Drag racing runs in the Holod family

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This article was published 07/09/2018 (2826 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Holod family certainly has a one-track mind.

Drag racer Donald Holod of Langenburg, Sask., realized a couple of years ago that if he was going to take his family to events, it might help if they were participating too. Now Anthony, 11, Abby, 9, and Ashley, 8 — all of whom will be celebrating a birthday in the next year and are quick to share that number too — also race, with mother Roxane keeping an eye on the proceedings.

“When Anthony turned eight, I thought it’s really not fair to drag my whole family to the race track and not let them be a part of it,” he said on Saturday near Rivers as the Baseline Dragway held its final event of the season. “We started out the first car with him and then of course we have to let Abby do it, and we let her do it, and now we have to let Ashley into it. All of a sudden it turned into a full-blown family affair.”

While some may wonder about the danger of letting a youngster handle a vehicle that could reach a top speed of 125 kilometres per hour for an eighth of a mile or 660 feet, safety comes first.

“We get checked every race and lots of time they’ll pull the cars apart,” Donald said. “‘Is this good? Is that good?’ What they don’t realize is that us as parents, we probably know more about the safety features in the cars than the tech guys do. We read the rulebooks and there are kill switches all over and arm restraints and seatbelts and firesuits and helmets.

“We wouldn’t let the kids go if it wasn’t safe.”

Still, Donald is realistic about the chance of something potentially going wrong.

“There is risk in anything. I’ve heard of juniors rolling and I’ve heard of them crashing,” Holod said. “But people also need to realize that as parents that we’re no longer in control of it. They’re totally 100 per cent in control and I can’t wave my magic wand or shut a button and stop the car. They’re on their own from that point on.”

Donald first found the sport 12 years ago, and it’s clear that his three youngsters have inherited his affection for it.

Abby has raced for three years, and calls it a really fun hobby. She has driven her current vehicle for two years.

“My car has lightning on it and it’s really nice,” she said. “I think it’s my favourite car out of the cars that we have. It’s my second car that I’ve ever had.”

Ashley is following in the footsteps of his two older siblings. He’s in his second year in the sport, and is driving the first of the three mini drag racers the family bought.

The appeal is simple for the youngest family member.

“I like winning stuff,” he said.

Anthony, the oldest sibling, is in his fourth year behind the wheel, and now likes to help his dad when he’s working on one of the family’s five cars. Coming to races with his family lit a spark in him.

“I just liked driving things and eventually I wanted one,” Anthony said.

He plans to stay in the sport for the long term, adding his friends think his pastime is pretty neat.

“They like it,” Anthony said. “All my friends play hockey and baseball and other sports and I come to the race track and race. They all think it’s amazing.”

The family also made the trip from Langenburg, which is located 32 kilometres west of Russell along the Yellowhead Highway, to the event in Neepawa in late July. Holod said he enjoys the small-town races.

“Rivers is good,” Donald said. “It’s starting to get more and more where the small communities that have a track are welcoming more and more people, like Altona, Neepawa, Rivers. It’s more enjoyable for the racer when it’s like that.”

Donald said his kids are learning a lot in drag racing. An added benefit of the sport is that the three youngsters are helping with the maintenance of their vehicles, but they also have to grow up a bit.

“They’re learning how to check air pressures and fill them with fuel and make sure that all their screws are in,” Donald said.

“They’re learning quite a bit. I think the biggest thing is not only the repairs but the discipline because they’re in control of the cars so they can’t just go rogue and act foolish or stupid. They have to be disciplined and listen to what people are telling them and what’s going around them. They have to pay attention, because they could possibly get hurt if they don’t. It’s teaching them quite a bit.”

Holod said the younger racers are always warmly greeted by the track organizers and other racers on the Prairies because so few of them attend most races in Canada. Sanctioned tracks like the one in Minot, N.D., might have 20 youngsters competing.

Holod added that a handful of families share the sport in all of Saskatchewan.

Chase Borreson of Redvers, Sask., which is 45 kilometres straight west of Reston, was one of the few other youngsters in the age category in Rivers on the weekend. The 11-year-old racer has been in the sport for four years.

He’s raced at Rivers three times, and has also been behind the wheel in Minot.

“My friends think it’s pretty cool, but one of my friends, his dad races so he’s here often,” Borreson said.

While the tight bond is obvious for the Holods, it’s bigger than that for Anthony, as everyone at races treats each other with respect and he likes that.

“Everybody is just one big family,” Anthony said. “We’re all together and we all help each other. If someone needs help, we’ll help the other person.”

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