DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 24, 2024) – The path to the title may have been different this year versus last, but at the end the results were the same, as Langley Speedway-based Connor Hall captured his second consecutive NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship.

A year after Hall became the first Langley driver to win the championship in the top division of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series in the 74-year history of the track, he became the first to repeat. The feeling was just as sweet the second time around.

“It’s something that I never thought I would ever hear once, let alone twice,” Hall said when asked what it meant to now be called a two-time NASCAR champion. “It feels great. It feels a little different this year than last year because last year I was stumbling upon the opportunity to get close to charge after the championship. This year there was a lot more planning involved, and we did so much work on the front end of the season to get ready for it.”

His approach to the 2024 title was planned out and methodical, as the 27-year old driver now knew what it took to win a NASCAR championship. Hall won 18 total races this year, and finished second in five of his other eight races in the series, finishing in the top 10 in every race he ran.

Two of the highlights of Hall’s season came in Virginia Triple Crown races. After having to start from the rear following a flat tire in qualifying, Hall charged through a highly competitive field to take the win in the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway. He then went on to finish second in the Hampton Heat 200 at his home track of Langley Speedway against another tough lineup.

With success comes opportunity, and it was one of those opportunities that created the need for planning out the 2024 Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship battle when Hall joined Nelson Motorsports to also make a CARS Tour championship run this year.

“I knew how everything worked, I knew how the points system worked and I knew what I needed to do better than last year,” said Hall. “I knew I couldn’t withdraw from any CARS Tour events because of my commitment with Nelson so I knew it was going to take more planning. Luckily all of that paid off.

“It all sounds great on paper, but everyone forgets one little point – you can do all the planning you want, but if you’re not winning the races, your efforts are wasted. I was glad to continue to see our cars perform how they did last year and continue to make them better.”

Hall began racing out of a small family-owned team out of his dad’s garage with a team comprised of friends and family. And he once again ran most of the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championship season out of that same small garage, with the exception of a select few races – including the Virginia Triple Crown races at South Boston Speedway and Langley Speedway. Those races were run with Nelson Motorsports.

A year ago, after winning his first NASCAR championship, Hall said, “I started Late Model racing in my dad’s garage, and we won a national championship out of the same garage.”

And now he’s won two out of that family-owned operation.

“Connor exemplifies what our goal is with the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and that’s to showcase rising talent in our grassroots programs,” said Joseph Dennewitz, Managing Director of NASCAR Regional. “He grew as a racer both on and off the track and has been an excellent ambassador for the Weekly Series as he chased back-to-back titles.”

In addition to winning the Weekly Series national championship, Hall also won the Southeast Region and Virginia state titles.

“Connor has made a name for himself as a consistent winner on NASCAR’s home tracks,” said Bruce Starnes, Advance Auto Parts’ executive vice president and chief merchant. “He is a tremendous driver and someone who has a bright future in the sport. We congratulate Connor and his family on another incredible season and capturing back-to-back NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series championships.”

Advance Auto Parts, a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider, will mark five years as the entitlement partner with the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series next season.

The complete list of regional and state Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champions and Jostens Rookie of the Year awards, as well as the champions of the other national divisions, will be released in the coming days.

The Late Model Stock Car season isn’t over, yet, for Hall. He heads to the track this weekend for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway – the nation’s biggest, richest and most prestigious NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race and the final race in the Virginia Triple Crown finale, on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7:00 p.m. Practice and qualifying begin at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 27.

Hall leads the standings in the Virginia Triple Crown with a 1.5 average finish in the first two races after winning at South Boston and finishing second at his home track of Langley.

Two-time Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series national champion (2005, 2021) Peyton Sellers currently sits in second in the Virginia Triple Crown standings after finishing fourth and third at South Boston and Langley, respectively.

Hall is also still chasing the CARS Tour championship with two races to go in that season, in which he holds a one-point lead over Brenden “Butterbean” Queen.

About NASCAR 

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 14 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR sanctions races in three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series™), four international series (NASCAR Brasil Series, NASCAR Canada Series, NASCAR Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour) and a local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in five cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races annually in 11 countries and more than 30 U.S. states. 

For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and Snapchat. 

About Advance Auto Parts

Advance Auto Parts, Inc. is a leading automotive aftermarket parts provider that serves both professional installers and do-it-yourself customers. As of July 13, 2024, Advance operated 4,776 stores and 321 Worldpac branches primarily within the United States, with additional locations in Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The company also served 1,138 independently owned Carquest branded stores across these locations in addition to Mexico and various Caribbean islands. Additional information about Advance, including employment opportunities, customer services, and online shopping for parts, accessories and other offerings can be found at www.AdvanceAutoParts.com.

Tight Battle for $80,000 Mazda MX-5 Cup Rookie title

It’s not just the 2024 Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin Champion who will be crowned at the season finale, this year’s Rookie of the Year will be determined as well. The Rookie of the Year takes home an $80,000 check from Mazda, and maybe equally as important is the knowledge that many MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year winners go on to become series champion.

With just one race weekend and two races to go, the points are very tight. Three freshman drivers are looking to make the most of the season finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta to claim the rookie title.

Three drivers have swapped spots in the point standings, vying for Rookie of the Year honors: Westin Workman (No. 13 BSI Racing), Nathan Nicholson (No. 56 MBM Racing) and Julian DaCosta (No. 78 JTR Motorsports Engineering).

Both Workman and Nicholson were recipients of Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout scholarships. Workman took home the big prize of $110,000, while Nicholson came in second, scoring $75,000.

Workman came out of the gate swinging, leading laps in his very first race at Daytona International Speedway. He wasn’t able to convert his pace into podiums, but by Round Four at Sebring International Raceway, he could call himself a MX-5 Cup race winner.

“The hardest part has been staying consistent,” Workman said of his debut season. “I think I’ve proven to be capable of winning races and be a championship contender, but we just had a pretty bad middle season with our finishes at Laguna, and then we had an okay weekend in Mid-Ohio. I’ve had some good finishes here and there, but I’ve also had some really bad finishes, so just trying to be at least top five, every single race would have been very important for me to be more of a championship contender, outside of the rookie championship.”

Nicholson echoed Workman’s comments about consistency in his rookie season.

“Jumping up to this level of professional racing, it’s so close, especially with how equal the cars are,” Nicholson said. “You know, there’s eight people every race that can win, so just being mistake free and putting yourself in the right position to get a good result is super tough.”

In MX-5 Cup, new drivers learn very quickly that they need to work together to be successful, and not just with their teammates.

“It’s the most competitive series that you’ll find,” DaCosta said. “I would say that’s the hardest part is getting respect from everybody else. And truth is, to be fast in these cars is difficult. It’s not easy to just jump in and be super-fast.”

DaCosta had a slow start to his rookie campaign, but after a mid-season team switch, he’s been on an upward trajectory that includes a podium finish at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.

The importance of the draft was a big learning curve for the rookies. They’ve learned that patience and respect are crucial.

“This series relies on drafting, and if you don’t have the respect from the other drivers, nobody’s going to want to work with you,” Workman explained. “Respect is a big thing in this series because your teammates won’t always be around. You want to have people who respect you on the track and off the track, that are still willing to work with you during a race even if they aren’t on your team.”

“Positioning and patience with the draft and how these cars race is kind of unlike anything I’ve done before,” reflected Nicholson. “Even though I’ve done a lot of Miata racing, I think that part of it, the patience and awareness of where you are in the race and when you need to be aggressive and when you don’t need to be, is one of the biggest things I’ve learned this year.”

Naturally, the race craft needed to run up front is something MX-5 Cup teaches drivers better than any other series. It is a skill that will carry them far in their careers. The parity of the cars puts the emphasis on driver talent.

“It definitely teaches me race craft,” DaCosta said. “No doubt, every time I’m on track, it teaches me how to become a better racer.”

Coming into the final event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Workman leads DaCosta by 690 points. Nicholson is third of the rookies, a further 60 points back.

“Winning it would mean a lot,” Workman smiled. “It would prove that among the rookies, I was the most consistent throughout the year and put up good finishes. Also, the prize money is big. The $80,000 would make us feel a lot better after the season as well. It would make our efforts worth it to win the Rookie of the Year championship.”

Should he win the MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year title, Workman would follow in many other scholarship winners’ shoes, including Nate Cicero and Connor Zilisch.

DaCosta did not win a MX-5 Cup Shootout scholarship, but that would make winning Rookie of the Year mean that much more.

“Considering we were very far back after Sebring, it would mean a lot,” DaCosta said. “I think it would mean a lot to everybody, not just myself. We’ve worked extremely hard just to get back up to where we are now, so I think if we were able to do that, it would be a really big game changer for all of us.”

The quest of the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year crown comes down to the final two races of the year at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, October 9 – 11. Both races will be streamed live on the RACER and IMSA YouTube channels.

About: The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin is the signature spec series for Mazda Motorsports. The series has been operated by Andersen Promotions since 2017 and is currently sanctioned by IMSA. Mazda-powered grassroots champions can earn Mazda scholarships for this pro-level series. The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup awards more than $1 million in prizes and scholarships.

Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.

Trois-Rivières (Quebec), September 24th, 2024.- The 2024 NASCAR Canada season ended this past Sunday at Autodrome Montmagny. This thirteenth and final event of the season was also a premiere for the series, which had never before held a race on this oval in Eastern Quebec. In front of a packed grandstands, three-time series champion Louis-Philippe Dumoulin finished the race in eighth place after having to start last. This spectacular comeback concludes a season that was sometimes difficult but nevertheless crowned with a Top 5 in the final championship standings, out of more than 60 drivers.

“Montmagny is a site that I knew for testing sessions, but it was a first for me and several series’ drivers to compete there. I think the NASCAR Canada series put on an excellent show and for me, it was interesting. The bump at the exit of turn 4 was a bit of a worry but it didn’t stop me from testing several different racing lines. I also really liked the atmosphere, the fans on site. Managing to hoist the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab car to eighth place overall after having to start last is also a great satisfaction,” explains Louis-Philippe Dumoulin.

After testing different settings in practice and then in qualifying, the Dumoulin Compétition team decided to work on the car after qualifying session, which automatically meant having to start from the back of the pack for the race. A wise decision, as Louis-Philippe Dumoulin explains: “We tried different settings in practice and qualifying but without being able to say WOW!, to put our finger on the optimal settings.” To fix this understeer problem that was affecting me, working on the car after qualifying was the right solution. So, I started last but I was quickly able to gain places when the race started.”

Even before the halfway point of the race, the driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab car had gained ten positions and was in the Top 10 as soon as the competition break occurred at the 130th of the 250 laps. In the second half of the race, Dumoulin fought at the front. “I never gave up, in every corner, every overtaking. I tried different lines. I think I’m the driver who went the most on the inside line, close to the wall, but it paid off,” LP Dumoulin mentions.

This eighth place allows Louis-Philippe Dumoulin to finish the championship fifth in the standings. “It wasn’t an easy season. After 5 races, I had four Top 5s and I thought I could do even better in the second half of the season, but we encountered more difficulties at that time. I had several good races, I fought at the front eight times in thirteen events and we finally collected the Top 5 in the championship. Under the circumstances, all the team members gave their best. I am proud of them, I thank them. It was still a great season, overall!” concludes the driver of the #47 WeatherTech Canada | Groupe Bellemare | Omnifab car.

ABOUT PARTNERS

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Groupe Bellemare is a 3rd generation family business that has been serving clients since 1959. Today, the company has more than 500 employees and provides them with an innovative work environment facilitating work-family balance and a healthy and safe quality of life. With over a half century of experience and its sustained R&D efforts, the Company offers high-quality products and services in areas as diverse as concrete, abrasives and minerals, dimensional load transportation, and recycling. Groupe Bellemare is also very involved in its industry and attaches great importance to its social and environmental role as a member of the business community. Groupe Bellemare makes a positive contribution to the quality of life of citizens in the communities it serves by supporting numerous social causes and promoting local purchasing through its responsible procurement practices. For more information, visit groupebellemare.com

Omnifab has joined Dumoulin Compétition in June 2023. In less than twenty years, Omnifab has made its place in the mechanical manufacturing industry in Quebec. They have earned this place by offering a unique turnkey solution to large companies and SMEs that want to modernize their production line or have their industrial equipment repaired. No matter your industry, you can count on Omnifab team to manufacture custom industrial machinery or solve your mechanical problems with great precision, in a timely manner and with quality components, as pledged. Visit omnifab.ca for more information.

Rousseau Metal has been manufacturing high-quality products for 70 years. Over the years the company become known as a leader in storage solutions. The quality, durability and reliability of their products have earned them a reputation as being among the best in the industry. Over the years, the quality of Rousseau products and excellence of the company’s business practices have been recognized through various certifications and membership in industrial and automotive organizations. To learn more about the company and its products, visit rousseau.com

Dumoulin Competition

Jean-François and Louis-Philippe Dumoulin founded the Dumoulin Competition Race Team in 2009. Working with financial, marketing, logistics and sports management experts, they built up a solid business structure. Dumoulin Competition prepares its own race cars in-house since 2016. Their motto: “Passion – Performance – Partnerships” expresses their will to perform on the track and offer their partners maximum visibility and profitability in return for their commitment. Their vision: To become Canada’s leader in motorsports through on-track performance, an entrepreneurial spirit and human values. dumoulincompetition.com