A new version of the “great eight” now can be attributed to Connor Hall.
The Hampton native won the twin 75-lap featured races Saturday night at Langley Speedway in his hometown. They were the seventh and eighth Late Model events that have counted in Langley’s 2023 standings, and Hall has won all of them.
Before the season, Hall was believed to be forgoing a championship run because he is running the CARS Tour full-time, but he has built a large lead in the standings.
In Saturday’s opener, Hall won by 0.919 of a second over Greg Edwards in what became a two-man competition. Ryan Matthews was third, 14.667 seconds behind Hall. Just half of the 16 starters ended on the lead lap in a race that lasted more than 21 minutes.
In the encore, which took more than 37 minutes, Hall outran runner-up Nick Smith by 597-thousandths of a second. Edwards was third and Matthews fourth.
In Saturday’s other races:
Grand Stock: Paul Lubno and Tim Wilson each earned 20-lap victories in races with eight drivers apiece.
In the opener, Lubno held off Wilson by 350-thousandths of a second to prevail in just less than 8 1/2 minutes. Bill Eaker placed third among the eight competitors, 1.427 seconds off the lead.
Wilson responded by winning the division’s second duel of the evening, with Lubno second and Eaker again third. Wilson owns two Grand Stock victories in three races for the year.
Super Street: Sammy Gaita took the checkered flag in a 40-lap event that took almost 16 minutes. He became the fourth victor in the division’s five races this year.
Points leader Gordon Weeks III was the runner-up, 0.559 seconds behind, and Dale Nichols finished third among 13 drivers to remain his closest pursuer in the standings. Gaita began the evening fifth in points.
Super Truck: Hunter Waltrip earned a 25-lap triumph in less than 27 minutes, adding to his standings lead by finishing 0.488 of a second ahead of runner-up Rick Poust. It was Waltrip’s third win in five Super Truck races this year.
Donald Brown took third among 14 starters, 3.574 seconds from the lead. Bill Wallace, who opened the program sharing the points lead with Waltrip, placed fourth.
UCAR: Hayden Sheldon zoomed to a 25-lap victory over more than 13 1/2 minutes, cruising past Dustin Connor by 3.604 seconds. Bill Eaker was next in the field of 13, 3.897 from the front.
It was the second triumph of the year by Sheldon, who already owned the points lead.
Champ Kart: Jeffrey Johnson edged Timmy Waltrip by a minuscule 26-thousandths of a second to win a 20-lap race that took about 10 1/2 minutes.
John Snyder was a distant third, 2.873 seconds off the lead, and all but two of the 10 drivers finished on the lead lap.
Johnson began the night five points behind leader Ryan Hudgins, who placed fourth.
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Saturday’s leaders at Langley Speedway, with car numbers in parentheses.
Late Model 75 #1: (16 starters); 1. (77) Connor Hall; 2. (21) Greg Edwards; 3. (51) Ryan Matthews; 4. (31) Cole Bruce; 5. (55) Mark Wertz.
Late Model 75 #2: (16 starters); 1. (77) Connor Hall; 2. (12) Nick Smith; 3. (21) Greg Edwards; 4. (51) Ryan Matthews; 5. (41) Woody Howard.
Super Street 40: (13 starters); 1. (21) Sammy Gaita; 2. (20) Gordon Weeks III; 3. (8) Dale Nichols; 4. (44) Colby Vance; 5. (30) Jonathan White.
Grand Stock 20 #1: (8 starters); 1. (14) Paul Lubno; 2. (17) Tim Wilson; 3. (29) Bill Eaker; 4. (22) Mike Parker; 5. (47) Nate Lundin.
Grand Stock 20 #2: (8 starters); 1. (17) Tim Wilson; 2. (14) Paul Lubno; 3. (29) Bill Eaker; 4. (8) Ethan Hartman; 5. (22) Mike Parker.
Super Truck 25: (14 starters); 1. (33) Hunter Waltrip; 2. (9) Rick Poust; 3. (05) Donald Brown; 4. (19) Bill Wallace; 5. (57) Chris Bechtel.
UCAR 25: (11 starters); 1. (13) Hayden Sheldon; 2. (32) Dustin Connor; 3. (22) Bill Eaker; 4. (36) Tyler Borden; 5. (6) Christian Keller.
Champ Kart 20: (10 starters); 1. (30) Jeffrey Johnson; 2. (17) Timmy Waltrip; 3. (06) John Snyder; 4. (4) Ryan Hudgins; 5. (46) David Phelps.
