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John Hall ready for 21st season of racing at Knoxville by: Stacy Ervin MARION, IOWA (April 14, 2008)--Veteran sprint-car driver John Hall of Marion, Iowa, is poised to kick off his 21st season of racing at the Sprint Car Capitol of the World in Knoxville, Iowa, when the 2008 Knoxville Championship Cup Series season begins with Pizza Hut and Lions Club Night on Saturday, April 19. The 1988 Knoxville Raceway rookie of the year in the 360 division will be hoping to improve on his 12th-place points run from 2007. Once again piloting the familiar red and black Left Turn Enterprises No. 7H, Hall has a goal of finishing the 2008 season in the top 10 in points for the 360 division. Helping him along the way will be long-time crew chief Darrell Bonesteel and crew members Cole Page, Kass Page and Steve Lindell, as well as Hall's car owners and parents, Charles and Doris Hall. The chassis will once again come from Maxim Racing in Springfield, Illinois, with a power plant from Parker Engines in Newton, Iowa. Other sponsors on board to start the season off include APC Emmert Metal Fabricators, Super Shox, Chalk Stix Torsion Bars, Brake Man Brake Systems and Marion Dairy Queen. This year, the team will be looking to build off the successes of last year and hoping to attract some new sponsorship opportunities to their efforts. Hall kicked off 2007 by winning one of the most exciting heat races Knoxville fans had seen in a long time when he edged out powerhouse Johnny Anderson at the checkered flag. Hall also won two other heat races in 2007 and had a pair of top-five finishes in A-mains. “We know we can run up front,” Hall said. “Now we just need to work on doing it consistently.” He also hopes to keep his race car pointed in the right direction and away from trouble. He was on his way to making his qualifying night feature during last year's 360 Nationals when he was nipped at the line by Bryan Dobesh in the heat race. Forced to run the night's B-Main, he then had to spin to avoid being caught up in someone else's accident. Unfortunately, the impact with the inside berm broke the rear end and the team was unable to repair the car in time to make the finale of the 360 Nationals or the Brodix Tournament of Champions, to which Hall had been invited by virtue of running in the top 10 in points at that time. He was in the running for at least a top-eight points finish when on the penultimate night of racing at Knoxville, another driver slid up into Hall's car while they were racing for fifth in the feature event with only four laps to go. The contact demolished Hall's race car and prematurely ended his 2007 efforts. “I've worked probably 20 hours a week on the car since that wreck,” Hall said. “The only thing I saved from that car was a right-hand nerf bar and the tail tank. Otherwise, it's been a complete rebuild of everything.” With those unforeseen expenses and the rising cost of diesel fuel used to travel, Hall and his team are looking for additional funding help to get them to the race track and possibly to some Sprint Invaders Association shows which don't conflict with Knoxville's schedule. “It used to be that you could do this for about $300 a night and we've always been able to fund it out of our own pockets,” Hall said. “But this year we're estimating a cost between $700 and $800 a night. Just someone to cover diesel fuel and pit passes would be a huge start.” Though the current state of the economy has been rough on racers everywhere, Hall remains hopeful that he can continue to build upon his success and add several more years to his racing program. “I just want to keep doing it until it's no longer fun,” he said. Potential sponsors or racing fans who just want to help out a dedicated driver can contact Stacy Ervin at stacyerv@Lcom.net or 319-330-6849 for more information on how they can help. |