Steely eyed determination is what it takes to win at Reno and this pilot has what it takes. Skip Holm likes to fly and likes to win even more. He was not disappointed on either front this year. Replacing two time consecutive winner, Bruce Lockwood, as primary race pilot for Terry Bland's Dago Red, Skip showed he has lost nothing of his competitive edge.

Skip burst onto the Air Racing scene in 1981, flying another highly modified P-51, Race 69, Jeannie to a first place finish in Sunday's Gold final event. Probably one of the "coolest" pilots to ever race an airplane, Skip seems unfettered by even the most catastrophic of problems.

This year his mettle was tested during a post race attempt at a record setting 500mph lap. The engine failed in a spectacular way and Skip could be heard radioing race control as calmly as he might order a pizza for delivery as he brought the stricken airplane in for a smooth landing.

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