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Devin O’Connell had a successful ARCA test in the #59 Lira Motorsports car at Daytona International Speedway on January 16th.  The weekend started off with rain on Friday, January 15th, canceling the first of two scheduled days of testing.  Saturday was a much different story.  Bright sunshine, accompanied by jet dryers, helped dry the 2.5 mile super speedway and the  ARCA cars hit the high banks at 10:30 AM.

O’Connell completed the day with 48 laps under his belt a best time of 48.389 seconds at an average speed of 185.993 mph.

O’Connell stated, “It was a good test and only my second time in a full size car.  My first time out was a solo run just so I could get the feel of the car.  My spotter also had me run close to the wall to get the feel of the air between my car and the wall.  The other times I got out, I was in a pack learning  how to handle the draft.  Overall, it was a great experience, I learned a lot, and had a blast!”

O’Connell is not planning on running ARCA’s 2016 opener at, the Lucas Oil 200, at Daytona on February 13th.  However, he would working on securing marketing partners to potentially run races later on the ARCA schedule.

Video Recap and Victory Lane Interview (click to view)

(Anderson, SC)— Devin O’Connell, a Madison, CT senior, fresh off a World Championship victory on the road course in October at New Hampshire Motor Speedway has done it again. This time, O’Connell found his way to victory lane at the US Legend Cars Asphalt Nationals at Anderson Motor Speedway in Anderson, SC, on November 14^th. O’Connell was one of 34 entries from 17 states and Canada to participate in the three day Legend Cars season finale. O’Connell qualified on the pole and lead all but one lap to claim the victory along with the season long US Legends Cars Semi Pro National Title.

During the post race victory lane interview O’Connell stated, “This is one of the best races I personally think I have run. I can’t believe it. We won the World Finals race and swept it with this [win]. Thanks Anderson Speedway for having us. My Dad – we have done 90 races this season together this year. I can’t thank you enough for everything. There is nothing in the world I can do to pay you back for what you have done. Thanks CJ D’Addario from 860 Motorsports, Justin, Ed, Mom, and Reilly. Dreams come true. They can come true no matter what you have gone through and no matter what you have to do to chase it, they can come true and I am proof tonight.”

O’Connell’s unprecedented performance at both the World Finals and the Asphalt Nationals is a first in US Legend Cars 23 year history. Never before has a driver claimed the Road Course World Championship and the Asphalt (oval track) National Championship while winning both final races in the same season.

For the 2016 season, O’Connell will be joining Vermont based Hallstrom Motorsports, racing a full size late model car in the American Canadian Tour (ACT) and select Pro All Star Series (PASS) races. Recently, Devin tested the late model with Hallstrom at Speedway51 in Groveton, NH. Team owner Louis Hallstrom commented “[Devin] sat right in this thing and didn’t need to adjust anything in the car. He just took off. Some of the stuff he was doing out there, veterans can’t even get a hold of. He is a very talented driver and ready to go. It’s going to be great for 2016.”

Video recap of US Legend Cars Semi Pro World Finals at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (click to view).

Lengendary Weekend: O’Connell leads locals at Legends World Finals (click to view)

Racing Hotspot full race coverage video (click to view)

(Loudon, NH)— Devin O’Connell, a senior at Daniel Hand High School in Madison, CT, won the US Legend Cars Semi Pro World Finals road race held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 18. Heading into the World Finals weekend, O’Connell maintained a 15-point lead, accumulated during the regular season, over Jordan O’Brien from Yarmouth, Maine, and Juha Jokiaho of Finland, who were tied for second in the semi pro class. O’Connell’s victory on the New Hampshire road course Sunday cemented his title as the World Champion in the Legend Cars semi pro division.

 The World Finals features the top Legend Car drivers in the world battling it out among four different Legends Cars race classes based on age groups and skill levels including Young Lions (12-16), Semi-Pro (16-40), Masters (40 and over) and Pro (open to any age; elite skill level). Drivers from seven countries including South Africa, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Russia, United Kingdom and United States, competed over the three-day weekend of racing, beginning with practice on Friday, qualifying and heat races on Saturday and culminating with 12-lap feature races on Sunday.

O’Connell qualified on the pole Saturday for the semi pro divisional race by posting the fastest lap time during qualifying on the 1.6 mile road course. He then backed that up by finishing first in his heat race.

After qualifying, Devin was asked how he would feel to win the national championship on his home track. Devin stated, “It would mean everything. We have guys from all over the world that are very talented drivers. Winning here at my home track against these extremely talented drivers would mean the world to me.”

During the championship race on Sunday, O’Connell jumped out to an early lead only to have the lead taken from him on the second lap. O’Connell continued to drop back to 3^rd place just before the completion of lap two. Not about to give up, O’Connell fought back to regain the lead on lap four.  The remainder of the race saw a few more lead changes between O’Connell and O’Brien and plenty of exciting side-by-side racing between the two.  In the end it was O’Connell who crossed the New Hampshire Granite Stripe 0.14 seconds ahead of O’Brien.

“That was an awesome race and a really exciting race. Wow, I still can’t believe it,” said O’Connell. “Jordan and I just had a heck of a battle out there. It was so much fun to be a part of and one of my favorite races this season. I wish we could go out and do it again.”

Rounding out the top five semi pro finishing positions included a third place finish by Tommi Nyrall of Finland who was able to make a last lap pass on Noah Korner of Bloomfield, CT (4th), while Victor Vorobyev from St. Petersburg, Russia finished fifth.

Devin has had enormous personal and professional success this year.  On April 2, 2015, World Autism Day, Devin bravely announced to the racing community and to the world that he has Asperger Syndrome and conducted a charity event for Autism Services & Resources of CT, raising over $1,000 for the charity.  It is important to Devin that he show what people with challenges can accomplish.  He understands that he is fortunate to be mildly autistic and wants to be an inspiration and a voice for those who struggle across the Autism spectrum.

 In addition to Devin’s World Finals victory and Road Course World Championship, Devin won the Legend Cars track Championship at Stafford Motor Speedway this season winning 8 of the 22 races on the Stafford mini oval. He is also the current national point leader in the US Legend Cars Semi Pro oval point standings. The National Championship for oval racing will be held on November 13-14, at Anderson Speedway in Anderson, SC.

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Devin capped off the Legend Cars regular season with an overall win Saturday morning, October 3^rd, on the road course at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS). Qualifying on the pole, Devin ran up front the entire race. The cooler temperatures and ideal track conditions resulted in some fast lap times. During the 12-lap race, Devin surpassed the track record on 5 of the laps.

Video recap of NHMS road race, October 3, 2015

Devin followed up Saturday night with a second place finish at Stafford Motor Speedway. Devin had previously clinched the championship at Stafford on September 11^th.

Sunday, October 4^th was the final regular season MOAT Mountain road race at NHMS and the final day to accumulate points in the US Legend Cars Racing Series. Devin again placed his 37 Ford on the pole. He ran up front until a few laps to go, when he was passed and dropped back to 2^nd. He managed to hold on to second overall and was the first driver in his division.

Video recap of NHMS road race, October 4, 2015

The 2 divisional wins place Devin at maximum points and he is the current world point leader heading into the US Legend Cars World Road Course Finals at NHMS on October 16-18. The race will feature drives form the US, as well as, several foreign countries including Finland, South Africa, Sweden, Russia and the UK.

Stafford Motor Speedway Championship Speech 9-18-2015 (click to view)

Stafford Motor Speedway Article 9/23/2015 (click to view)

New Hampshire Motor Speedway Road Course Video Recap September 12, 2015 (click to view)

Racing Hot Spot Full Race Coverage of September 12, 2015 Moat Mountain Road Course (race starts at 11:30 time mark)

New Hampshire Motor Speedway Road Course Video Recap September 13, 2015 (click to view)

Devin O’Connell Wins 2015 Legend Cars Championship at Stafford Motor Speedway

(Stafford Springs, CT)— For Madison native and U.S. Legend Car driver Devin O’Connell, the 2015 season has been nothing short of magical. The 17-year-old Hand High School senior won the 2015 Legend Cars track championship at Stafford Motor Speedway on October 3^rd. Devin posted 8 wins, 17 top 3 finishes, and 20 top 5 finishes, in 22 starts at Stafford this season. His performance at Stafford and other tracks such as New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) has helped propel him to the top of the National Legend Cars oval racing points in the Semi-Pro division, and O’Connell is also the World Road Course point leader for the Semi-Pro division. Devin recently broke the road course track record at NHMS.

“This is a dream come true for me,” said O’Connell. “In 5 years of racing karts [at Stafford] I wasn’t able to win a championship. This is one of the most historic tracks in the country and it’s an honor to win a championship here. I couldn’t have done it without my Dad, The Chatham Highlander Motel, 860 Motorsports, all the fans who come out every week, NAPA Auto Parts, and Stafford Motor Speedway. I can’t believe I was able to pull it off; it’s incredible. We are top of the country right now on the oval and top of the world on the road course and it’s a dream come true quite honestly. I could not have had a better season.”

O’Connell, a Madison resident since 2006, spent 3 seasons racing in the Allison Legacy Touring Series in the Carolinas and Virginia. The family relocated temporarily to Charlotte, NC, so Devin could gain experience racing in the Allison Legacy Series where he was mentored by legendary NASCAR driver Donnie Allison. The O’Connell family efforts paid off, as Devin won the 2014 Allison Legacy Touring Series Championship and was shortly thereafter, named to the Speed51.com 2015 Short track Draft as one of the best short track racers in the country.

Devin has been racing since he was 9 years old, shortly after being diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome.  He lobbied his parents for nearly 4 years to let him participate in kart racing.  His parents were concerned if he would be able to deal with the loud noises and stress.  It was just the opposite.  Once Devin got behind the wheel in his first race, he never looked back and he has become one of the nation’s top young drivers.

Devin has had enormous personal and professional success this year.  On April 2, 2015, World Autism Day, Devin bravely announced to the racing community and to the world that he has Asperger Syndrome and conducted a charity event for Autism Services & Resources of CT, raising over $1,000 for the charity.  It is important to Devin that he show what people with challenges can accomplish.  He understands that he is fortunate to be mildly autistic and wants to be an inspiration and a voice for those who struggle across the Autism spectrum.

Now that the regular season has ended, O’Connell will head into the post season with hopes of winning the US Legend Cars World Road Racing Championship at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on October 17-18, and the US Legend Cars National Oval Championship on November 13-14, at Anderson Speedway in Anderson, SC.

For the 2016 season, Devin will be joining the newly formed New England based Driver Development Program with Vermont based Hallstrom Motorsports. The plan is to race a late model car in the American Canadian Tour (ACT) and select Pro All Star Series (PASS) races.  The partnership was formed with the help of Annamarie Strawhand from Marketing at Full Speed, and the trio are actively seeking marketing partnership opportunities with New England based companies to help secure funding for the venture. Recently, Devin tested the late model with Hallstrom at Speedway51 in Groveton, NH. Team owner Louis Hallstrom commented, “[Devin] sat right in this thing and didn’t need to adjust anything in the car. He just took off. Some of the stuff he was doing out there, veterans can’t even get a hold of. He is a very talented driver and ready to go. It’s going to be great for 2016.”

To learn more about Devin visit his website at www.DevinOConnellRacing.com, Facebook/DevinOConnellRacing and Twitter: @_DevinOConnell.

RACEDAYCT article:

Devin O’Connell On The Verge Of Legend Cars Track Championship At Stafford Speedway

Stories from Victory Lane with Host Matt Buckler (click to watch video)