Can Late Model Lightning Strike Again for JRM at Martinsville?

The annual ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway is the crown jewel of pavement Late Model Stock Car racing in the Southeast.

JR Motorsports has been strong on the .526-mile paperclip in recent seasons, winning two signature grandfather clocks and adding a pair of milestones to its already awesome resume.

Virginia native Connor Hall will attempt to make it a hat trick on Saturday night as he and the No. 88 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Chevrolet team attack the racy oval in this year’s edition.

He’ll also be seeking the Virginia Triple Crown, having won at South Boston Speedway in June and finishing second in the Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway in July. The annual state championship is one of the most coveted trophies in the Late Model ranks.

Hall has been here before, as recently as last season when he was in the same position, leading the points. Unfortunately, the quest ended with a mechanical failure and he was denied both a clock and a state title.

“Winning at Martinsville is the main goal, and the Triple Crown is a really nice bonus,” Hall said. “If you go and win the race, you’ll win the Triple Crown. We’re preparing to win the race and not worry about points racing. I was in the exact same position last year, had it pretty much locked up, and then blew up.”

Winning at Martinsville in any capacity is difficult. The extra distance, the increased emphasis on being a crown-jewel event in the discipline and getting the signature trophy all contribute to that. For his part, Hall has boiled it down to a couple of items.

“Track position, just surviving the heat race and the attrition, and getting track position when it is needed. You also need to conserve your equipment and be in contention to win it at the halfway break,” he said. “Make good adjustments on that break so you can go try to lead the last 100 laps. I’m just going in hoping to win a clock and hopefully the points take care of themselves.”

Should he do so, it would check a rather big box on his list of to-dos in the LMSC ranks.

“(Winning the race) would be incredible, and it’s one of the last things on my checklist for my career in Late Model Stock Cars,” he said. “I’ve just had really good cars and really bad luck. Hopefully we can right all that this year and go from there.”

JRM’s recent dominance at Martinsville started in 2019 when Josh Berry blitzed the field for a dominant victory, setting a track record in qualifying and leading every lap from the pole on the way to victory.

When Berry left the Late Model ranks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Carson Kvapil took over the seat and was particularly effective in his three starts at Martinsville, finishing second, third and first in his three starts and capping last season with his own grandfather clock.

Following this weekend’s event, there’s business to be done in the zMAX CARS Tour for Hall, team manager and crew chief Bryan Shaffer and the Late Model team at JRM. Hall trails by 18 points in the driver standings with two races remaining in the season (Oct. 4 at North Carolina’s Tri-County Speedway and Oct. 18 at North Wilkesboro Speedway).

“With two races left, we have to go try to win two races,” Hall said. “We’ve had some bad luck and just need to do our thing.”