Russ Hall – Front Row Challenge Podium Highlights Sprintweek!
(Bill W) August 14, 2014 – Russ Hall and the Skillz Motorsports #29 team found themselves rebounding from a tough 360 Nationals to finish on the podium at this year’s Front Row Challenge at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. The Pleasant Hill, Iowa driver will compete in this weekend’s 1st Annual Sprint Invaders Nationals. The series will hit Bloomfield Speedway and 34 Raceway near West Burlington in Iowa Friday and Saturday, and the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, Illinois on Sunday.
Mechanical ills made for a 360 Nationals to forget, but Russ rebounded at the Front Row Challenge a week ago Monday. He would start sixth in his heat and finish third. “The track was kind of tricky,” he says of the half-mile. “One and two was pretty slick and three and four stayed narrow. It kind of built a curb over there, and it was rough coming off of four.”
The redraw saw Russ draw a starting spot outside of row one, next to Jac Haudenschild. “We weren’t sure what to do for the feature,” he says. “Jac beat us on the start. I was able to run with him for a few laps, and then I put the wing back a little ways. That ended up making the car a little too tight.”
That’s when the eventual race winner would get by. “I was tight coming off of turn two, and that’s where (Brian) Brown got me, says Russ. “Those two took off. I couldn’t keep pace with them. I think we were fortunate to run third there. We were happy to get a top three finish with the ASCS National Series. We’ve only ran a few of their races, and it was nice to finish up third with them.”
Russ has had the Front Row Challenge on his car this summer. “That makes it a little extra special,” he says. “Terry McCarl was good enough to put the Front Row Challenge on our car and help us out the last couple of months. I’d like to thank him for that.”
The competition should be stiff with extra money on the line for this weekend’s Sprint Invaders Nationals. “I’m looking forward to it,” says Russ. “Terry, Wayne Johnson and a few of those guys will be coming this week. Hopefully, we can run well with them and we get a good long weekend of racing in.”
The three tracks have suited Russ’s driving style well in the past. “I’ve heard they’ve made some track improvements at Bloomfield, so I’m looking forward to getting there,” he says. “We always seem to do well at Burlington, and we’re looking forward to Quincy. We’re looking for a good weekend to get us through the rest of the year.”
Russ is running fourth in points at Knoxville Raceway. Their season championship is August 26. After that, he says his schedule is open. “Missing Tipton (with the Sprint Invaders) freed us up to go about wherever we want to race,” he says. “Unfortunately, we had some bad luck early in the Sprint Invaders season. We would have liked to have been able to defend that championship, but that’s really out of our grasp now.”
Russ and the Skillz Motorsports team would like to thank: Waterfront Seafood Market, Kulow Trucking, Northtown Motors, Schnee Chassis, Ostrich Racing Engines, Tom Davis Automotive, Des Moines Industrial Products, Midland Performance, Ballistic Designs, HRP, Jim’s Johns, R&L Racing Shocks and Jocko’s.
Russ at Knoxville (Doug Johnson Photo)
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