MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 14, 2025) – So far in his career at JR Motorsports, Connor Hall is batting .750.
Hall drove the No. 88 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet to a tight victory over Mini Tyrrell in the zMAX CARS Tour’s initial visit to Cordele (Ga.) Motor Speedway on Saturday night, holding off a determined Tyrell over all 125 laps. It was Hall’s second CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car triumph this season (New River All-American Speedway on March 1) and the third with JRM dating back to last year’s Fall Brawl at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway in his first start for the team.
The only one he did not win so far came in March at Wake County Speedway when Tyrrell held him off in a stirring late-race battle.
Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving the No. 8 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet, qualified 15th and ran his usual steady pace to sit in the top five with 20 laps remaining in the event, only to have the car ahead of him miss a shift on a restart.
The impact was more than enough to end the night for the NASCAR Hall of Famer, with significant damage to the front end of the Chevrolet relegating him to 21st at the finish.
Starting second to Tyrrell, Hall spent most of the first half of the feature sorting out the line around the .400-mile oval and keeping tabs on the polesitter. Comparing aspects of Cordele’s layout to both Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway and Florence (S.C.) Motor Speedway, Hall traded the lead with Tyrrell early and the two stayed nose to tail for much of the race.
Late in the race, with Hall in the lead, Earnhardt Jr. was swept up in a crash off Turn 2 that saw him stopped at the top of the corner as cars spilled over the banking. Regrouping, Earnhardt Jr. remained in the top 10 through a spate of caution flags.
On the restart with five to go, Earnhardt Jr. was on the gas hard headed to Turn 1 when Carson Loftin missed the shift from third to fourth with the No. 8 hard on the gas behind him. The impact caved in the front end of Earnhardt Jr.’s machine, ending his night in 21st position.
With the end of the race filled with caution flags, it came down to the final restart with Hall and Tyrrell at the front of the field. Hall nailed the restart with the lead into Turn 1 and held his ground to earn his second CARS Tour LMSC victory of the season.
Tyrrell was second, followed by Landon Huffman, Landen Lewis and Connor Jones in the top five.
Next race for Hall and the JR Motorsports Late Model team is set for April 26 at North Carolina’s Orange County Speedway.
Connor Hall, driver, No. 88 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet:
“I don’t exactly know what clicked, but I guess watching Mini (Tyrrell) drive away from me the previous 50 laps made me decide to move up the track. I’m really glad we did, because this was a completely different race car when we moved up. It (the battle with Tyrrell) was a race between veterans. We never touched, just good, hard racing. I am with the best group possible at JRM. I have the best chassis, the best motors, the best sponsor in Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops. Shoutout to my motor man, David West. He gave me an amazing piece, Hedgecock Racing Chassis, I could go on and on. This one is pretty big. I feel like we really had to earn that one 15 times. I was really happy to see the checkered flag. It is super awesome to win the inaugural event here at Cordele. This is a first-class facility.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver, No. 8 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet:
“I’m happy and had fun. I got to drive my car and I hate that I didn’t get a good result out of it. I was sitting there in fifth and just wanted to get it home. The car in front of me missed a shift and I was right there. Connor (Hall) is awesome and he’s going to do a good job with us.”
