this spring , so Brooke just recently returned to Top Dragster competition .

Hall realizes how fortunate he is to have his daughters and now granddaughters at the racetrack with him , as Fulton had stepped away from racing before his kids really got the chance to see him race . So , Hall embraces family time when they ’ re at the races .

“ The grandbaby , Laykn , really changed mine and my wife ’ s life when she came into the picture ,” Hall says . “ She ’ ll be five years old on the 23rd of this month . “ When I ’ m in the car strapped in , ready to go , she ’ ll stick her little face up right at that little hole in the window – ‘ Papa , you better win . You better win .’”

Along with his family , Hall credits supporters like Fulton , chassis builder Tommy Mauney , Schaeffer ’ s Oil , Jack Ford , Trevor Wiggins of GET ’ M Garage , and buddies like Hank Guyton , Rob Painter , Jeremy Creasman , Michael White , and Brad Taylor .

Personally , he ’ s evolved from the “ floor sweeper ” to Fulton ’ s right-hand man and the main point of contact for most customers at the PDRA races . Meanwhile , the shop has grown to include customers across numerous different classes , many of which require the latest in engine technology .

“ Back when I first started , Gene and them had these dang stock blocks and stock heads and had to build what they could out of what

STACY HALL

we had for stock stuff ,” Hall says . “ This stuff we ’ re doing nowadays , all this CNC billet blocks and heads and all that , I keep telling everybody , ‘ When ’ s it going to stop ? When ’ s it going to stop ?’ But it don ’ t stop . It ’ s just out of control , man .

“ But I like working at the shop ,” Hall says . “ Like I said , I ’ ve been there my whole life . Sometimes it can be a real pain in the butt to work for [ Fulton ]. But he ’ s 74 years old right now . He ’ s actually mellowed out in the last couple years .”

The Fulton Competition brand has seen a bit of a resurgence in recent years with the dominant success of nitrous Pro Modified veteran Jim Halsey . He won the last three PDRA Pro Nitrous world championships with a Fulton 959-cubic-inch mill between the frame rails in his Bickel-built “ Daddy Shark ” ’ 68 Camaro . Hall says it ’ s been a real thrill for the shop to be a part of that success , but he ’ s quick to share the credit .

“ It ’ s not just me or Fulton Competition or the boys at the shop ,” Hall says . “ It ’ s a group effort . It ’ s me , Gene , Tommy [ Hall ], another boy named David [ Greene ] that works at the shop , all the Halsey crew : Eric [ Davis ], Jimmy , Cathy [ Crouse-Halsey ], Michael [ McMillan ], Brandon [ Switzer ], Melissa [ Switzer ]. It ’ s a group effort . It ’ s all of us .”

Hall says the engines typically stay with Halsey between races , as crew chief Eric Davis handles routine service work , then they return to Hall and Fulton for machine work and serious revamps .

Halsey ’ s performance at the inaugural Summit Racing Equipment PDRA ProStars race last year was one of Hall ’ s most memorable outings with the Halsey crew . With no qualifying , just one shakedown run before four rounds of eliminations , it wasn ’ t the ideal time to bring out a brand-new engine . It all worked out , though , as Halsey won the deal .

“ We go out there [ for the shakedown run ], and Jimmy does a burnout and backs up ,” Hall begins , “ and it ’ s an all-new motor , all-new lines , and all this stuff . There could be one little major leak . Heck , I ’ m on the starting line laying down on the ground , looking underneath the car making sure nothing leaks out the car before he staged the thing . He goes out there and the first pass was a . 73 or . 72 . That turned heads right there . Brand-new motor out the shop , first pass , 3.72 . Everybody was like , ‘ What ? Come on now .’

“ But that was pretty thrilling , to take a brand-new motor and throw it in a car and see her first pass right down Broadway ,” Hall continues . “ There ’ s a lot of people that won ’ t do that . They ’ ll go out there and make a halftrack or 60-foot just to make sure everything ’ s cool and get a baseline tuneup . But Brandon [ Switzer ], when it comes to tuning a car , Brandon ’ s top-notch , Bubba . He is the best .”

Hall has had a front-row seat to The Halsey Show over the last few years , and he ’ s seen the effort that led to a slew of wins , No . 1 qualifier awards , the three world championships , and the title of quickest and fastest eighth-mile , big-tire , nitrous-assisted Pro Mod .

“ They ’ re a tight-knit group , but when they get to the racetrack , they ’ re there to win the race and do what they supposed to dang do . It ’ s like a job to them ,” Hall says .

HALL AND FULTON DEAL WITH ENGINES FROM VARIOUS DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS , FROM PERIOD-CORRECT GASSERS TO PDRA PRO NITROUS AND TOP SPORTSMAN .

110 | Drag Illustrated | DragIllustrated . com Issue 177