Brandon Jones battled a triple-digit heat index and the handling of his No. 51 American Standard/Eljer/Menard’s Toyota most of the race Friday night at Chicagoland Speedway. With slight adjustments throughout the race, Jones rebounded from a 16th-place starting position to finish fifth.
Stage One Recap:
- Jones started 16th and said his Tundra was loose throughout much of the first 35-lap stage.
- He was 14th when Stage One ended on lap 35 and pitted for four tires and a track bar adjustment to tighten up his truck.
Stage Two Recap:
- Jones gained two positions in the pits to restart Stage Two in 12th.
- He was up to ninth by lap 50, but fell back to 12th by the time the second stage ended on lap 70.
- Jones pitted for four tires and air pressure adjustments to tighten up his Tundra on lap 73.
Stage Three Recap:
- Jones started the final 80-lap stage in eighth after another strong pit stop from his Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) team.
- A caution on lap 122 brought most drivers to pit road for their final stop of the night. Jones was still a bit loose, so crew chief Mike Hillman Jr., called for four tires and air pressure adjustments to finish the race.
- Jones was eighth with 25 laps to go. He was up to sixth with two laps remaining, but when John Hunter Nemechek ran out of fuel on the final lap, Jones was able to capture fifth place.
KBM PR
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