A resurgent Davey Callihan is heading into the new season with renewed confidence and the backing of Papa Johns as he pursues the track championship at Dominion Raceway in 2024.
Callihan, 34, from Fredericksburg, Virginia, is a throwback, independent driver competing in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock Car division at the Dominion Raceway complex in Thornburg, Virginia. The addition of Papa Johns as a partner provides a boost to Callihan’s independent operation.
“Real excited for Papa Johns this year,” Callihan said. “As everybody knows, it’s hard to come up with sponsors in this day and age. I’m really blessed and thankful they gave me to have another year of late model racing. We’re planning to run Dominion full time so, hopefully, we can make them proud and win some races.”
Papa Johns operating partner Jeff Bartlett, an avid race fan who has, himself, competed in a Limited Late Model, is equally as excited as Callihan.
“We’re ecstatic to be working with Davey,” Bartlett said. “He’s a class guy. He’s a small, garage type team. He’s usually considered the underdog. We’re proud and excited to be a part of his organization and partnering with him this season.”
Callihan has nine career wins in a late model – five of which came in recent years at Dominon Raceway and four at the original Old Dominion Speedway in the late 2000s and early 2010s. He credits his career’s renaissance in part to ARCA Menards Series competitor Willie Mullins and his wife, Dinah Mullins, who have helped him both with race craft and with learning how to better market and promote himself.
He has also raced for Mullins’ team in ARCA Menards Series races at Southern National Motorsports Park in North Carolina and Elko Speedway in Minnesota.
“Me, Dinah and Willie are really good friends, met them through Dominion, and they’ve given me some fantastic opportunities,” Callihan explained. “Dinah’s taught me a lot about marketing myself, things I didn’t know before. I’m so thankful for her and Willie’s help. They help me a lot with a variety of things. They gave me the opportunity to drive an ARCA car at Daytona, which is something I never thought I’d get to do and being able to race for them at Southern National and Elko. I’m really grateful to them for all the opportunities over the years.”
In recent years, Willie and Dinah Mullins have opened opportunities for several racers at Dominon Raceway – and it was through them that Bartlett and Callihan connected.
“I met Davey through Dinah and Willie at the track,” Bartlett stated. “Davey and I have come to know each other over the past 2-3 years. At one point, I drove a race in a Limited Late Model and picked Davey’s brain about some things and it just seemed to be a perfect fit for us moving forward. We did a sponsorship opportunity with another team a couple years ago and took a year and a half off. The timing felt right, the team felt right, the racing family and my business felt right and it just came together.”
Callihan’s renaissance extends beyond Dominion Raceway.
He has successfully made the field in the last two renewals of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway, the richest and most prestigious annual event in Late Model Stock Car racing. Making the show for the 300 is itself one of the most difficult goals to accomplish in the discipline.
Callihan credits much of this to maturity, and to learning from other competitors – such as two-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Champion Peyton Sellers.
“At Old Dominion, I was younger and made a lot of mistakes,” Callihan remarked. “I took myself out of a lot of wins. Now, being older and being around the right people, learning and perfecting on some of my race craft, I feel like I’ve rejuvenated my driving and learned a lot from being around Peyton and H.C. Sellers. They’ve taught me a lot about driving and the car setup and when to race and when not to. I have caught a second wind later in my career and I feel like I’m better now than I’ve ever been so I’m looking forward to 2024.
“Everything’s coming together,” Callihan continued. “I’m sharp, I’m good, I’m experienced, I’ve got support behind me, and I think we can really make a stir this year in the late model community.”
In the early years of his career, Callihan also competed in professional motocross before an accident ultimately led him to transition full-time to stock car racing. In 2024, he will be seeking his first late model track championship with the backing of Papa Johns.
