars but instead what propelled them across the start-finish line. Through building everything from lawn mower engines to engines raced on the dragstrip, he gained a reputation for providing strong reliable power plants.

“Engine building is what got me into NASCAR in 2008,” Jimmy said. “I drove a truck for a living so building them was something I did as a hobby and a passion and something I could go to the track with. So when I got a chance to go to work for Roush Fenway Racing when they were in Liberty, N.C., I built all the show car engines.”

Before joining Stenhouse’s No. 17 RFR team in June of 2015, the Randleman, N.C. native served as a transporter driver for Darrell Wallace’s No. 6 RFR Xfinity Series team until the team closed.

“Unfortunately, with all the cuts and downsizing, I’ve driven a truck to be able to keep working with the team,” Jimmy said. “I appreciate how they have let me fall back on something else I can do.”

QUOTE: “What I enjoy most about driving is that it’s black and white. You know what you have to do and it’s the same job all the way through. There are no gimmicks or catches.”

EXTRA LAPS WITH JIMMY HOLDER

MARRIED: Donna

CHILDREN: Cody (23), Jessica (17), Charles (14), William (11)

HOMETOWN: Randleman, N.C.

FAVORITE VACATION SPOT: the Mountains

FAVORITE SEASON: Spring

FAVORITE HOLIDAY: Christmas

FAVORITE TV SHOW: NFL football

FAVOROTE MOVIE: Forrest Gump

FAVORITE MUSIC: Blue Grass