Yahoo Sports Connor Hall carries his perfect Langley Speedway season into Saturday's Hampton Heat
Flawless is the word that best summarizes Connor Hall‘s year at his home track of Langley Speedway.
In 11 appearances at the Hampton, Virginia facility this season, Hall has visited Victory Lane every time. This includes the 10 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Late Model Stock events Langley has held, along with a triumph in the CARS Tour feature on June 3.
Hall‘s undefeated record faces its toughest challenge Saturday in Langley‘s prestigious Hampton Heat, a race in which a driver‘s physical and mental stamina are pushed to the limit in the grueling Virginia summer weather.
The confidence Hall has ahead of the Hampton Heat has never been higher. He admitted to being pleasantly surprised with the efficiency shown at Langley so far this year, and he’s hoping that speed will result in his second Hampton Heat triumph.
“Every single race we show up to, we have a chance of winning,” Hall said. “Our program is very good. I‘m not going to say [winning 11 straight races] wasn‘t possible, but I didn‘t think it was possible, either. I always believed we were that caliber of a team, but doing all this consecutively is something I didn‘t think could happen.”
LIVE STREAM: Watch Saturday’s Hampton Heat live on FloRacing
Being able to post a perfect record halfway through Langley‘s 2023 season required a tremendous amount of diligence and determination from Hall.
The strategy Hall implemented when he first started competing in Langley‘s Late Model Stock division was to not go a lap down and to keep his car in one piece. Hall said the plan only succeeded 50 percent of the time during his rookie year, as he either could not keep pace with the leaders or made a mistake that took him out of contention.
Hall started to find consistent results at Langley when he moved on from using a Late Model Stock previously raced by Brandon Butler and built his own car in 2019. That year saw Hall finish second in points and tally three wins, which included his only Hampton Heat win so far.
New equipment alone would not have been enough for Hall to achieve sustained success at Langley. For as much time as he spent gaining respect from track veterans like Greg Edwards and Mark Wertz, Hall also carefully studied their driving styles and how they were able to win on a regular basis.
Once Hall realized he did not need to be overly aggressive at the start of each race, everything else fell into place.
“Patience has been a big help for me,” Hall said. “When I was younger, Greg Edwards would let me pass him in the first few laps, and then I‘d drive the tires off the car. With about 10 to go, Greg would just take it back and that left me wondering about what I was doing wrong. I had to understand what it took to win these races.”
Another key component in Hall‘s stellar performances at Langley has been his continued relationship with Chad Bryant, for whom he races on the CARS Tour.
Former driver and current chassis builder Jay Hedgecock was the one who recommended Hall to Bryant following preseason ARCA Menards Series practice at Daytona International Speedway in 2019. After a couple of discussions, a deal was worked out in which Hall would team up with Bryant for Daytona in the season-opening Lucas Oil 200.
The duo ended up finishing 11th in a 35-car field, but Hall wanted to maintain an open line of communication with Bryant after they left Daytona. Bryant recalls Hall calling him nearly every day for advice on how to improve his program, which eventually resulted in the two teaming back up in Late Model Stocks.
Bryant‘s main objective with Hall‘s development was to fortify his mental awareness in a competitive situation, especially when it came to saving tires and positioning himself to utilize the talent he already possessed.
“Connor was born with an innate ability to drive race cars,” Bryant said. “The biggest thing I tried to pass along to him was the mindset it takes give yourself an opportunity to win these longer races and not eliminate yourself. He already had the groundwork there, but we wanted him to have a plan of action and how to execute it.”
In the four years that have passed since their first Daytona start, Hall and Bryant have built a strong bond on and off the track. Although there were some initial growing pains between the two, Hall considers Bryant the most significant influence on his racing career.
“[Chad] is very, very critical,” Hall said. “Admittedly, at the beginning, that was something that hurt more feelings than it helped. Once I was able to understand where he was coming from, it truly opened my eyes to how I was messing things up and how to improve on my mistakes.”
Without Bryant to guide him, Hall does not believe he would gotten close to winning 11 straight races at Langley.
Bryant added Hall being able to race alongside drivers like Bobby McCarty, Deac McCaskill, Carson Kvapil and others in a touring environment pushed him to become a better driver. This in turn helped Hall become more prepared for the competitive environment always prevalent in Langley‘s weekly division.
For Saturday‘s Hampton Heat, Hall will be in his familiar dark blue No. 77 Towne Bank / Breeden Concrete Toyota, all while Bryant centers his efforts on helping Hall finish out the 2023 CARS Tour season strong.
“We‘re just going to be [at the Hampton Heat] for moral support,” Bryant said. “If there‘s anything we can help him with, we‘re available any time for a phone call, but Connor has got things pretty much under control with Langley.
“Our goal with Connor is to get as many wins as possible.”
To win his second Hampton Heat on Saturday, Hall intends to manage both his equipment and his tires. He also stressed the importance of keeping his car clean through traffic with how important aerodynamics are with Late Model Stocks today.
Even if he were to get his 12th straight Langley win on Saturday, Hall stopped short of saying that milestone will solidify him as the favorite for the track title. The gap Hall has over Edwards in the standings is 31 points, which he does not consider comfortable in the slightest.
Mechanical issues and crashes have taken Hall out of contention in previous Langley championship battles, which is why he is trying to stay far ahead from any potential problems so he can finally add his name to the long list of distinguished champions at Langley.
“We go into every week thinking this is the one where the apple cart gets turned over,” Hall said. “I don‘t care if you win 100 races in a row, you could show up for the 101st and [Langley] could be completely different. Something could also go wrong mechanically. I don‘t count my chickens before they hatch, so we have to make sure our car is as perfect as possible.”
With more than 30 cars entered for the Hampton Heat, Hall understands there is no guarantee his win streak at Langley stays intact. Regardless of what happens on Saturday, Hall is proud of everything his team has accomplished so far and is determined to be just as flawless in the second half of 2023.
