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Item# 4412
Norm Hall's career exemplified that of many low-budget
drivers and participants who race for the love of the sport.
Hall's father, Bert Hall, had been one of the seven founding
pilots of the Lafayette Escadrille in WWI, and so daredevilry
came naturally. Hall's earlier results at the Brickyard®
were mixed, but they showed that he was determined. In 1960
Hall passed his driver's test but failed to qualify. In 1961
Hall was sharing an apartment with A.J. Foyt, who would win the
1961 Indianapolis 500®. After an incomplete run in one car and
being too slow in a second, Hall stepped into the #34 Federal
Engineering Special. Not only did he qualify the seven-year-old
Kurtis Kraft, he brought it home in 10th, just
behind F1™ World Champion Jack Brabham in the rear-engine
Cooper. For his result, Hall was inducted into the exclusive
"100 MPH Club." After this good rookie performance,
in 1962 Hall had difficulties. He wrecked one car practicing
and a second attempting to qualify, suffering severe injuries
in the second crash. In 1963 Hall made one attempt to qualify
but was yellow flagged. For 1964 Hall and his partner, Grover
Pope, purchased Bruce Homeyer's #14 Konstant Hot Watson
roadster, a car Roger McCluskey had retired from 3rd
place late in the 1963 500. But Pope-Hall resources were
limited, and by now roadsters were thought obsolete. While
practicing on May 7, Hall blew the engine, damaging the block,
and spinning into the infield. This was a disaster, because
Hall had neither a spare "Offy" nor the money to buy
one. A.J. Watson offered Hall the block from a sprint motor
(220 cubic inch displacement vs. the 255 cid allowed in Champ
Cars). Hall scrounged enough parts to build the "Offy,"
and on "Bump Day" ran four laps at an average speed
of 150.009 mph, good for the 31st spot on the grid.
The 1964 race began with a multi-car accident at the end of the
second lap, and in avoiding the wreckage, the #26 spun into the
inside wall in Turn 4, rupturing the fuel tank. The race was
red flagged for only the second time in history. Hall was
unable to take the re-start, and was assigned the 33rd
finishing position. A.J. Foyt won the 1964
Indianapolis 500® at an average speed of 147.350 mph
in a Watson roadster, the last victory at Indy® for a
front-engine car. Hall went on to race #26 in the remaining
1964 USAC Championship pavement races, finishing 5th
at Trenton in July and September, and 7th at
Phoenix. His season earned 8th place in the
Championship and the right to carry #8 on his car in 1965. Hall
remembered #8 as his favorite racing number, "Because the
number reads the same whether the car is right side up or
upside down." In 1965 he returned with the same car, but
he was bumped from the 1965 Indianapolis field. Hall's best
1965 finishes were a pair of 10th places at Phoenix
and Milwaukee.
Started 31st
Finished 33rd
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