FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – When Mullins Racing heads to Daytona International Speedway for the annual pre-season ARCA Menards Series test on Jan. 15-16, Virginia’s Dominion Raceway will be well represented.
Joining team owner and driver Willie Mullins to take part in the test will be a pair of Dominion Raceway mainstays – Robert Bruce and Davey Callihan. NASCAR-sanctioned Dominion Raceway is Mullins’ local track and he be found there on most race weekends helping local drivers like Bruce and Callihan as they battle for supremacy at the four-tenths-mile asphalt oval located in Woodford, Va.
“We are super excited to have local Dominion Raceway talent in our car at the Daytona test,” said Mullins. “My wife Dinah and I are heavily involved with Dominion, so we can’t think of a better way to represent our local track than have all three of us testing at Daytona.
“Robert Bruce has tested with us before and has run two short track races with us. It’s also great to add Davey Callihan to our roster,” Mullins went on to say. “He deserves a shot running in good equipment. He has wins in a modified, the Virginia Racer class and in a late model stock car. He is the total package.”
Bruce is no stranger to the Mullins Racing team, having tested for the team at Daytona Int’l Speedway twice in the past while also working as a crew member for the team. The 53-year-old Fredericksburg, Va., native also has two career ARCA Menards Series starts, both coming at Elko (Minn.) Speedway for Mullins Racing. He earned the team’s first top-10 finish on a short track in 2018 at Elko Speedway.
“It’s good to go out there and turn some laps and get a feel for the cars and things like that,” said Bruce, whose son Cole is also a regular competitor at Dominion Raceway. “We’ve got Davey Callihan, who has really never done it before, coming with us and it’ll be great to have him come down and gain that experience. I’m looking forward to that. Plus, Willie has a new car and we need to see what we can do to get him dialed in and fast with his new car while we’re there.”
Callihan is a third-generation driver who also hails from Fredericksburg, Va. The 31-year-old started his racing career in go-karts and motorcycles before transitioning to stock cars in 2010. Callihan focused most of his efforts on the Virginia Racer class at Dominion Raceway last year, earning two victories en route to a third-place championship finish. However, he also competed in the late model stock car and modified divisions when time allowed.
“It mean’s a lot to me to get to test at Daytona,” Callihan said. “I think it’s every short-track driver’s dream to do that in a race car. I’m just really excited for the opportunity and I’m excited to have a team like Mullins Racing believe in me enough to allow me to test their race car. I’m not sure what to expect, but hopefully I can give some good input on the race car and help get this thing as good as it can be.”
Callihan is currently seeking funding to compete in the ARCA Menards Series East New Smyrna ARCA 175 at New Smyrna Speedway on Feb. 8 or the ARCA Menards Series Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 13.
Dominion Raceway is owned and operated by Steve Britt, who said that he’s proud to see three drivers with deep ties to the track with the opportunity to take to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway during the annual pre-season test.
“Our job as a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series track is to provide an opportunity for people to enter the sport at an entry level and help them fine tune their skillset so they can move up,” said Britt. “That’s really our goal, kind of like minor league baseball where people that have talent that want to be a part of the sport can have a place to start. When we see people starting to move out of our area, that mean’s we’re doing something right.
“That’s our role. That’s one of the things that we’re supposed to do, provide a place for people with talent who want to pursue motorsports as a career. It mean’s we’re doing something right.”
The No. 3 Mullins Racing Chevrolet carries sponsorship support from Crawford Sprinkler of Raleigh, CorvetteParts.net, Crow Wing Recycling, CW Metals, Bugsy’s Auto, Snap On by Timmy Brann and Dinah Marie Photography.
For more information on Mullins Racing, please visit mullinsracing.net, like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mullinsracing and follow them on Twitter at @mullins_racing.
