https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/endeared-mackay-drag-racer-signs-off-in-style/3880869/ Two days after receiving his license, Peter Holt was absorbed by the drag racing scene. Finally, after 37 years, he has claimed his first championship win. Fittingly, his victory on the Palmyra Dragway — where he has dedicated countless hours to its operation — will also be his last race. After putting so much into the sport, through every race he has buckled in for, Holt said Saturday night’s triumph in the PDRC Championship would stand out as his greatest memory on the track. “It has taken me 37 years to win a track championship – my first Street Bracket win for a series. I’ve been trying so hard for so long and it just never happened for me,” he said. “It was just a dream; the car was perfect, I drove almost perfect – it was great.” Holt can remember his very first race - and every time he has sat behind the wheel.
He said the sport was, to an extent, an addiction. And while many addictions are detrimental, the adrenaline this sport induces was purely a positive. “There’s ice, there’s marijuana but then there’s drag racing,” he said. “Once drag racing is in your blood it is very difficult to get out.” Unfortunately, health issues have prevented his ability to work and he will be retiring to Ayr. Holt will not just miss the racing, he is also sorry to say goodbye to the people of the Palmyra Dragway. Fortunately for Mackay’s racing fans he said he would return with his Holt Family Racing team next year, but in a very different capacity. “Just driving out onto any drag strip in Australia is the best feeling in the world to me,” Holt said. “I absolutely love the place, I’m going to miss it heaps, but we’ll be back next year and my son (Liam) is taking over the driving of the car,” Holt said. “My father wasn’t a drag racer but he was into cars, which turned his kids into cars and now my sons are all into cars. HFR is going to be there for quite a few years to come.” While Holt may be drawing the curtain on his racing career, he implored more kids to get involved with the sport. But, as the father of nine kids, he said it was important to ensure it was done in the proper environment. “I’ve taught my kids the same thing – young people just need to stop spinning their wheels on the street, come out and spend a few bucks and come to the drags,” Holt said. “Take the hooning off the streets, it’s not worth getting caught by the police, it’s not worth getting in any trouble for.” The Palmyra Dragway will host an Australia Day event to raise funds for Queensland farmers suffering from the drought.
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November 2019
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