CONCORD, N.C. – After moving to Joe Gibbs Racing for his third season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Brandon Jones has seemingly become a new man.
Jones has taken flight with his No. 19 Toyota team, scoring six top-10 finishes and a pole at Dover (Del.) Int’l Speedway in the first 10 races of the season, in addition to contending for victory in both of his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts with Kyle Busch Motorsports this year as well.
The 21-year-old Atlanta, Ga., native has led 148 laps already in 2018 – more than double what he led in his first 71 Xfinity Series starts combined.
His six-pack of top-10s has already doubled what he scored during the entire 2017 season with RCR, and is halfway to equaling the mark of 12 top-10 finishes he set during his rookie year there in 2016.
Jones stressed following a third-place finish in last week’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 for the Truck Series at Charlotte Motor Speedway that he feels the people surrounding him in his new situation have created a chemistry that has elevated his enthusiasm and performance.
Contending for wins hasn’t hurt his cause either.
“Running up front will change your attitude, man,” Jones told SPEED SPORT. “I think what’s really boosted me is everyone that’s behind me 100 percent right now. I think part of it too is the learning and teaching that I’ve had. Working with (crew chief) Chris Gabehart and all the support I’ve had from JGR and Toyota has been amazing.”
Jones added that now that things are rolling between him and his team, things are starting to compound and the improvement has become more noticeable.
He dominated the Xfinity Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April before being passed late in the going by teammate Ryan Preece, and also led 33 laps in the tour’s most recent race at Dover on May 5.
“I think we’re really starting to click together,” said Jones of his JGR squad. “I think there’s a lot of effort right now going on with myself, personally … and especially with our Xfinity program as well. Chris Gabehart has been doing a really good job of teaching me a lot of things and getting my racing IQ up. We’ve been having a lot of meetings and having a lot of simulator time at TRD, so we’ve been putting 24 hours into it just about every single day this entire year. It’s starting to pay off here little by little.
“We’re starting to work ourselves into the top five. I had a couple shots a few weeks ago to really run well,” Jones continued. “I’ve been running up front in that car. All in all, I think things are turning around for us here. I think we’ve got some momentum built up and that’s always a really great thing to have.”
Jones believes that if he keeps growing at his current clip, it won’t be long until he’s in victory lane.
He reiterated that it all comes down to those in the shop and who have pushed him to get better.
“Everyone that’s been a part of this so far this year has helped me get to the point where I’m at right now, and I think if we keep on the track that we’re on right now, we’ll be able to do some special things because we’re all learning at a really, really fast pace right now,” Jones added. “If I continue to progress at this pace, I think we’ll be running (in the) top three every single week.”
