Interview by Mary Lendzion
Photography by the FSC staff
Cindee Hall is certain she developed a passion for cars because of her late father, David Hall. He was a mechanic and an engineer who worked on cars near their home in Florida. In addition to watching him, she asked him questions and absorbed answers as she handed him tools throughout her adolescence. To this day, she cherishes a picture she has of herself as a three-year-old, carrying one of his oil cans.
When Hall met her significant other, Doug Poskevich, years later, she discovered he had some of the same abilities as her father, and, as a bonus, he raced his 1966 Fairlane in NMCA Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super Stock. That meant she would be around a lot of cars again. More significantly, she eventually climbed into the cockpit of Poskevich’s 1963 Falcon and competed in NMCA Erson Cams Nostalgia Muscle.
Hall holds her own in the category, and while she also dabbled in NMRA Ford Muscle in recent years, she decided to compete in that category more frequently this year. At the time of this interview, she was in fourth place in both classes as the 2023 season wound down.
When she is not racing, Hall, who retired from a commercial printing company in 2020, goes hiking, biking, boating, and camping, and plays with her dog, Finley, an Australian shepherd. She likes to be outdoors and says it is where she can relax and clear her head.
Read on for more about Hall, who has made a name for herself in the NMCA and NMRA racing series, but more importantly, made many new friends whom she now calls family.
WHAT WILL YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EARLY YEARS?
I was born in Miami, Florida, raised in Homestead, Florida, and moved to DeLand, Florida with my family when I was 11 years old. It was just me, my dad, David, my mom, Lucy, and my brother, David Jr. My dad was a mechanic at a gas station, and then he was an engineer who invented a welding helmet and some tooling dies. He was also a private pilot. I was impressed with his abilities, and I learned a lot from him. I spent so much time hanging out with my dad at the gas station, so I was around cars a lot, and I loved that. I also loved watching my dad work on cars and loved the smell of oil and gas at the gas station. My dad used to let me play with his tools, and listen to engines with his mechanic’s stethoscope. I now have an obsession with tools.
DO YOU CREDIT YOUR FATHER WITH YOUR SELF-PROFESSED OBSESSION WITH TOOLS?
Yes, it is definitely because of him. I have a tool chest full of Craftsman tools, and when my dad passed away, I inherited a lot of his tools and a lot of his tool-and-die items. When I use them, I feel closer to him, and that is because I remember watching him use the tools I am now using. I used his tools to remodel my house. I’m always digging in the tool chest with my dad’s tools. I also gave some of them to Doug.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST MUSCLE CAR YOU DROVE?
When I was 13 years old, my dad let me drive his 1967 Impala down the road in DeLand, Florida, so that I could get acclimated to driving. He let me get up to 100 mph, and he was right there to grab the wheel if needed. It was a very cool experience to have with my dad. I really looked up to him for showing me how to do a lot of things. That car ended up becoming my car.
WHAT SERVED AS YOUR FIRST RACE CAR?
It was actually the 1963 Falcon I race now. It is Doug’s car, and he had it when we first got together. I raced it for the first time in, I believe 2009, in a bracket class at Orlando Speed World in Florida, and did that for a little bit before I started racing in NMCA Nostalgia Muscle and joined Doug, who races in Nostalgia Super Stock. I love old race cars. They remind me of a time in my life that was special to me, so Nostalgia Muscle is a good class for me. I have quite a bond with the 1963 Falcon.
WHAT COMPELS YOU TO CONTINUE COMPETING IN NMCA ERSON CAMS NOSTALGIA MUSCLE?
It is, without a doubt, the bond I have formed with my fellow racers. They look out for me, and I look out for them. They would do just about anything for me, and I would do just about anything for them. As an example, John Butsko offered to take the brake drums off of his car so that I could use them to continue racing after a weld broke on one of my brake drums at a race last year. That is a very big deal to me. There is a lot of competition, but there are a lot of bonds.
WE HAVE NOTICED THAT A LOT OF RACE FANS STOP BY YOUR PIT AREA AT RACES AND ASK YOU ABOUT THE CAR. MANY TELL YOU IT IS ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE CARS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
I’m actually blown away by how many people tell me they love the car, and it amazes me and makes me feel good. It means a lot to me. I think in some cases, people tell me they like the car because they view it as an underdog, so when it runs well and I do well in it, there is an element of surprise.
WHILE STAYING IN NMCA ERSON CAMS NOSTALGIA MUSCLE, YOU COMMITTED TO COMPETING IN NMRA FORD MUSCLE ON A REGULAR BASIS IN 2023. WHAT COMPELLED YOU TO TAKE ON THAT ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE?
I have been racing in Ford Muscle at the first NMRA race of the year as practice for the first NMCA race of the year for a couple of years, and prior to that, I raced in Brackets at the first NMRA race of the year to get practice for the first NMCA race of the year. That was the plan for this year, too, but then when I earned a runner-up finish at the first race of the year, which was in Florida, and then earned another runner-up finish and led qualifying in the class at the second race of the year, which was in North Carolina, I decided to run both classes and see how I could do. Then when I qualified to compete in the Testo Super Bowl Shootout at the race in Illinois, which was the Nitto Diamond Tree Ring race, and took the runner-up spot against Andy Ransford at that race, I was really happy. Running both categories has worked out very well.
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO COMPETE IN BOTH NMCA ERSON CAMS NOSTALGIA MUSCLE AND NMRA FORD MUSCLE?
The classes are set up the same, so I keep the same index for both classes, and my car runs between 12.75 and 13.25 depending on the weather. The cooling and fueling of the car keeps me busy, and it can be hard, but at the same time, it takes my mind off of second-guessing myself, and wondering what should be done to the car and what the index should be. I have discovered this year that I am doing better when I am racing in both classes. Some of my fellow NMCA Nostalgia Muscle racers also compete in NMRA Ford Muscle, like John Butsko, Danny Towe, and Don Fotti. That makes me feel more at home. I feel very welcome in both classes, which is very nice. Everyone watches out for each other.
YOU AND DOUG POSKEVICH HANDLE RUNNING TWO CARS QUITE WELL. WHAT SYSTEM DO YOU HAVE IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT?
I tell him what I think, he tells me what he thinks, and we communicate well and come up with plans together. We may not always think each other’s plan is the best plan, especially when it comes to how much weight to put in the car or how to adjust the carburetor, but we will always come to a compromise. As an example, he recently thought we should put 80 pounds in the car for qualifying, and I thought we should put 40 pounds in the car for qualifying. We went with the 40 pounds and it worked, but sometimes, one of us is off.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR APPROACH TO RACING?
I am always looking forward to being at the racetrack, and once I’m in competition, I try to control my thoughts and not get in my head. I just have to follow my routine, which involves Doug putting me in the waterbox, being as courteous as possible on the starting line, and bringing the rpm up to 2,100. It’s funny because I have come to know how the engine sounds and how the rear of the car lifts up a little bit when I’m bringing the rpm up to the stage, and I don’t need to look at the tach like I used to. I just have to do the same thing each and every time, from the pit area to the starting line, and I feel so good when that works and my win light comes on. Also to stay calm, I will play with our dog, Finley, and take deep breaths. Doug and I are both pretty easygoing. If he loses early, he focuses on my racing, and if I lose early, I focus on his racing. We keep each other going.
WE ARE GLAD THAT YOU COMPETE IN THE NMCA AND NMRA. WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK, EVEN THOUGH YOU LIVE CLOSE TO A TRACK AND COULD RACE LOCALLY?
Doug and I have talked about that, and we like the friends we have made in the NMCA and NMRA. They feel like family to us, and there is so much camaraderie, and it is worth the money, travel, and time it takes to go to the races. I really enjoy it.
(Watch for this interview in the December 2023 issue of Fastest Street Car)
Photography by the FSC staff
Cindee Hall is certain she developed a passion for cars because of her late father, David Hall. He was a mechanic and an engineer who worked on cars near their home in Florida. In addition to watching him, she asked him questions and absorbed answers as she handed him tools throughout her adolescence. To this day, she cherishes a picture she has of herself as a three-year-old, carrying one of his oil cans.
When Hall met her significant other, Doug Poskevich, years later, she discovered he had some of the same abilities as her father, and, as a bonus, he raced his 1966 Fairlane in NMCA Quick Fuel Technology Nostalgia Super Stock. That meant she would be around a lot of cars again. More significantly, she eventually climbed into the cockpit of Poskevich’s 1963 Falcon and competed in NMCA Erson Cams Nostalgia Muscle.
Hall holds her own in the category, and while she also dabbled in NMRA Ford Muscle in recent years, she decided to compete in that category more frequently this year. At the time of this interview, she was in fourth place in both classes as the 2023 season wound down.
When she is not racing, Hall, who retired from a commercial printing company in 2020, goes hiking, biking, boating, and camping, and plays with her dog, Finley, an Australian shepherd. She likes to be outdoors and says it is where she can relax and clear her head.
Read on for more about Hall, who has made a name for herself in the NMCA and NMRA racing series, but more importantly, made many new friends whom she now calls family.
WHAT WILL YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EARLY YEARS?
I was born in Miami, Florida, raised in Homestead, Florida, and moved to DeLand, Florida with my family when I was 11 years old. It was just me, my dad, David, my mom, Lucy, and my brother, David Jr. My dad was a mechanic at a gas station, and then he was an engineer who invented a welding helmet and some tooling dies. He was also a private pilot. I was impressed with his abilities, and I learned a lot from him. I spent so much time hanging out with my dad at the gas station, so I was around cars a lot, and I loved that. I also loved watching my dad work on cars and loved the smell of oil and gas at the gas station. My dad used to let me play with his tools, and listen to engines with his mechanic’s stethoscope. I now have an obsession with tools.
DO YOU CREDIT YOUR FATHER WITH YOUR SELF-PROFESSED OBSESSION WITH TOOLS?
Yes, it is definitely because of him. I have a tool chest full of Craftsman tools, and when my dad passed away, I inherited a lot of his tools and a lot of his tool-and-die items. When I use them, I feel closer to him, and that is because I remember watching him use the tools I am now using. I used his tools to remodel my house. I’m always digging in the tool chest with my dad’s tools. I also gave some of them to Doug.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST MUSCLE CAR YOU DROVE?
When I was 13 years old, my dad let me drive his 1967 Impala down the road in DeLand, Florida, so that I could get acclimated to driving. He let me get up to 100 mph, and he was right there to grab the wheel if needed. It was a very cool experience to have with my dad. I really looked up to him for showing me how to do a lot of things. That car ended up becoming my car.
WHAT SERVED AS YOUR FIRST RACE CAR?
It was actually the 1963 Falcon I race now. It is Doug’s car, and he had it when we first got together. I raced it for the first time in, I believe 2009, in a bracket class at Orlando Speed World in Florida, and did that for a little bit before I started racing in NMCA Nostalgia Muscle and joined Doug, who races in Nostalgia Super Stock. I love old race cars. They remind me of a time in my life that was special to me, so Nostalgia Muscle is a good class for me. I have quite a bond with the 1963 Falcon.
WHAT COMPELS YOU TO CONTINUE COMPETING IN NMCA ERSON CAMS NOSTALGIA MUSCLE?
It is, without a doubt, the bond I have formed with my fellow racers. They look out for me, and I look out for them. They would do just about anything for me, and I would do just about anything for them. As an example, John Butsko offered to take the brake drums off of his car so that I could use them to continue racing after a weld broke on one of my brake drums at a race last year. That is a very big deal to me. There is a lot of competition, but there are a lot of bonds.
WE HAVE NOTICED THAT A LOT OF RACE FANS STOP BY YOUR PIT AREA AT RACES AND ASK YOU ABOUT THE CAR. MANY TELL YOU IT IS ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE CARS. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?
I’m actually blown away by how many people tell me they love the car, and it amazes me and makes me feel good. It means a lot to me. I think in some cases, people tell me they like the car because they view it as an underdog, so when it runs well and I do well in it, there is an element of surprise.
WHILE STAYING IN NMCA ERSON CAMS NOSTALGIA MUSCLE, YOU COMMITTED TO COMPETING IN NMRA FORD MUSCLE ON A REGULAR BASIS IN 2023. WHAT COMPELLED YOU TO TAKE ON THAT ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE?
I have been racing in Ford Muscle at the first NMRA race of the year as practice for the first NMCA race of the year for a couple of years, and prior to that, I raced in Brackets at the first NMRA race of the year to get practice for the first NMCA race of the year. That was the plan for this year, too, but then when I earned a runner-up finish at the first race of the year, which was in Florida, and then earned another runner-up finish and led qualifying in the class at the second race of the year, which was in North Carolina, I decided to run both classes and see how I could do. Then when I qualified to compete in the Testo Super Bowl Shootout at the race in Illinois, which was the Nitto Diamond Tree Ring race, and took the runner-up spot against Andy Ransford at that race, I was really happy. Running both categories has worked out very well.
WHAT IS IT LIKE TO COMPETE IN BOTH NMCA ERSON CAMS NOSTALGIA MUSCLE AND NMRA FORD MUSCLE?
The classes are set up the same, so I keep the same index for both classes, and my car runs between 12.75 and 13.25 depending on the weather. The cooling and fueling of the car keeps me busy, and it can be hard, but at the same time, it takes my mind off of second-guessing myself, and wondering what should be done to the car and what the index should be. I have discovered this year that I am doing better when I am racing in both classes. Some of my fellow NMCA Nostalgia Muscle racers also compete in NMRA Ford Muscle, like John Butsko, Danny Towe, and Don Fotti. That makes me feel more at home. I feel very welcome in both classes, which is very nice. Everyone watches out for each other.
YOU AND DOUG POSKEVICH HANDLE RUNNING TWO CARS QUITE WELL. WHAT SYSTEM DO YOU HAVE IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT?
I tell him what I think, he tells me what he thinks, and we communicate well and come up with plans together. We may not always think each other’s plan is the best plan, especially when it comes to how much weight to put in the car or how to adjust the carburetor, but we will always come to a compromise. As an example, he recently thought we should put 80 pounds in the car for qualifying, and I thought we should put 40 pounds in the car for qualifying. We went with the 40 pounds and it worked, but sometimes, one of us is off.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR APPROACH TO RACING?
I am always looking forward to being at the racetrack, and once I’m in competition, I try to control my thoughts and not get in my head. I just have to follow my routine, which involves Doug putting me in the waterbox, being as courteous as possible on the starting line, and bringing the rpm up to 2,100. It’s funny because I have come to know how the engine sounds and how the rear of the car lifts up a little bit when I’m bringing the rpm up to the stage, and I don’t need to look at the tach like I used to. I just have to do the same thing each and every time, from the pit area to the starting line, and I feel so good when that works and my win light comes on. Also to stay calm, I will play with our dog, Finley, and take deep breaths. Doug and I are both pretty easygoing. If he loses early, he focuses on my racing, and if I lose early, I focus on his racing. We keep each other going.
WE ARE GLAD THAT YOU COMPETE IN THE NMCA AND NMRA. WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK, EVEN THOUGH YOU LIVE CLOSE TO A TRACK AND COULD RACE LOCALLY?
Doug and I have talked about that, and we like the friends we have made in the NMCA and NMRA. They feel like family to us, and there is so much camaraderie, and it is worth the money, travel, and time it takes to go to the races. I really enjoy it.
(Watch for this interview in the December 2023 issue of Fastest Street Car)