Brandon Jones snapped a three-year winless streak after taking victory in a dramatic NASCAR Xfinity race at Darlington. His last victory came 98 races ago at Martinsville early in the 2022 season.
“It’s all for my confidence but it’s also nice to prove some haters and some people who said I wasn’t capable of doing it wrong again,” said Jones, who now has six wins as a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver. “This race team has had it coming for a long time. Sam McCauley is one hell of a crew chief. Had so many seconds last year, so I’m glad I got that off my back. This place is freaking awesome. I love coming to Darlington, man. Second win (here). This is huge momentum.”
Watch: Brandon Jones victorious at Darlington: ‘It’s nice to prove haters wrong again’
The run to the finish
In Saturday’s race, there were only four sets of tires available to teams, forcing them to be careful about when to take fresh rubber. But when the green flag flew for the final stage, most of the frontrunners still had two sets left.
At the front, it was a battle between the JR Motorsports teammates as Ross Chastain passed Justin Allgaier. He remained in control until a caution was waved for a spin by Taylor Gray. Pit road proved to be a struggle for Chastain’s team, falling from first to fifth after his stop.
As the laps ticked away, the three Cup Series regulars got into it near the front. Chastain slid up in front of Chase Elliott, who proceeded to bump Chastain under caution to show his displeasure. Undeterred, Chastain aggressively gained ground on the ensuing restart, pinching Christopher Bell into the wall. Moments later, he charged around Jones and surged into the race lead.
It appeared to be his race to lose but another accident in the midfield meant another round of pit stops, where Chastain against lost several positions.
That left Jones leading among those who pitted. He still had to navigate a handful of cars who chose to stay out on older tires, but once he did, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was able to drive off with the win.
Elliott finished second, Allgaier third, Chastain fourth, and Carson Kvapil fifth. Connor Zilisch, Christian Eckes, Nick Sanchez, Sammy Smith, and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top ten.
Photos from Darlington – Practice, Qualifying & Race
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Nick DeGroot
NASCAR XFINITY
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