Tyler Hall's mom and dad are just typical parents. They want to see what their kid is up to.
The 16-year-old is more than happy to oblige.
Hall has a camera mounted on top of his Mod Four race car, and he's recorded about 15 of his races this season, providing video of a driver's eye view of his races.
"My parents wanted to see what it is like for me driving the car," said Hall, who is from Fertile, Minn. "They got me the camera for my birthday. It's been pretty cool."
The camera's sight line records 170 degrees both up and down and left to right, so it provides a pretty similar glimpse to what the driver is seeing, Hall said.
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The camera is a GoPro wearable digital camera, used by athletes in a number of different sports - particularly extreme sports. The camera slides into a brace that is bolted onto the top of Hall's car, but he's not too worried about wrecking it.
"The worst thing that will happen to the camera will happen if I roll the car," Hall said. "Then I'll probably have more damage to worry about than a $180 camera."
Initially a way for his parents to see their son's perspective from inside the race car, Hall said he's used the videos to help his driving.
"It's good to watch and see what mistakes you made," Hall said. "On yellows, you're able to see where you got into somebody or where you screwed up.
"It's been very helpful from that standpoint."
He's also gotten some good video of things that have happened right in front of him, providing a different perspective than from the stands.
"I've gotten a couple of pretty neat videos," Hall said. "When (Josh) Abrahamson rolled his Mod Four in Ada (Minn.), it was right in front of me."
Despite being a teenager, Hall is no stranger to competitive racing. Since he was 3 years old, he's been racing something - from snowmobiles and dirt bikes to go-karts to Hornets to his current Mod Four.
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He said his parents have always been supportive and taken an active interest in his racing, which led to them trying out the camera.
Hall hasn't posted any of his videos online, but it's something the youngster said he's trying to iron out.
"For some reason, it doesn't copy to DVD very well, so we're still trying to figure that out the best way to do it," Hall said. "It's something we'll figure out, and I definitely plan to keep taping."
Schatz wins Kings Royal
Donny Schatz won the prestigious Kings Royal on Saturday at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.
Schatz got $50,000 for the win. He also scored a second-place finish behind Terry McCarl in Friday's "Knight Before King's Royal" at Eldora.
Tuesday's races in Sarver, Penn., were postponed until Wednesday. Results were not available at press time.
The Fargo driver's solid week widened the gap a bit in the overall points race. The three-time defending World of Outlaws points champ leads the series with 5,348 points, just 44 ahead of Joey Saldana's 5,304.
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Readers can reach Forum reporter Kerry Collins at (701) 241-5548.
Collins' blogs can be found at www.areavoices.com
