Hollifield Adds To Virginia Tech Legacy Of Working In NASCAR

BLACKSBURG — Jonathan Brunzel and Darian Grubb sought peace at Virginia Tech's 2021 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class social event by sharing stories from their sports careers. Two engineering graduates turned to television and switched the channel to MASN.

They wanted to see how the Hokies would play on the field. It didn't go well: Tech committed two shots in the final two and a half minutes and Syracuse lost by five points at Lane Stadium.

“We were both watching the game and talking about the football team and the problems we were facing,” Branzell recalled in a recent phone interview. “That’s usually what the conversation is about.”

That day, Brunzel and Grubb spotted center fielder Dax Holyfield on the field. Holyfield recorded nine tackles with half a sack in the loss.

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Neither of them knew then that Holyfield would join them two years later in NASCAR.

He was by no means Holyfield's first choice. Originally from Shelby, North Carolina, Heck had never played the sport and only competed in one tournament before graduating from college. He was focused on making it to the NFL and achieving his childhood dream.

“Growing up, I always wanted to be a professional athlete,” Holyfield said in a phone interview. “First there was basketball, my first love. And, of course, he wanted to become a professional football player. None of them worked. But now I box as a professional athlete. Things will work themselves out. I'm very glad to be here.

Holyfield signed with Hendrick Motorsports on July 31 and is part of the organization's pit development team. He spends the week practicing pit stops like Jackman and is one of many employees of Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series teams that do not have a full-time pit crew.

Holyfield follows a long line of hockey players in NASCAR. Most, like Brandzel and Grubb, made their mark as team principals, automotive executives and engineers at some of the sport's most prestigious organizations.

Virginia Tech linebacker Dax Holyfield lines up during the Hokies' 2021 game against Notre Dame in Blacksburg.

Matt Gentry, Roanoke Times

Holyfield is the second Tech football player to join Caleb Herb, who played at Tech from 1996 to 1999 and spent 23 years in NASCAR as a truck driver, engineer, manager and video coordinator.

“I feel like Virginia Tech has a sense of community that most schools don’t have,” Brunzel said. “When you hear, oh, this guy wants to go to Virginia Tech and play this sport, I think we're in the same area and working in the same community, so I might want to help him. Anything you can do to help another Hokie, you can always do.

Engineering graduates such as Brunzel, Grubb, Daniel Knost, Kevin Kidd, Ben Beshore and others grew up wanting to be a part of NASCAR in some capacity. Most of them gained experience in grassroots racing and helped local late model teams in preparation for taking up the sport after graduating from Tech.

Branzell, who currently works as an engineer on Brad Keselowski's No. 6 Ford in the Cup Series, got his first job in the sport in 2013 before graduating.

He grew up working on late model cars for Brandon Butler, Stephen Berry and Jeff Oakley at tracks such as the Southside, South Boston, Langley and Martinsville. This led him to Red Horse Racing during spring break of his senior year, and he was eventually hired by the truck team to work on the No. 77 Toyota driven by German Quiroga.

This allows Brunzel to realize a childhood dream from the early 1990s: Brian Whitesell, an engineering graduate who previously held various positions with Alan Kulwicki's racing team before moving to Hendrick Motorsports, became an engineer for Jeff Gordon's team.

Whitesell remains with Hendricks, who has been part of eight championship teams and is currently the team manager for Chase Elliott and William Byron.

“As a kid, I knew I wanted to go to Virginia Tech. I knew I loved racing,” Brunzel said. “Then I heard that Brian Whitesell was an engineer at Hendrick Motorsports. I thought I could go wherever I wanted and do what I wanted and do what he did.”

Brandzel, Kidd and Michael Tam worked for RFK Racing. Knost, who earned his engineering degree in 2008, is best known as the team leader for Stewart-Haas Racing. J. David Wilson is the team's vice president and president of Toyota Racing Development, and Marvin Aylor Jr. works in NASCAR's marketing department.

Beshore is John Hunter Nemechek's crew chief in the Xfinity Series, and this team can secure a spot in the Points 4 championship given the team's consistency throughout the season.

“Tech's engineering program is, in my opinion, one of the best in the country,” Brunzel said, “and I'm sure many others will say the same.”

Richmond Raceway President Lori Collier Warren is not a Tech student, but she encourages hockey because her oldest son is currently attending Tech.

He met Holyfield the day before HMS hired him for the Richmond race weekend.

"We talked a little bit and she was excited and I was excited," Holyfield said of his relationship with Warren.

Grubb will also be in Martinsville this weekend. When not racing, the Project91 team helps Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez's Trackhouse Racing teams.

“I still ride with the race team almost every week,” Grubb said in a July interview. “I only had a few days off this year, so during the race I’m either 1st (Chastain) or 99th (Suarez). I'm always in touch with these guys, helping put together all the technical support, all the race engineers and everything we have, making sure all the equipment we have is working, and making the most of Chevrolet support.

While studying at Holyfield Institute of Technology, he studied nutrition. But it was his athleticism on the football field that caught the attention of Hendrick Development Team coach Keith Flynn.

He contacted Dwight Galt IV, the football team's technical director of strength and conditioning and one of Flynn's scouts, to get information on Holyfield, and Flynn made him an offer: If things didn't work out with the NFL, Holyfield would be invited to try his luck. . . A place to try with Hendrik.

Virginia Tech linebacker Dax Holyfield celebrates after defeating North Carolina in six overtimes in 2019.

Courtesy of Virginia Tech

“I think Ducks is a special person with a ton of talent,” Hokies coach Brent Pry said. He's smart, he works hard and he's strong.

Holyfield was invited to the Jaguars' rookie minicamp. He stayed there for several days and was even kidnapped. But he failed, and quickly considered Flynn's proposal.

“I wanted to find my place in the NFL,” Holyfield said. “...I spent the whole summer thinking about what I would do. I always wanted to play football. I know I didn't go to minicamp or boot camp or take him anywhere, maybe I should have taken care of that. It happened, and now I'm here.

Holyfield played for Tech for five seasons and became the undisputed leader of the defense. His position as a linebacker playing quarterback made him understand how plays are created when the ball is passed.

What allowed Holyfield to quickly become Jackman was his ability to process information quickly and slow things down.

“You have to process information in a split second. In football, I’m used to doing this every day,” he said. I think that's why we do so well in this sport. You have to look back, you have to do it.” You know what you want, and you need to know whether it's true or not. If you drop your car and a wheel comes off, it's okay. If you have four hands in the center, you won't be able to throw. You want to stop as soon as possible, so it's very emotional, but you can't let that happen. I think there is pressure at university. Definitely, transitions are very easy for us.

Holyfield will be at Martinsville Speedway this weekend. He will drive Jackman for Emmerling Gas Motorsports in Saturday's Xfinity Series race. On Sunday, he'll be working behind the wall, throwing a rear tube and holding the second gas cap in T. Dillon's No. 77 Spear Motorsports Chevrolet in the Cup race.

He said he's learned a lot over the past few months just by spending time with these people. Work out, train and watch movies every day. Then he travels on weekends to work on the road.

It's similar to a college football program, and Holyfield hopes it opens doors for other tech football players.

“I want there to be more of this. I really want to,” he said. “I hope to open doors for people like me.” I hope I have given engineering graduates the opportunity to do just that. It would be great.

Dax Holyfield: 2022 Regular Season Highlights | Virginia Tech, L.B.