Connor Halls Truck Series debut at Richmond is a well-timed opportunity as he chases another Weekly Series championship

HAMPTON, Va. — On the warm afternoon after the 16th running of the Hampton Heat at Virginia’s Langley Speedway, for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the York River, everything was on the table for Connor Hall.

Mac n’ cheese egg rolls. Fried pickles. Sushi stack. All fair game.

Hall’s deflating second-place finish behind Brenden “Butterbean” Queen in his home track’s biggest race the night before left a poor taste in his mouth that could only be palliated by delicious appetizers at YROC Bar & Grill. This was a cheat meal, a quick deviation from an otherwise rigorous diet.

The 27-year-old Hampton native’s typically disciplined eating habits are a reflection of his dedication toward his goal of becoming a regular NASCAR national series competitor. The 2023 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion is once again leading Division I points as he aims for another title. Likewise, he leads the CARS Tour Late Model Stock standings driving for Nelson Motorsports.

And on Aug. 10 at Richmond Raceway, Hall will make his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut driving the No. 91 McAnally—Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet.

At this point in his career, just like that lunch on the river, everything is on the table for Connor Hall.

RELATED: How Hall won the 2023 national title

Hall’s runner-up finish to Queen in the early hours of July 21 was out of the ordinary, because Hall rarely finishes second.

In 22 NASCAR Late Model Stock features this year at South Carolina’s Florence Motor Speedway, North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway and Southern National Motorsports Park, and Virginia’s South Boston Speedway and Langley Speedway, he has 17 wins. His cushion over second place in the national standings is more than 170 points.

Just like last year, a run at another Weekly Series championship wasn’t the initial plan; it became Hall’s goal after he started winning again this season. In 2023, by the time he celebrated his title alongside Ryan Blaney and other NASCAR champions in Nashville, he was spent.

“Anybody who has gone after [the Weekly Series championship] knows that when it‘s over, you‘re like, ‘Holy cow, I have gray hair now and years taken off my life,’ because it‘s a lot of worrying, a lot of time, a ton of logistics.

“Also, I didn‘t want to assume it could happen again, because everything has to go right. In a perfect world, you have your best 18 races, which is 18 wins, and that’s a heck of a year. That’s a year I would say 99 percent of racers will never have. And that’s a year I never thought I’d never have.”

Hall’s success on the NASCAR Regional level is a direct result of the guidance and mentorship he’s taken from the likes of Chad Bryant. Alongside his newfound relationship with Nelson, Hall’s own race program continues to flourish thanks to the unwavering support of friends and family, most notably his father Earle, a champion hydroplane racer.

And Hall’s shot at the Truck Series is a direct result of his success on the NASCAR Regional level.

The seeds of Hall’s debut at Richmond were planted when he and Bryant recently spoke about the next steps in the driver’s budding career. Bryant connected Hall with his friend Charles Denike, a crew chief at MHR, and Hall’s meeting with Denike led to a fruitful sit-down with team co-owner Bill McAnally and racing director Chad Norris.

“We decided to make Richmond the beginning of it all,” Hall said. “There’s an approval process, so the first one had to be a short track. One of my longtime supporters, Towne Bank, has a huge market in Richmond, as well as some of my other sponsors.”

Added Hall when reminded that the Truck Series’ style of racing at Richmond lands in his comfort zone as a Late Model Stock driver who excels on tracks that are hard on tires: “I never put any thought to that. I was just trying to get an opportunity in a good truck.”

Physically, Hall feels prepared for Richmond thanks to the diet he’s maintained since February. He said the 2023 national championship push kept him away from home and out of the gym, so he’s spent much of 2024 improving his fitness.

Hall has spoken to friend Corey Heim and soon-to-be teammate Christian Eckes about the differences between Late Model Stock Cars and NASCAR Trucks. He anticipates higher temperatures in the driver’s seat of the truck, which unlike a Late Model Stock features a right-side window that restricts air flow.

Mentally, Hall is preparing for Richmond using the resources MHR has provided, including simulation time, on-board footage, throttle and brake data, pit practice and more.

He says a top-10 run in his Truck Series debut “would be one of the most successful days I could hope for.”

Recently, Hall’s career has been all about success. Early on, the achievements arrived in an unorthodox fashion.

He began his go-karting days at Langley, and before his first event, he was terrible in practice and qualifying. He still can’t explain how, when the green flag waved for his first race, he nearly lapped the field on his way to victory.

Hall progressed from go karts to Legends cars and eventually Late Models. While helping build his family’s race program, he connected with Bryant, who put Hall in his cars for a handful of ARCA starts in 2019 and 2020.

The rapport between Hall and Bryant continued to flourish, and in 2022, Bryant tabbed Hall to race his Late Model Stock for the CARS Tour season. And it was Bryant who communicated the setups that helped Hall win the 2023 Weekly Series title in his own ride.

Hall’s life has changed in multiple ways since he secured last year’s national championship. For one, he’s no longer racing for Bryant. Nelson signed Hall to compete in the team’s No. 22 Toyota in both the CARS Tour and the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown in 2024.

Hall has delivered a win and seven top fives in nine CARS Tour races, and with a victory at South Boston Speedway and a second at Langley, he leads the Virginia Triple Crown standings entering the third leg, the prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway.

Hall may no longer be racing for Bryant in an official capacity, but the two remain close friends. Bryant still serves as a mentor in what feels like a big brother-little brother relationship. Hall in the wake of his championship is adamant about avoiding complacency, and Bryant continues to aid in that regard, as well.

“He‘s a big part of keeping [my car] fast every weekend and just continuing his mentorship with me,” Hall said. “Just working harder to keep status quo. We had such a great year last year, I didn‘t want to be a one-hit wonder.

“The No. 1 thing is just keep making sure we keep grinding.”

That’s the mentality Hall maintains as he breaks into the Truck Series. He’s motivated to make NASCAR racing his occupation rather than his hobby.

And considering how well Hall has performed on the track while juggling a full-time job selling boats, one can only imagine how he might progress if given the opportunity to make his race craft his sole professional focus.

“It would be a dream come true, just to be able to wake up every day and focus on racing,” Hall said when asked where he sees himself in five years. “Cup would be sweet. A five-year timeline, theoretically, it‘s achievable. But it would be a huge blessing just to be able to make it to any of the national series.”

Fortunately for Hall, his Truck Series debut arrives as he’s hitting his stride as a racer. When he began focusing on his fitness earlier this year, he didn’t know enhanced endurance would be put to use in what will be the longest race mileage-wise of his career to date.

If Hall has it his way, the Truck Series race at Richmond on Aug. 10 will be the springboard he’s been seeking for almost a decade. And his next cheat meal — perhaps a sushi tower devoured for lunch on Aug. 11 — will be celebratory.

“I‘m just your local hometown guy who has had some success at the regional level,” Hall said. “I’ve worked pretty hard with some good partners to make this opportunity happen. I‘m obviously hoping to leave a positive impact and make the most of it.

“This is a huge deal for a guy like me.”