MONTEREY, California – Howdy Holmes and Chip Ganassi enjoy a friendship that has lasted for more than 40 years.
Holmes was one of the “little guys” of the Indianapolis 500 and the CART Series in the late 1970s through the 1980s.
The diminutive driver might have been small in stature, but he had a big personality that made him a fan favorite.
Ganassi often is called “Mr. Big” because of his outstanding success as a team owner, including 15 IndyCar championships and five Indianapolis 500 wins. Ganassi’s cars also have won the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Twelve Hours of Sebring and a GT class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Holmes retired from CART and the Indianapolis 500 in 1988. His last race was the 1988 Nissan Indy Challenge at Tamiami Park in Miami on Nov. 6, 1988.
With his Indy car parked, Holmes returned to the family business in Chelsea, Michigan – the Chelsea Milling Company, makers of Jiffy Mix Corn Muffin Mix.
This season, however, “Mr. Big” and the “Little Guy” joined forces as Holmes became a sponsorship partner at Chip Ganassi Racing with Jiffy Mix on all four of Ganassi’s IndyCar entries.
Thirty-five years after driving in his final race, Holmes got to celebrate a championship as Alex Palou won the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series Championship for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Holmes, 75, had one of the best seats in all of IndyCar, right next to Chip Ganassi on the pit timing stand.
“I’ll tell you; nobody remembers who finishes second,” Holmes told NBC Sports. “If you are going to come back, you might as well do it in style and I’m doing my best to do that.”
The decision to return to IndyCar was more than three decades in the making. After building Jiffy Mix into the largest-selling dry grocery item in its category, and tripling the company’s income and sales, Holmes turned the company over to his son, Howard, in December 2021.
Howdy remains with Jiffy Mix as the Chairman and the CEO. Howard is the company’s president. The family business has been around since 1901, and Howdy’s grandmother Mable White Holmes invented Jiffy Mix in 1930.
For the first time since 1988, Holmes and the Jiffy Mix brand are back in IndyCar racing.
“Thirty-five years later, I’m back in racing with Jiffy Mix and Chip Ganassi,” Howdy Holmes said. “It’s a real dream for me. I’ve enjoyed it a ton. I don’t have all the pressure as before. A lot of people I still know and I’m enjoying myself.
“It was a good decision for the brand, but it was a great decision for me, personally. I have to credit my son, Howard, as I passed the torch on to him. He is cognizant I’m a pretty complicated guy, and I’m pretty committed to a lot of things.
“One of the things he said to me was, ‘Hey, we have to find something for you to do that you enjoy.’
“This was an ideal solution. It’s great for the brand. It’s great for me. We are on a roll.
“We completed the trifecta with Marcus Armstrong being the rookie of the year, Alex Palou winning the IndyCar championship, and Scott Dixon finishing second in the championship.
“That has never been done before.”
Back as a team sponsor, Holmes came to many races in 2023. The often-dour Ganassi, could be seen laughing and joking with his longtime friend before races and slapping hands and high-fiving Holmes after victories.
“It’s pretty special,” Ganassi told NBC Sports. “Howdy and I go way back. We raced against each other, and we were friends back in the day when we were driving in the early to mid-1980s. It’s really special to have him on the team. He still gets to enjoy IndyCar racing, and we get to enjoy having him around.
“It’s great, but more importantly, he has a lot of game in him yet. He knows what is going on and has some good things to add from time to time.”
Mike Hull is one of the longest-tenured members of Chip Ganassi Racing and serves as the managing director of the racing team.
“What I like is Chip’s enthusiasm to have people like Howdy be with us,” Hull told NBC Sports. “What Howdy is living today is IndyCar racing today from somebody who was successful in IndyCar racing from many, many years ago. I’ve known Howdy for a long, long time and respect it.
“It’s fantastic to have people like Howdy be part of our program.
“We’ve been friends with Howdy for a long, long time, and he comes to races to races every year, and we met him at the Speedway. He wanted to participate with the team in the way he is doing it now.
“We didn’t ring his bell or cold-call him, he just said he wanted to help. It’s great that he is.
“He has always had that enthusiasm. Heck, he raced against Keke Rosberg and Gilles Villeneuve in the Atlantic Series. Think about that.
“It’s wonderful to have him.”
Fit and trim at 75, Holmes remains one of the smallest men in the paddock. He came from an era when drivers had to be small to fit into the cockpit of an IndyCar.
This was an era when drivers were the size of Mario Andretti, John Andretti, Teo Fabi and Holmes – in the mid 5-foot range or shorter.
In many ways, Holmes looks as if he still could drive a race car.
“Looks are deceiving,” Holmes quipped. “Very deceiving. I can say when I left, I had to make sure I didn’t have any unfinished business.
“Thirty-five years later, I’m back in racing with Jiffy Mix and Chip Ganassi. It’s a real dream for me. I’ve enjoyed it a ton. I don’t have all the pressure as before.
“A lot of people I still know and I’m enjoying myself.”
Jiffy Mix sponsored Holmes’ racing efforts, which included the 1978 Formula Atlantic Championship and the 1979 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award.
Holmes never won a race in CART but started six Indy 500s, qualifying in the middle of the first row in 1984 when Tom Sneva topped the 210 mph barrier. Holmes’ four-lap average was 207.977 mph. He finished seventh in the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie in 1979, and his best finish was sixth in 1983.
Holmes finished 12th in his final Indianapolis 500 in 1988. In a career that included 72 races in CART and 10 races in USAC, including six in the Indy 500, Holmes’ best finish was second at Phoenix between Tom Sneva and Michael Andretti after starting fourth in the 1984 Dana Jimmy Bryan 150.
Holmes’ greatest claim to fame in racing was winning the 1979 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award – something he couldn’t lose because he was the only rookie in the field.
But that is a point of contention to the normally affable Holmes when the insinuation is he won it by default.
“I love to answer that question,” Holmes told NBC Sports. “Let me put it to you this way. There were 14 rookies that started out that month and there was one that made the race. That would be me.
“There were 13 rookies that didn’t make the race. Although it might have been automatic, I earned that.
“On Lap 2 of the race, I came out in last and finished seventh. If that isn’t worthy of Rookie of the Year, then I don’t know what the hell is.
“There have been a few times over the years mostly when I was in this sport that people would point out I got that award because I was on the only one.
“I was the only one, but I deserved that award. It is about the whole month of May.
“I never spun, and I never hit anything. I had an old car with Sherman Armstrong, a Wildcat with an Offenhauser engine. We didn’t have the greatest equipment, but it was reliable. We put on a good show.
“Goodyear told me that throughout the race, I had the third-fastest cornering times of anybody.
“That’s worthy.”
Holmes is also worthy of the adulation and recognition that he still receives when he shows up at an IndyCar race. Former drivers seek him out for a friendly chat. Mechanics and engineers like to exchange greetings.
And fans love to tell him how much they loved the Jiffy Mix car from the 1980s.
How has Holmes maintained this popularity after being out of racing for so long?
“The only way I can answer that is I’m the same today as I am tomorrow,” he said. “No matter who I’m talking to, I try to be natural. I like to think I’m a friendly guy. I think that matters a lot.
“I understand the big picture and realize fans are critical to any sport, certainly racing. I’ve always made an effort to acknowledge them.
“It warms my heart. I’m a little bit nostalgic. I retired 35 years ago and there are lots of people that are happy to see me and I’m happy to see them. They say thanks for coming back and we need people that are happy. The people that have fun are real people.
“It’s like a homecoming in a way. When you are in this sport and you are driving, you don’t have time to think about those things because you are busy, busy, busy. When I go back to Indianapolis, and this year the other tracks, I’ve been amazed at how many people have said, ‘Hey, good to see you. Glad you are back.’
“It warms my heart.”
There is also a heartwarming backstory to how Holmes and Ganassi became lifetime friends.
It developed in the darkest moment of Ganassi’s racing career.
It was the 1984 Michigan 500 and Ganassi was driving the Old Milwaukee car, a March/Cosworth for team owner Pat Patrick.
On Lap 148, Al Unser, Jr. and Ganassi were racing down the backstretch when they were both involved in a horrific crash. Both cars shot across the backstretch grass and slammed into the infield barrier with Ganassi’s car flipping wildly, shedding bodywork in all directions.
Ganassi suffered a serious head injury.
“Chip had a horrible accident in Michigan in 1984,” Holmes said. “He was airlifted to the University of Michigan Hospital. I live in Ann Arbor. I went to visit him and his father, Floyd, was there, and Chip was a mess. Both of them really appreciated that.
“Drivers generally don’t get close to other drivers, but that is the situation that created a bond, and it’s been there ever since.
“I can talk with Chip about anything, no matter what it is. I respect what he is doing in business. I don’t quiz him about that, and I don’t challenge him on most things.
“It’s the type of friendship where you can say whatever you want and that’s really important.”
The “Little Guy” and “Mr. Big” have been friends ever since.
This year, though, they joined forces at Chip Ganassi Racing.
“As always is the case, my son Howard and I would go to the first weekend of qualifying at Indianapolis,” Holmes recalled. “We would always be hanging out with Chip Ganassi or Roger Penske or Mario Andretti and some of the other teams. This year, the three of us were talking, and I can’t remember which one of them said, ‘Hey, let’s do something.’
“Everybody thought it was a good idea. In about 15 minutes, we put a deal together. It’s not a major sponsorship deal, but we have the brand on all four cars. It’s been a magical year.
“The first three races that I went to was win, win, win as Alex Palou won at Detroit, Road America, and Mid-Ohio. I was thinking, “Hey, this is a great deal, not only for Chip and his drivers but for Howdy Holmes and Jiffy Mix.’ ”
Holmes became Ganassi’s “Secret Weapon” by bringing positivity and success with his partnership.
That has allowed the Michigan native to experience wins and championships in his second life in racing.
“I had a five-year exit plan from 1983 to 1988 and I didn’t want any unfinished business when I left as a driver,” Holmes said. “Three times today, people said, ‘Have you got your helmet? Let’s go.’
“I don’t even know where my helmet is. It’s somewhere in the basement.
“It’s for somebody else. I had my time. It was a good experience. I loved it. I’m honored to be able to say I was an Indy 500 competitor for six years and a Formula Atlantic Champion and Rookie of the Year and front row, and all of that.
“It was terrific.
“It’s heartwarming and a little bit of satisfaction. I can’t really say I’m a team member because we came in during May. It’s been a fairytale.
“I guess the better question is, ‘What are we going to do for an encore?’”
