NASCAR
Brandon Jones Busts 98-Race Losing Skid at Darlington
DARLINGTON, S.C. – One of the shortest races on the Xfinity Series calendar did not lack in action. A very popular winner also made Saturday a special moment. Restarting late behind guys on older tires, Brandon Jones navigated his way through traffic the quickest. The 20 was able to maintain his lead as laps ticked off. The second-stint Joe Gibbs Racing driver goes back to victory lane for the first time in 98 races.
From the opening laps, Justin Allgaier was a man on a max-points mission. Aside from Harrison Burton getting by for Stage 1 on fresh tires, the first half belonged to driver No. 7.
Stage 3 saw Ross Chastain get the upper hand over Allgaier on the restart. The 7 did not fade far back, however. A late yellow saw close to a half-dozen drivers stay out on old tires. As a result, the running order was shuffled for a 12-lap dash to the checkers. Brandon Jones restarted third and fought off all challengers for this long-awaited triumph.
“It’s all for my confidence but it’s nice to prove some haters and some that said I wasn’t capable wrong again,” Jones said. “This race team has had it coming for a long time. Sam McAulay is one heck of a crew chief. He had so many seconds last year, I’m glad I got that off my back to get him a win as a crew chief.”
“This place is freaking awesome, I love coming to Darlington, second win, this is huge momentum. I knew we were on a high, just didn’t know if it was going to happen. Turtle Wax, Menards, thank you so much for sticking with me throughout my career. We’re going to celebrate this one big.”
“It’s a group effort, it’s not just me. I put loads and loads of time and effort into being mentally tough. To come off of two tough years that I just had with no wins. To come back in the No. 20 car with my dad here this weekend, it’s his first win he gets to see, it’s a lot of emotion. But this is tons of late nights, going to bed past midnight, lot of staying tough and continuing to grind this out to get a first win here for the season.”
Brandon Jones beat out some very stiff competition, with Chase Elliott, Justin Allgaier, Ross Chastain, and Carson Kvapil all right on his heels. The rest of the top-10 were: Connor Zilisch, Christian Eckes, Nick Sanchez, Sammy Smith, and Sheldon Creed. Hear from a few of these drivers below.
Xfinity cars will return to action Saturday from Bristol Motor Speedway. Like Homestead a few weeks ago, Kyle Larson will drive the Hendrick No. 17 in a tripleheader sweep attempt. The past Bristol Cup Series winner will be a heavy favorite in all three races. The SciApps 300 goes green at 5 p.m. ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to James Gilbert/Getty Images
