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Kyle Hall Enters Old Dominion History With Late Model Stock Victory
In his first season of Late Model Stock car racing, 16-year-old Kyle Hall has been all the buzz. In his first eight starts of 2007, Hall has yet to finish the races outside the top-10 positions with five top-five finishes. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before he drove his way into victory lane.
Saturday at Old Dominion Speedway (VA), Hall did just that, cruising to his first Late Model Stock Car win in his career. With his win, Hall became the youngest driver at Old Dominion Speedway to win a Late Model Stock event in the track’s history.
“A lot of people at the track were really impressed with our performance this year, knowing our string of top-10 finishes,” said Hall. “When I got out of the car and they heard I was 16 years old, they thought it was awesome. I am the youngest driver to win a Late Model Stock car race at Old Dominion.”
Hall’s run to the checkered flag Saturday started earlier in the week when he got behind the wheel of his Legends car for the Summer Shootout at Lowe’s Motor Speedway (NC). Hall was strong all night long and looked to have a top-three finish, but a late-race wreck washed away a strong finish.
“Coming down the backstretch, the guy behind me was nailing me hard,” said Hall. “I was drilling the second-place driver in front of me because of it. I had my hand out the window trying to get him to quit. On the front stretch I hardly had to touch the gas pedal because he was pushing me so hard. We went into the turn, and I think second place spun the leader. The guy behind me was still shoving me. I had the brakes locked up even before the corner trying to get slowed down. He drilled me and shoved me into the second-place guy, and then he ended up on my door panel. We had a car to win.”
The strong run in the Legends car Tuesday night carried over to the Late Model Stock car Saturday. Hall unloaded fast, qualifying in the fifth position. On the invert, Hall started the race from the pole position and quickly showed his strength and patience.
“We were pretty good on the start,” said Hall. “The second-place driver went by me on the start. For the first 20 or 30 laps I just followed him. When everyone’s tires started wearing down we pulled away from the rest of the cars. We had about a straightaway lead on third.
“I tried different grooves to see if I could get around the leader. I was really beating him in turn three and four. I gave him just a little bit of a nudge and got under him. He was on the outside of me for about a lap, but I got a good run coming up out of turn two and got the lead from him.”
Hall stayed out front for the rest of the race; however, a late-race caution and old tires forced Hall to use his Legends car skills to manhandle his Late Model Stock car to the finish line.
“Around lap 85 there was a caution,” said Hall. “Behind me on the restart was Michael Hardy, and he has already won a few races there this year. My spotter told me to run my race, so on the restart I went and pulled away from him.
“Because of the old tires, I had to use my Legends experience to help me drive the car. I was trying to flatfoot it like my Legends car, getting it completely sideways and saving it about half a foot from the wall. At the checkered flag, I had about a three quarter straightaway lead on second place.”
While Hall’s skill helped him on the track, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to obtain his first Late Model Stock car win if it wasn’t for his crew.
“I have to thank everyone that helped me this weekend. My friends from my go kart days and my family and friends really helped me get my first Late Model Stock Car win. They have worked so hard on the car this year. It was a pretty good Father’s Day present to my dad.”
Kyle Hall will return to Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord (NC) Tuesday, June 19th, for the second round of the Summer Shootout in his Legends car followed by the Old Dominion Speedway Late Model Stock Car race in Manassas (VA) on Saturday, June 23rd.
Kyle Hall not only won his first Late Model Stock Car race, but was the youngest driver to win in Late Model competition at Old Dominion Speedway. (photo courtesy Bill Gercken)
