HAMPTON, Va. — After being away from the zMAX CARS Tour for the first five races of the season, Connor Hall’s return to the platform at his home track of Langley Speedway went about as efficiently as it could.
The 2023 Late Model Stock champion at Langley, Hall brought out his iconic blue Toyota for the Visit Hampton Virginia 125 that had visited victory lane at the track numerous times over the years. One noticeable difference on Hall’s car was the number, as he utilized the No. 12 instead of his usual No. 77 as part of a collaborative effort with Nelson Motorsports.
Hall had to endure challenges from polesitter Doug Barnes Jr. and eventually Landen Lewis on Saturday evening before taking control of the 125-lap feature. Several late cautions brought Lewis back into the equation and made fuel a concern, but Hall withstood the pressure and ended up celebrating another win in front of the local Langley crowd.
Regarding the CARS Tour, Hall’s triumph was his eighth in the Late Model Stock division, moving him solely into fifth on the all-time wins list and ahead of his long-time Langley rival Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen. Three of those checkered flags for Hall have occurred at Langley, with two of them being under the Nelson Motorsports banner.
“I’m tired of all these young kids in the race shop at Niece calling me unc,” Hall said. “I had to come show them unc’s still got it a bit. I race with such a great group of guys. [It’s great being] teammates with Landen [Lewis], Parker [Eatmon] and a bunch of these other guys out here. To be able to come out on off weekends and play together, it’s super fun.”
The onslaught of yellow flags in the closing stages of the Visit Hampton Virginia 125 kept giving Lewis plenty of chances to usurp Connor Hall for the lead.
Lewis had led earlier in the evening but was unable to match the pace of Hall, who settled into a comfortable rhythm out front. Not wanting to take any unnecessary risks, Lewis raced Hall aggressively but respectfully, which ultimately ended with him earning a solid points night in the runner-up position.
“At the end of the day, I didn’t want to be that guy to wreck [Hall],” Lewis said. “I’m starting to mature at my old age where I’m tired of fixing race cars. [I’m thankful for] everyone that helps us out on my opportunity with Kevin Harvick Inc. I want to thank Kevin and DeLana [Harvick] for everything they do for me.”
Although qualifying has not been a strength of Caden Kvapil and JR Motorsports in 2026, they continue to excel in race conditions.
Kvapil was tasked with climbing from the 15th starting position in Saturday’s Visit Hampton Virginia 125, only to find himself in third at the end of the night. Despite this, Kvapil believed he could have performed better in his first trip to Langley Speedway but was more than satisfied to come home with a solid points night.
“All night, we just kind of struggled with the car,” Kvapil said. “We got up to the top five and were content with where we were at. That last long run, I thought we were going to go to the checkered and I was going to be fine with it. A lot of chaos at the end, but luckily, we were able to stay out of it for the most part.”
The finish:
Connor Hall, Landen Lewis, Caden Kvapil, Carson Brown, Treyten Lapcevich, Carson Loftin, Parker Eatmon, Donovan Strauss, Chase Burrow, Jake Bollman, Chase Burgeson, Landon Huffman, Jace Hale, Matthew Waltz, Conner Jones, Aiden King, Ayden Millette, Chad McCumbee, Brandon Pierce, Doug Barnes Jr., Landon S. Huffman, London McKenzie, Mason Bailey, Ryan Matthews, Trey Crews, Derek Kraus, Matt Gould, Ryley Music, Ronnie Bassett Jr., Chris Horton Jr.
