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I just want to say thank you to everyone and all the Knoxville fans for all the concern and support for John Hall since his accident and trip to the hospital Saturday night. I have posted our press release below so that everyone can know how he's doing. This one could have turned out a lot worse than it did and we are very grateful to the Knoxville safety crew, as always. Everybody associated with Knoxville is still the best as far as I'm concerned and I've been amazed at all the phone calls and emails that I've taken since Saturday wishing him well. We would love for him to know that you're thinking of him, so please feel free to send any well wishes to me via email at the address listed at the end of the release. Or if you wish to send him a card through the regular mail, please contact me for that information. Thank you!
Stacy
John Hall Racing season comes to a
grinding halt
MARION, IOWA (July 4, 2009)—John Hall
and his Left Turn Enterprises racing team saw the 2009 campaign come
to a grinding halt with a violent accident during Twin Features Night
for the 360 division at the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, on
Saturday, July 4.
The night started off on a great note, as
Hall pulled a number at the draw window good enough to start him on
the pole of his heat race. He led the seven-lap event to win on a
very heavy track made sticky by significant rainfall the previous
night.
The track conditions contributed to
several wicked crashes in all three sprint-car divisions on this
night. Hall's incident came at the start of the first of two 15-lap
A-main events in his class. He took the green flag from fifth spot in
the 20-car field. The competitor starting seventh directly behind
Hall tried to jump the start of the race coming from turn three,
pulled up on the inside of Hall out of turn four and the two made
contact. That sent Hall on a series of high flips directly in front
of the frontstretch grandstands and he came to a landing under the
flagstand.
That resulted in a 19th-place finish
and left him unable to start the second A-main. However, the biggest
losses came in the form of an injury and a demolished race car. Hall
was transported to the Knoxville Area Community Hospital, where it
was determined he had fractured a toe and possibly compressed a
vertebrae. He was later released and returned to the track.
Meanwhile, the crew tried to salvage
what they could on the destroyed race car. Unfortunately, without
many spare parts, Hall's season looks to be over.
Hall was in his 22nd season
of competing at Knoxville and this was his third serious accident at
the speedway. The first came at the end of his rookie season and
nearly ended his career before it really got started. He still was
able to earn Rookie of the Year in the 360 division that year. The
second devastating incident came at the end of the 2007 season, a
year which had up until that point been quite successful. He spent
that winter rebuilding the car after another driver's mistake cost
him a top-10 point finish. The 2008 season was one of great struggles
trying to figure out the combination of new parts and pieces. This
season started off slow but seemed to be turning for the better when
he was able to put himself into the main events. Now the crew will
have to evaluate whether there will be a 2010 racing season for John
Hall Racing.
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 is also grateful to the
Knoxville Raceway safety crew, officials and track personnel and the
racing fans and fellow competitors for all the support. Any racing
related inquiries can be directed to Stacy Ervin, public-relations
and sponsorship coordinator, at [email protected]
or 319-330-6849. Visit the team's website at www.johnhallracing.com
for more information.
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Thank you so much to everyone who sent emails yesterday. It was really overwhelming to see so much concern and support. We are still collecting well wishes for John so please keep sending them my way. John is very anxious to get back to racing. Unfortunately this is going to require another rebuilding of the car. After the wreck at the end of 2007, John had to rebuild absolutely everything from scratch. With this one coming so soon after that, the finances are just not there for this. But we are forging ahead as much as possible because after 22 years of this, we just can't give it up. Some have asked how they can help. We know finances are tight for everyone these days, but in this case, every little bit is going to be worthwhile and the more people who can contribute a little, the quicker the total will become a lot. We'll be working on a campaign to get the fans some recognition for their sponsorship help and get information out about that soon. But in the meantime, anyone who would like to contribute financially to John's rebuilding can contact Stacy Ervin at 319-330-6849 or [email protected] for more information. Thank you all again.
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