Connor Hall will be looking for his second straight win when the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour rolls into South Boston Speedway on Saturday night, September 14 for the Autos By Nelson 280.
Hall, the leader of the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour point standings, won the 200-lap Late Model Stock Car Division race on June 29 at South Boston Speedway and has a chance to make it two wins in a row in the 125-lap race that will be part of the Autos By Nelson 280 on Saturday night, September 14.
“It would be awesome,” Hall said of the possibility of winning the upcoming race at South Boston Speedway. “Winning any CARS Tour race is awesome, let alone winning another race at South Boston Speedway.
The win in the 200-lap race that annually serves as the track’s showcase Late Model Stock Car Division event gives Hall confidence heading into the September 14 event.
“All things are pointing to a good event for us,” Hall remarked. “We had a really good effort there and we all feel good about it. The CARS Tour is such a competitive series that you don’t want to get cart too far ahead of the horse as far as confidence goes. We just need to focus on exactly what I need out of the racecar like we did at the 200, just stay true to that process. Hopefully that prevails the same way it back in June.”
One major difference for Hall between the June race at South Boston Speedway and the upcoming race on September 14 is that he will be racing on a different tire. South Boston Speedway utilizes the Hoosier ST2 tire for its Late Model Stock Car Division races. The zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour had also been using that tire but has now switched to the softer Hoosier F45 tire.
“I feel we have a really good package there at South Boston and hopefully we will be really competitive,” Hall said. “I’ve never run the (Hoosier) F45s there. We’re obviously going to have to make the swings to make the new tire work.”
Hall has put together a great season on the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour with a win, two pole wins, 10 Top-5 finishes. He has completed 99.8 percent of the laps run this season and his average finish of 6.5 is the best among the drivers in the top 30 of the tour point standings and among drivers that have three or more starts.
Only three races remain in the zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour season. Entering the September 14 race at South Boston Speedway Hall holds a slim three-point lead over Brenden ‘Butterbean” Queen with Mini Tyrell occupying third place 30 points down, Brent Crews sitting in fourth place 36 points out of the lead and the series’ most recent winner, Ryan Millington, rounding out the top five in the standings, 39 points out of the lead.
“It’s going to be a three-race shoot-out for us the rest of the year,” Hall pointed out. “I think we (he and Queen) both are going to have a pretty good piece there at South Boston. We just want to race it out hard, go at it admirably, and let the best team and driver win.”
For his part, Hall is not stressing over the close points battle.
“I’m not sitting there trying to stress the points week-in and week-out,” Hall explained. “I go to the racetrack to win races. I think if you run well enough and win races that the championship should be a by-product of that performance.”
In addition to the 125-lap zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour race fans will see a 100-lap race for the zMAX CARS Pro Late Model Tour, a 30-lap race for the INEX Legend Car Series, and a 25-lap race for the competitors of the Virginia Mini Cup Racing Association.
Keelan Harvick, the 11-year-old son of NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick, and a number of the region’s top INEX U.S. Legend Car competitors will compete in the 30-lap INEX Legend Car race that will mark the first INEX U.S. Legend Car race at the speedway since 2012.
Advance tickets for the Autos by Nelson 280 CARS Tour event are priced at $17 each. Advance tickets may be purchased online on South Boston Speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com or by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours.
Tickets at the gate on race day will be $20 each. Seniors ages 65 and older, military, healthcare workers, and students (with ID) can purchase tickets for $17 each at the gate on race day.
The Saturday, September 14 event schedule has frontstretch grandstand gates opening at 10 a.m. Backstretch and trackside parking gates will open at 3 p.m. Qualifying will start at 4 p.m. Pre-race ceremonies will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the first race will get the green flag at 7 p.m.
Information about the September 14 Autos By Nelson 280 CARS Tour event at South Boston Speedway and all of the speedway’s events can be found on the speedway’s website, www.southbostonspeedway.com, by calling the speedway office at 434-572-4947 or toll free at 1-877-440-1540 during regular business hours, and through the track’s social media channels.
South Boston Speedway PR
