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Russ Hall – Hot May at Knoxville!
(Bill W) May 29, 2014 – Russ Hall had a hot May at Knoxville Raceway and as a result sits third in the 360 point standings at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World”. Things are picking up elsewhere as well, as he scored a top five finish with the Sprint Invaders last Sunday night at 34 Raceway in West Burlington. June should prove to be a busy month. In addition to weekly races at Knoxville with Twin Features to close the month, the Sprint Invaders have three dates including tomorrow night at Independence Motor Speedway.
Russ’s early season success at Knoxville has been evident, especially lately. “We started out with a fifth place the first night and a fourth the second night,” he says. “Unfortunately, we set quick time the third night and spun out twice in the feature. We were eighth the next week, and we were second the last two weeks.”
The third night was a frustrating one, as after setting quick time, Russ was a two-spin victim in the feature. “We spun out once, and then we were back into the top ten,” he says. “I couldn’t see the (inside) berm that night, and there were several cars who hit it. They watered it, and it turned it black. I couldn’t see the elevation difference, and we hit it twice. When you are driving the bottom, you have to drive it way out in front of you, just to keep the car pointed in the right direction.”
A few adjustments of the Skillz Motorsports #29 have yielded increased success the past few weeks. “We have things straightened out now,” says Russ. “We’ve been chasing worn out parts on the racecar a little bit. It hurt us early in the year with handling, especially at Knoxville. We started with this car in Texas at the beginning of last year. We’ve been running the same car. We’ve been fortunate not to tear it up, but we’ve been noticing some of the parts wearing out. Right now, we have everything pretty much fresh on it, and you can tell.”
Two weeks ago at Knoxville, Russ led the first thirteen (of fifteen) laps before being passed by Brian Brown. Last Saturday, he finished second for the second week in a row. After leading lap one, he followed Jason Johnson the rest of the way. “Getting beat by Jason Johnson and Brian Brown kind of takes the steam off of running second,” he says. “At the same time, those are the guys we have to beat.”
Russ is the defending champion with the Sprint Invaders series, but other than a win earlier this season at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, he has struggled until last Sunday’s top five run. He is currently ninth in points. “We broke a rocker the first night at Burlington, which hurt,” he says. “Then we were running third at Oskaloosa when we lost a power steering line. We had to pull off there.
The Skillz Motorsports team is excited and confident heading into this weekend. “We’ve really been pretty consistent,” says Russ. “Things are going pretty well. We’re looking forward to Independencetomorrow night and Knoxville Saturday.”
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 (Serena Dalhamer Photo)
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