Holman Brothers
2006 NTPA FWD Truck Champions
By Dave Dann

Paul Holman has been pulling since 1977 while brother Jim joined in on the fun in 1980. Each of the successful brother duo cut their teeth pulling with stock 4x4 trucks. In 1986, the Holman Brothers formed their current team by crafting out of the original “Salt Shaker” of Gerry Baldwin and Bill Armstrong that ran strong in the 70s and 80s. Twenty one years with their 1960 Chevrolet called “4 Play” has now produced nine NTPA Grand National championships, with the dynamic duo backing up last year’s championship.

Jim has 22 years of service with Dana Corporation, engineering driveshafts in the commercial and off-road vehicles. His title is Chief Engineer of Application Engineering. Jim admits that this ties in very nicely with truck pulling and most specifically with their FWD Truck pulling. And brother Paul takes his knowledge of being a grain farmer and applying varying soil characteristics to how their truck may perform on the many various types of tracks they pull on.

“We never finished outside the top five,” states Jim regarding their placing in the fifteen GN divisional hooks. “Many years, breakage has taken us out. In order to win, you got to be consistent the whole year, which was key this year. One of the things we did was that we beefed up our drive train a couple years ago that kind of took care of our breakage issues. So this year, we were real steady. In the past, during some years, we have dominated by winning several events. This year, we only won three but we were never outside the top five.”

“The consistency real paid off,” agreed Paul. “Also, the fiberglas body has allowed us to hang more weight up front to help get the front end to hook up better.”

Power is never a problem for the brothers as a Steve Schmidt engine that punches out 646 cubes of raw, naturally aspirated engine does the trick year-in, year-out. In fact, the top four in FWD Truck GN points all can point to a Schmidt engine. It is topped off with the Holman Bros. “developed” and prepped fuel injection system. “There are some in the class punching out over fourteen hundred plus dynoed horses,” states Jim.

The race to the championship was relatively a three horse race between the Holmans, Scott Phillips and “Yankee Blue”, and Rob Foster and “Simply Red”. A decisive moment of the season that helped the Holmans was in mid-July at the Lions Super Pull of the South.

“The most disappointing part of the season was when the ignition rotor went out of phase at Chapel Hill during the first night pull-off,” said Paul, and Larry Peterson earned a well deserved win.” “That was a little frustrating,” said Jim, “and it was our biggest mechanical failure.” Interestingly enough, Rob Foster had the same problem during the same session at Chapel Hill, but his problem relegated him to last place. “If it hadn’t been for that, you probably would have been interviewing him for the championship.”

The chase remained tight coming into the final hook at Holman’s hometown of Wauseon, Ohio. Holman’s were leading by three points ahead of Foster with Phillips several points back, but still within striking distance if either of the current top two fumbled badly. Foster nailed his third straight GN FWD event win with Holmans placing runner-up, but that finish in their hometown produced a ninth NTPA GN title by a mere two points.

2006 championship team “credits belong to our dad, Howard, who has always worked along side us out here in the shop. Of course, our wives, Beth (Jim) and Michelle (Paul) are active behind the scenes. Jim’s son, Craig, a college student, attends the pulls when he can.

Thanks are extended to Ed Miller of M. E. Miller Tire, “our main sponsor”. Cen-Pe-Co Lubricants are utilized totally in the “4 Play” along with Paul’s farm equipment. Tooman Roofing and Painting of Leipsic, Ohio is a local sponsor, as they painted all of Paul’s grain bins with Columbia Paint, manufactured by Cen-Pe-Co. Steve Schmidt Racing Engines and SCS Gearbox complete the sponsorships.

The Holmans will go after title number ten next season, and if successful, would also give them another “three-peat” of a championship!