Justin Hall didn't mind he had company breathing down his neck as he crossed the finish line in Saturday's Admiral Roofing mini stock feature race
All that mattered to Hall was that he got there first -- with all his body panels intact. He did that, winning by less than half a car length over Darrell Ouellet in the Prince George Citizen-sponsored season-opening Prince George Auto Racing Association event.
In a 30-lap race slowed by five restarts due to spun-out vehicles, Ouellet started near the back of an 11-car field and, after a near-disastrous collision with Nathan Linfett, picked his way to the front to challenge Hall. Ouellet closed up ground in the straight stretches but Hall and his Dodge Rampage hugged the corners better to pick up where he left off last season when he joined the mini stock series late.
"Our motor was ticking pretty bad and I wasn't sure if it was going to make it to the end, but she held together for us and we pulled the win off," said Hall.
"There were quite a few cautions that I wish didn't happen, I wanted to be out of the car sooner because it was getting pretty hot in there. I thought for sure I was going to run out of gas. I thought for sure Darrell was going to get by me but we got 'er at the end."
Linfett avoided any significant damage in his wreck with Ouellet in Lap 10 and finished third.
Hall started the 2010 season racing street stocks but dislocated his shoulder riding a quad and had to give up his seat behind the wheel to his father Jason. Justin came back to PGARA in the mini stock series midway and ended up third in points championship.
In the Richmond Steel street stock feature, Grant Powers, a veteran of dirt track racing, made the long haul north with his steel-bodied 1980 Camaro and drove it to victory in a 20-lap main event. Jerry Gascon, who lost his gas gap in the first lap and left a trail of fuel all around the track, prompting officials to stop the race, finished a few lengths behind Powers in second place. Jim Chapman took third.
"We like running on different tracks and came up here and went racing," said the 47-year-old Powers. "After tonight this might have to be a regular thing."
That might be bad news for Power's 15-year-old grandson Damian, who uses the same car Powers drove to race on the dirt track in Merritt.
"I told him he might not have a car, after this," laughed Powers.
"I've seen many races here and just bided my time and committed to the outside and stayed. I had no choice because I Iost my brakes. We just dove into the corner and hoped it stuck and it did. It worked out good."
A two-car hornet main event, predictably, was devoid of any drama, and Justyn Sakawsky was an easy winner over Kim Young.
