Lee Hall; his wife, Felisha; and daughter, Madison; died in a traffic accident on their way home from the races. The family perished in a head-on collision in Vermilion County, Illinois, early Sunday morning, after the program concluded at Charleston Speedway in Illinois.
The Halls, of Oxford, Indiana, were traveling in a pickup truck while hauling their factory stock in a 24′ enclosed trailer. Their son, Lee Joseph Hall, who also races, followed them in his own truck, but was not involved in the accident.
Hall had just finished third in the factory stock feature at the DIRTcar Fall Nationals at Charleston Speedway.
“Lee texted me around 1:00 a.m. to tell me how much fun he had racing and expressed how appreciative he was to have Charleston Speedway,” speedway promoter Sonny Ross said. “Lee stayed late after the races ended, congratulating people, helping others load up.”
Word of the crash spread rapidly, along with speculation as to the cause. However, no official word on the cause has been released. Vermillion County coroner Jane McFadden said in a press release that her office, as well the Vermilion County Sheriff’s office and Illinois State Police will investigate the incident. Unofficial reports said the vehicles were on fire after the crash.
“The Halls are very well known in Indiana and Illinois,” said Ross. “They’ve been racing for a long time. At 3 a.m., Lee’s brother-in-law texted me that he was gone.”
Lee Hall was 52 years old. Felisha was 46. Madison was 18.
“Lee was so happy and proud that Madison was accepted at Purdue University this year,” Ross said. “Madison was into very much into 4-H, and was known for showing the sheep that she raised.”
One of the Hall’s biggest nights came two seasons ago, when Lee won the factory stock track championship and his son, Lee Joseph, won the hornet title.
“We are beginning to mourn the loss of this well-loved family,” said Ross. “We are at a loss for words.”
Charleston Speedway concludes its season this Saturday, October 8. The track will remember the Hall family, who were a staple of their pits for so many years.
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
