Brandon Jones was able to bring home the No. 33 Exide Chevrolet Silverado in the 15th position in the rain-delayed Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway. The 15th-place finish is a career best for the 17-year-old in just his fourth-career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) start. Jones began the race in the 21st position as the field was set by practice speeds when rain cancelled the weekend’s qualifying session. Jones settled into 21st early into the race, looking to gain some valuable experience at the 0.526-mile oval. By lap 42, however, Jones worked his way into the top 15 and showed that his Turner Scott Motorsports Silverado had speed. By lap 90, Jones was knocking on the door of the top 10 when the third caution of the race flew. The No. 33 team decided to leave Jones on the racetrack during the caution and by lap 100, the Georgia native had taken over the ninth position. Jones continued to steadily move through the pack, and by lap 110, he was closing in on the top five. When the fourth caution flag flew on lap 124, Jones was in the eighth position, and the team elected to leave Jones on track to save their tires for later in the race. The old tires would cost Jones some track position as he dropped to the 14th by lap 175, but crew chief Shane Huffman continued to provide encouragement to his driver, letting Jones know that the team had tires in the pits waiting for their next opportunity. That opportunity came on lap 192 as the caution flag flew, allowing the No. 33 Exide team to make some adjustments on Jones’ truck and put four fresh Goodyear tires on the Chevrolet Silverado. This move allowed Jones to remain inside the top 15 as he looked to work his way back into the top 10. Multiple late-race restarts as the laps wound down gave Jones the opportunity to get into 15th, where he would ultimately finish.
Brandon Jones on his career-best finish at Martinsville Speedway:
“We had a really fast Turner Scott Motorsports truck throughout the entire weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The guys made some awesome calls on adjustments to the No. 33 Exide Chevrolet Silverado, and we were able to turn that into a top-15 finish. I cannot thank Exide enough for coming on board, and I’m very happy we were able to gain some valuable experience at such a historic racetrack as Martinsville Speedway. I’m ready to head to Richmond in a couple weeks and get back to racing with my Turner Scott Motorsports NASCAR K&N Pro Series East team.”
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