Russ Hall – A Breakout Year!
(Bill W) December 8, 2013 – It was a breakout year for Russ Hall and the Skillz Motorsports #45c. In addition to winning a Sprint Invaders championship, the team was able to garner the “Hard-charger Award” at Knoxville Raceway despite missing two nights of competition. A look ahead to 2014, sees the team returning to their familiar #29, and looking for partnership.
To say the year started slow for the Pleasant Hill, Iowa driver would be an understatement. “We struggled a bit to start the year in Florida,” says Russ. “We were down there racing for ‘Team Mulligan’. Kenny had some health scares and we just wanted to have fun. That’s what we did. We went to Devil’s Bowl with the new car and a new Ostrich motor in March. That didn’t go well at all. We just ran one night and missed the show. That was a long ride home.”
Things got rolling for Russ once the Sprint Invaders Association started its schedule in March and April. “We started with a fourth place run at Burlington on the first night out with the Sprint Invaders,” he says. “The next race, we won at Donnellson.”
It was a strong season for Russ with the series. He led most of the way in Sprint Invaders points. The team was consistent all summer long. “Really, our only two hiccups with the Invaders were a flat tire at Jacksonville and a blown motor at Donnellson,” he says. “Without that, we may not have finished outside of the top four with the Sprint Invaders all season long. I thought that was awesome. It goes to show how good my crew is, and how hard my Dad, Roger, works. I’m very proud of my crew.”
On the annual “Night of the Twins” at Burlington, Russ showed his prowess, running second in the first feature, and storming from 17th to win the second. “The race before at Burlington (in July), I had to make the feature through the B main. I started 17th there too, and made it up to second. The next time we came, I knew we had a good shot at it.”
Despite missing the two shows at Knoxville Raceway, Russ still finished seventh in points there. The team was not afraid to travel and race with other series either. “We ended up racing thirty-eight times,” says Russ. “We ended up running in the top five eighteen times. We had the two wins, and I think we only missed six main events (two in Florida, in Texas, the 360 Nationals and the Front Row Challenge). Other than that, we had a really good season.”
Russ feels his skills have been honed over the years running with the Sprint Invaders. “I wish we could have won more races with the Sprint Invaders, but those guys are tough,” he says. “It’s hard to beat them every week. We always seemed to be close to the front. Sooner or later, more guys from the Knoxville area are going to figure out this is a good way to get better, and it pays more.”
In addition to his championship with the Sprint Invaders, Russ was also named the Brian Hetrick Memorial Driver of the Year, and won the hard-charger award with the series. He talked about winning the latter award at Knoxville. “We missed two nights there. When you get a ‘hard-charger’ award, I don’t care where you finish in points…to me, that’s the second best award you can get after the championship…especially at a place like Knoxville.”
In addition, Russ won a chassis at the Knoxville Raceway banquet. It was a J&J, but he found a trade partner. “We were able to trade it with Dusty Zomer and we both got what we wanted,” he says. “I’m pretty excited about having another Schnee chassis for next year.”
Russ’s schedule is up in the air for 2014, and depends on partnerships. “I’m hoping we can get some sponsorship lined up,” he says. “I think we have one of the strongest teams out there. With MavTV at Knoxville and the Sprint Invaders getting some races closer to central Iowa, I’m hoping we can get some partners lined up that want to take advantage of that.”
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 and the Skillz Motorsports team celebrate their run from 17th to win in August at 34 Raceway (Sandy Brockway Photo)
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