Connor Hall enjoyed a stock car racing dream season in 2023, but 2024 is surpassing it.
How does it get better than a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national championship, fueled in large part by 14 Late Model victories on the way to a first division title at Langley Speedway?
Here’s how. Hall is not only steamrolling toward a repeat national championship, he leads the standings on the CARS Tour — a prestigious NASCAR feeder series — and is on top of the Virginia Triple Crown standings after winning the SoBo 200 at South Boston Speedway.
Life is good again at Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway. Hall has won seven of eight Late Model starts there — a big chunk in his national points lead — and his win in a thrilling three-way duel to the finish of the CARS Tour race in June created a national sensation.
“That was one hell of a show @CARSTour,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted on X.
Life can get even better should Hall win the Hampton Heat 200 Saturday at Langley. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is among 38 entrants for the Heat, the second leg of the Triple Crown (the fall Martinsville race is third) and a trophy Hall would dearly love to win following two second-places (2023 included) since his 2019 victory.
“C.E. Falk and (defending champion) Brenden Queen are the only drivers to win multiple Hampton Heats, so I’d like to add my name to that list,” Hall said. “Of course we’d like as close an effort as possible, so a first, second or third finish would position us well for the Triple Crown, but we’re there to win.”
Even with his winning percentage of 88 at Langley this season, a repeat division championship there is out because of his CARS Tour commitments. But his eight wins in nine tries (counting the CARS race) show he is still master of the 4/10ths-of-a-mile oval and perhaps the favorite Saturday.
“You definitely have to build a setup/foundation around a lot of stability, because Langley is very hot, greasy and loose,” he said. “So the tires slide, and the more they do, the harder you are on them.
“That makes throttle control, stability and tire management, all similar, the keys to success.”
Seeking those keeps him in the garage hour after hour when he’s not traveling the East Coast from Massachusetts to North Carolina for Blue Water Yacht Sales. So, while he says it would be cool to achieve the trifecta of a national championship, CARS Tour title and state Triple Crown, he rarely looks beyond the next turn of the wrench.
“The possibility is there, but I don’t think like that,” he said. “I’m just trying to stay dedicated to the day-to-day work and, if it happens, we can celebrate and talk about it later.”
Hall doesn’t mind discussing what has put him in position to nab a trio of titles no one else has won in a single season. He credits crew chief Matthew Eshleman and a strong team at Nelson Motorsports — amply funded by Barry Nelson Auto and Towne Bank — in addition to his continuing growth as a driver.
“We’re finally starting to put a lot of these puzzle pieces together I’ve struggled with throughout the years, and I’m probably maturing a little bit,” he said. “The opportunity Barry Nelson has given me is a great one, and I’m just trying to put everything together and come out with a bang.”
16th annual Hampton Heat 200
What: 200-lap stock car race featuring Dale Earnhardt Jr. and 37 other local and regional racing standouts.
Where: Larry King Law’s Langley Speedway, 11 Dale Lemonds Drive in Hampton.
When: Racing begins at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday with Super Street, Super Truck and Pro Six divisions, followed by the Hampton Heat at approximately 8:30.
Tickets: Sold out.
On the air: FloRacing.com
Marty O’Brien, mjobrien@dailypress.com
