Connor Hall embarking on blessed journey with JR Motorsports

It’s not apples to apples but Connor Hall has joined the JR Motorsports Late Model Stock program and very much wants to follow the trail blazed by now Cup Series contender Josh Berry.

To wit, Berry is 34 and in his second full-time season at the NASCAR Cup Series level but was still racing short tracks for JR Motorsports when he was the 27-year-old that Hall is now. That doesn’t mean that Hall is expecting to make it to Sundays too but there is a standard driving the No. 88 that was established before him.

It’s something to aspire to.

“First of all, I’m just blessed, right,” said Hall on Friday before the first CARS Tour practice day of the season at New River All American Speedway. “I just never really thought I would get this type of opportunity.”

Hall had just got done chatting with Barry Nelson, his team owner from last year, so their season together last year that produced five victories (both NASCAR and CARS Tour sanctioned) and a runner-up championship result was front of mind.

“Obviously, what Barry did for me was kind of … I said the same thing when that happened,” Hall said. “Both were definitely unexpected. But I’m very fortunate and thankful to have been presented with the opportunity from Dale (Earnhardt) Jr, Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) and LW (Miller); Chevrolet and everybody else at JRM and (crew chief, team manager) Bryan (Shaffer).

“For me, this season is just about execution and becoming, and I know I’m not a rookie but I don’t feel like I’ve gained that super savvy veteran status. I keep saying the word ‘savvy’ because that’s what I want to transform into this season.”

This is where he made the comparison to Berry.

“I want to go from my Connor Hall era to kind of a Josh Berry or someone, and I only use Josh as the example because he won a lot of races when he was younger,” Hall said. “But then, as he got older, that’s when I really saw him get to work. I want to get to work and see what dividends that pays me down the road.”

Hall is so enamored with this opportunity, when asked about the culture at JR Motorsports, because he is also a truly paid race car driver for the first time in his career.

“So it’s always just been like, my culture’s been, ‘hey dad, hey best friend, hey all my friends, we’re going racing this weekend’ and now it’s work, my job,” Hall said. “Bryan is my boss and I report to LW, Kelley and Dale. It was a job at first.

“But now, I’ve kind of been woven into this well-knit unit. They’re already a well-oiled machine but I’m the new gear. We’re already spinning pretty good. I’ve got the hang of it and I come into work every day and I don’t need to ask where something is. Everything is all about reps and the more we do everything together, the better off we’ll be.”

Hall first joined JRM the week of Halloween and won the Fall Brawl at Hickory all after Carson Kvapil took his two championships and graduated to the Xfinity Series program. They also ran the Icebreaker at Florence earlier in the month. But these are the races that count the most. Hall, a two-time NASCAR Weekly Series National Champion, wants so much to add a CARS Tour title to his resume.

“We’re still in that phase where Bryan and I are still learning each other,” Hall said. “I kind of have figured out how he operates and he’s still trying to figure out what it takes to make me happy inside of the car.

“We tried some things today while also trying to figure out this new tire. I know we had the Icebreaker but this is a whole different ball game. I don’t want to say the work is paying off because that’s to be decided but we are reaping the benefits of our preparation. And most importantly, win, lose or draw, I’ve learned very quickly that this is a group I want to go to war with and I’m excited to see what the year holds.”