Mosack Relishes Recent JR Motorsports Homecoming

Connor Mosack (John Harrelson/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Connor Mosack’s limited time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage this season has felt like a homecoming, but this weekend at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, the 25-year-old comes home in more ways than one.

Not only is the Charlotte native competing at his hometown racetrack, but it’s Mosack’s second and final Xfinity Series start this year with JR Motorsports, rekindling a relationship with the team that dates back to his late model days from 2019-’21.

It was during that period that Mosack began to push his name into the national spotlight, racing the full zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour season for the team in 2020 and earning rookie-of-the-year honors with a sixth-place finish in the point standings.

Mosack used that time with JR Motorsports as a launching pad, eventually joining Toyota Racing Development for a two-year stint starting in 2022 with both Joe Gibbs Racing and Sam Hunt Racing.

But this season has brought about a shift in Mosack’s racing efforts, trimming back his schedule and focusing on events in premier equipment where he knows he can contend to win races, and JR Motorsports’ Xfinity Series program fit that bill.

“When you think about the Xfinity Series, JR Motorsports is one of those brands that you instantly bring to the forefront of your mind,” Mosack told Motorsports Hotspot in an exclusive interview ahead of the Drive for the Cure 250. “Having the tie to them from when I raced their late model … putting these couple of races together just really made sense to all of us.”

Mosack debuted with JRM’s No. 88 Chevrolet team at the Chicago (Ill.) Street Race in July, finishing sixth in a quiet but impressive performance, much like his driving style was on short tracks earlier in his career.

“It has been good to be back for sure,” said Mosack of reuniting with co-owners Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and L.W. Miller. “I enjoyed my time with them in late models … would have liked to have, maybe, a little bit better results at that time, but it got me started and got me in front of some of the right people who helped get my career going in a bigger direction.

“I feel like getting back to the team in the Xfinity car has been good so far,” he added. “We had really good speed in Chicago, and everybody on the team was welcoming and really helped me get settled into a good place. I feel like I have a good relationship with [crew chief] Andrew Overstreet, and the goal is to build on what we had in Chicago and be that much better this time around.”

How does Mosack define better?

“I definitely feel like we should have a shot to contend for the win, honestly,” he admitted. “At Chicago, I feel like we were a third-place car, at worst. I think we had a chance there, if strategy had played out a little bit differently. Here [at the ROVAL], you take that same scenario minus Kyle Larson … and we know who the guys are that are going to be good. You’ve got SVG [Shane van Gisbergen], Sam [Mayer] … AJ [Allmendinger] is always good there, and the same with Justin [Allgaier].

“So, there’s those guys that we know we’re going to have to beat, and I feel like we were able to run right there with them the last time I was in the car. There’s no reason, I think, to believe that we can’t go out and do that again,” Mosack continued. “It’s going to be tough, for sure, especially with some guys trying to get some [stage] points … but, hopefully, we can flip the stages and have some track position when it counts.”

In addition to racing in front of his local fanbase, Mosack is also getting to represent a longtime sponsor of his career in the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, which joins Apollo Pex as a major partner on the No. 88 at the ROVAL.

Mosack has been a supporter of FOJ’s efforts to enrich the lives of children battling pediatric cancer for multiple years, and he tipped that it’s a cause which remains close to his heart.

Connor Mosack in action Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. (Jacob Seelman photo)

“The association with FOJ has been really special, going back to the late model days with JRM, honestly,” said Mosack. “Through the program we were able to adopt a young boy named Bryson and his family … and thankfully he’s back in remission and doing well, but we’re also looking a doing something in the new year coming up as well.

“I have such a great relationship with Denis Murphy, who started the organization, and it’s really great to be able to continue that like we have,” he added. “It’s meaningful to give them such a prominent spot on our car, especially at home, and even though we’ve worked with them in the [Craftsman] Truck Series this year the ROVAL is definitely the biggest race we’ve done alongside FOJ so far.

“Hopefully, some good can come out of it and we can continue to raise awareness around the fight against pediatric cancer … because that’s really what this is all about.”

As for his future beyond the ROVAL, Mosack tipped that he’s “got a really good opportunity” that he’s considering for 2025 and that “if everything plays out right, we’ll have a lot more consistent spot to be at [next year].”

That goes back to the beginning of this season, where Mosack bet on himself to pick and choose his opportunities. At least so far, it’s a strategy that has paid off.

“We didn’t run as much this year as we did last year, but they’ve all … for the most part been better opportunities, with equipment that performs consistently at a high level,” he noted. “I feel we’ve been able to use those opportunities to get some good results.

“I still could have been better, but how we ran in the races has been better than how we finished in a lot of cases. There’s still some learning being done, but there also have been some unfortunate circumstances and things that just didn’t play out the right way.

“But it has led to some good things for next year, and I’m really excited about that.”