Callihan shows promise at Old Dominion Speedway

Davey Callihan is hoping to make his mark in Late Models this season at Old Dominion Speedway.

The 19-year-old Stafford driver started the season strong with a third place finish in a 22-car field two weeks ago. After starting on the outside pole, Callihan led 23 laps, then held his third spot until the checkers.

“It was pretty exciting,” Callihan said of his first Late Model race. “It definitely got me some experience and seeing where the front guys run and just watching their lines.”

Callihan, who earned seven wins in eight races in Mini Stocks in ’08, is eager to run his second Late Model race.

“I’m ready to go this weekend and show everyone that the first race was not just a fluke, that I can run in the top two or three.”

In the last race, Callihan had a push in his car in the middle of the turn and so couldn’t hold his position when Willard Lawrence and Kyle Hall came up.

“They were nose to tail and just kind of freight-trained me,” Callihan said. “If it wasn’t for the little push we had, I’m not sure they would’ve gotten around me. The only place we were losing time was in the center of the corner. Hopefully, we’ve made the right adjustments. And when we come back this weekend, we’ll be able to run a faster pace and be able to stay in front of them or pass them.”

Callihan said he got lucky starting on the front row after qualifying seventh and being inverted to second. He said that everyone else who started up front fell back and the faster guys came forward, except for him.

“I guess that shows we had a good, overall, consistent car that lasts,” he said. “And that’s what wins races: consistency.”

Callihan said his car is not set up as well as it could be for qualifying, but that it was a good car in the race. He said his team hit the race setup pretty well after building the car from scratch over the winter.

“Coming out there, we were only a couple of tenths off,” he said. “So hopefully, we can tinker with it and learn some things.”

Callihan is hoping to notch some wins this season.

“From the look and feel of the first race, I don’t see why we can’t win some races this year,” he said.

Callihan has won some 150 races in motocross over six years and two Maryland state championships. He’s still racing motocross nearly every weekend.

He is also pleased with his car, a Chevy Impala that his grandfather built.

“It’s hand-built, so we put a lot of effort into it,” Callihan said.

Callihan said that he had a really good Mini Stock last year.

“I give credit to my grandpa,” he said. “He’s been racing and building cars forever. A lot of that success last year was the car, and we had some good luck, too. It was definitely satisfying to run well last year, and it opened my eyes about car stuff and getting more serious about it.”

Callihan is also grateful to the Prince William County Volunteer Fire Department for their sponsorship.

“They’ve been a big, big help,” he said. “We wouldn’t even have the car if it wasn’t for them.”

Ed Turner is contributing writer for Media General’s News & Messenger.