Twenty-four hours before John Hall won the Dodge NHRA Great Lakes Nationals, he was ready to quit.
Not someday. Not after the season. Hall had reached the point Sunday at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park where he wondered whether he could still ride a Pro Stock Motorcycle well enough to justify doing it.
He even told reigning world champion Richard Gadson.
“Man, I’m done. I’m washed up, man. I can’t do this anymore,” Hall recalled telling Gadson.
By Monday afternoon, Hall wasn’t washed up. He was holding a Diamond Wally, sitting one point out of the championship lead and probably feeling considerably better about his career choice.
Such is life in drag racing, where confidence can disappear in one run and come roaring back a few win lights later.
“It’s a great feeling,” Hall said. “You come in strong, and you get some momentum going. I did it last year. Where were we? In
Maple Grove. It was a tough race there, as it was a tough race here.
“I got to tell you, man, I was ready to quit racing yesterday. I’ve been so down on myself, and that’s what drag racing does to you, man. It’s like you go from high, to a low, to a low, to a high within seconds, minutes, hours.”
Hall’s Monday covered most of those emotions.
Pro Stock Motorcycle eliminations became an upset factory almost immediately. Marc Ingwersen started the demolition by beating two-time champion Gaige Herrera in the opening round, then eliminated Gadson in Round 2 and No. 1 qualifier Ryan Oehler in the semifinals.
Hall had his own difficult road. He defeated Clayton Howey before taking out Matt Smith Racing teammate Matt Smith, then advanced past Ronald Procopio Jr. to reach the final.
The same rider questioning himself Sunday gradually began returning.
“It’s tough to lose confidence,” Hall said. “When you lose confidence, you kind of just … The weird thing was I didn’t feel like I was doing a terrible job. I come back, and Matt’s like, ‘Man, you’re doing this. You’re doing this. You’re doing this.’ So you kind of get down on yourself.”
Hall said beating Procopio was the point when he finally began believing again.
“I think when I beat Ronnie, and I was starting to get my consistency back, and I’m like, ‘All right. I could do this multiple times,’” Hall said. “When I did that, when I had three good runs in a row, my confidence was back. So I said, ‘You know what? I can do this. I can get this. It’s within my reach. I have to go out there and do my job.’”
There was another obstacle. Red-lights had become almost contagious throughout Monday’s professional eliminations, and the quick-reacting Pro Stock Motorcycles leave little margin for aggression at the starting line. Hall knew Ingwersen was particularly capable on the tree.
His approach was to avoid overthinking any of it.
“I don’t really think about it,” Hall said. “I just go up there and do what I do, and I have a routine. I see a light, I go, and that’s kind of what I do. I don’t put a lot of thought into it, which is good. I don’t stress about it.”
Ingwersen ultimately went red in the final, ending his remarkable run before Hall needed to chase him. Hall still delivered a 6.808-second pass at 194.22 mph aboard his Outlaw Beer Buell to secure his first victory of the season and fifth of his career.
For Hall, there was an unmistakable sense of déjà vu. A year ago, he won the opening event of the Countdown at Maple Grove and left the race second in points. This time, he left Michigan second again, only one point behind Gadson, with Smith 25 points back in third.
Hall understands what happened Monday doesn’t guarantee anything over the remaining five races.
“You just go and do the best you can,” Hall said. “I was in this exact same position last year, exactly. I came in. We won the first race in the Countdown, and we were number two in points right behind, I think at the time, it was Gaige.
“This Countdown is tough, man. You got to string it together. You guys saw Richard do it last year. He had a really good Countdown. You have to have a really good Countdown.”
There was one other reminder of how quickly Hall’s weekend had turned. Gadson hadn’t forgotten Sunday’s conversation. After Hall won, the reigning champion reminded him at the starting line about declaring himself washed up roughly 24 hours earlier.
Hall could laugh about it now.
“I’m happy that I’m back,” Hall said, “and I hope I stay back.”
