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John Hall racing team looks toward 2009
MARION, IOWA (Nov 2) - Having wrapped up what was otherwise a difficult
season on a strong note, John Hall and his Left Turn Enterprises racing team
now begin the process of looking forward to the 2009 season.
The 2008 season marked the 21st year of racing for the veteran and 1988
Knoxville Raceway Rookie of the Year in the 360 sprint-car division. It was
a season plagued with mechanical trials and tribulations as things tried to
sort out on the brand-new race car. After the 2007 season ended in a violent
demolishing of the car due to another driver’s mistake, Hall spent last
winter rebuilding in an effort to improve on his 12th place point standing
from that season.
This season started off with a pair of 19th place finishes in the first two
races at Knoxville in May. But issues with the brakes and other parts soon
surfaced. The third week at Knoxville found Hall failing to get out of the
night’s consolation race and he sat out of racing the next week.
June brought a little resurgence for the team, starting off with a 17th
place finish, what would become Hall’s best finish of the year at Knoxville.
Devastating floods in Iowa and a rechecking of the motor kept the team from
competing once again during the second week of June.
The American Sprint Cars on Tour came to the Sprint Car Capitol of the World
on June 20 and Hall showed that his team was still capable of running
competitively. He barely missed qualifying in the top eight of the night’s
50 competitors, which would have qualified him for a redraw for main-event
starting position. That good momentum stayed with Hall the next week when he
missed the mid-season championship night invert by one, taking him from what
would have been a pole-position starting spot back to 13th.
Problems with the handling on the car continued to plague the team in July,
however, as Hall missed transferring into the mains on twin-features night.
The next week saw the team continuing to struggle to make it out of the
consolation race.
The chance to try a different track came on July 13 with the Sprint Invaders
Association race at Cedar County Raceway in Tipton. Special sponsors came on
board for this event as two local legislators seeking re-election used the
Tipton race to campaign for the November election.
Jim Hahn, a Republican from Muscatine, and Jeff Kaufmann, a Republican from
Wilton, are seeking to retain their seats in the Iowa Senate and Iowa House
of Representatives, respectively.
After an 18th place finish at Tipton, it was back to Knoxville the next
week, where an overheated motor kept Hall from making the main event once
again. July finished off on a rough note when Hall could only muster a 10th
place finish in the C-Main on a night when many cars were on hand to test
the hallowed half mile in anticipation of 360 Nationals.
After that, the team took a few weeks off and elected not to run the
national event. Instead, they took the time to regroup for a private test
session on August 10 at 34 Raceway in West Burlington. While they learned
some things there, change came slowly when Hall failed to make the twin
feature events at 34 the next week during the Sprint Invaders Association's
“Night of the Twins.”
The two races in August at Knoxville again found the team struggling to make
it out of the B-Mains and Hall finished the Knoxville season with a 21st
place point standing.
The season wasn’t quite done yet, though, and the last two races of the year
brought a timely renewed sense of purpose to the team. On September 20, a
maiden outing to the Quad City Raceway in East Moline, Illinois, with the
Sprint Invaders started out with a crash in hot laps, but ended with Hall
transferring to the main event from the B-Main and coming home with a 14th
place finish, his best of the year overall.
The final race of the year at Burlington with the Sprint Invaders finally
gave the team clarity on the source of the mechanical problems and after
transferring to the main event through a B-Main, Hall wound up with a 16th
place finish.
In all, it was a disappointing year for the team, with Hall making only five
main events at Knoxville, all before July, and eight main events overall.
But fortunately, there was no serious damage done to the car this season and
the team can use the off-season to continue to ponder mechanical
improvements.
The car is owned by Charles and Doris Hall. Crew members are Darrell
Bonesteel, Steve Lindell, Cass Page and Cole Page. Regular sponsors include
Maxim Racing, Parker Engines, APC Emmert Metal Fabricators, Marion Dairy
Queen, Seal-It International, Thompson Aero Service and Chalk Stix Torsion
Bars.
The team will also be actively seeking funding for its 2009 efforts. New
sponsorship at all levels is welcome for the season, partial season or even
a one-race opportunity. Work will continue on new marketing ideas and
further development of the team’s website at
www.johnhallracing.com
over the winter. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, contact
Stacy Ervin, public-relations coordinator, at
stacyerv@Lcom.net or
319-330-6849.
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