Jones Impresses, Goes Two-for-Two in ARCA Racing Series

Brandon Jones and Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM) came into Lucas Oil Raceway looking to make it two-for-two in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in 2014. The day got started off in the right way, as Jones and the No. 4 Exide team posted the quickest laps in both practice sessions. The 17-year-old followed this up by capturing the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell, breaking the track record with a time of 22.268 seconds. This is the first pole award for Jones in the ARCA Racing Series in just his second-career start. Jones used the momentum from the day to put on quite a show all night, ultimately capturing the victory, making him two-for-two in two-career ARCA starts.

When the race began, Jones quickly settled into second after starting the race from the pole position. Jones remained in second until lap 55, when under caution, crew chief Shane Huffman elected to leave the No. 4 Exide Chevrolet on the racetrack, putting Jones into the race lead. The strategy implemented was different from others on the racetrack and caused Jones to slip through the field slightly when the race resumed, as the Georgia native had older tires than the others competitors on the racetrack. By lap 78, Jones had settled into 10th, looking to hold his position until the next caution to place four fresh Hoosier tires on the No. 4 Chevrolet. The caution came for Jones on lap 101, allowing the 17-year-old to bring his Chevrolet down pit road to the attention of the crew. Under caution, Huffman called for four tires and fuel while making an air-pressure adjustment. When the race resumed on lap 110, Jones was in the 10th position, but had great speed as the No. 4 TSM Chevy quickly moved up to the seventh position by lap 111. By lap 123, Jones was back into the top five and looked poised to challenge for his second-career ARCA win. Jones moved back into second on lap 139, looking to reel in the race leader. The final caution of the race flew on lap 156, when the race leader was involved in the incident, ultimately moving Jones from second into the race lead. A blazing-fast pit stop by the No. 4 crew kept Jones in the lead as the race resumed on lap 165. Jones took off on the race’s final restart and never looked back. Jones showed the pure speed behind the No. 4 Exide Chevy, while also conserving his stuff should a late-race caution fly. That, however, wasn’t the case, as Jones led the final 44 laps of the race, bringing the total for the day to 51 laps led en route to Jones’ second-career ARCA win in just his second start. Jones continues to add to the winning tradition for TSM in the ARCA Racing Series for 2014, as this marks the third victory for the organization this season.

Brandon Jones on making it two-for-two in the ARCA Racing Series:

“What a great day we had today at Lucas Oil Raceway. Not only were we quick in the race, but we had speed throughout the afternoon as well. I knew we were going to have a quick No. 4 Exide Chevrolet coming into the weekend, but the guys at Turner Scott Motorsports worked hard to make sure our speed kept up into the evening. I’m so happy that my crew chief Shane Huffman and all the guys on the K&N side of things were able to get another win. To be able to win both of our ARCA starts is just a testament to the amount of hard work the guys put in each and every day. Hopefully we can take this win and put it towards the K&N Series at Iowa next weekend.”

TSM PR