Garrett Jones Makes Debut Start for Goodson Racing

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It was a busy weekend for Garrett Jones, as he had the opportunity to compete in pro late model races at Five Flags  Speedway and Mobile Speedway driving for Goodson Racing. After  overcoming damage from a wreck he was the unlucky victim of and starting from the back of the field due to a rained out qualifying session,  Jones’ momentum in Mike Garvey’s Buddy’s Home Furnishing Yellow No. 1  grew over the weekend, resulting in a second place finish in the feature race in Mobile.
 

Jones’ weekend started out on Friday, June  26 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL. He was fast from the start,  qualifying fifth and finishing sixth in the first 20-lap feature. He  then started 13th in the final 30-lap feature due to the inverted start. Even with trouble at the front of the field, Jones still managed to  pull off an 18th place finish.
 

“The front row had issues on  the initial start that bunched the field up behind them.  The second  attempt to start the race got me,” he said. “With the second place car  jumping the start in turn three by a mile, the leader initially went and then slammed on brakes. The whole inside row ran into each other and I  got the worst end of the deal.  My radiator had a hole in it and I could not return.”
 

After a quick stop at the Goodson Racing shop  for repairs, the team rolled in to Mobile Speedway early Saturday  morning. Due to rain, the field voted to have another short practice  rather than a qualifying session, which caused Jones to start from the  back of the field for the first 20-lap feature since he had no points to fall back on. With Garvey’s fast setup on the car, he managed to race  all the way to fourth before the feature was over.
 

After the invert, Jones started the final 30-lap feature from 11th.  Right from  the start, he knew he had a great shot at the win.
 

“The car  would go anywhere I wanted. I knew if I was going to win the 30-lap dash I had to go right from the start,” said Jones. “On the restart after  the lone caution of the race, a car got into my left quarter coming out  of turn four and nearly turned me around, but I held on to it. It broke  my momentum and caused Wayne Niedecken Jr. to fly past us and take the  lead.”
 

“I still had some laps left and thought I could  catch him. I passed the second place car and set my sights on Niedecken. I knew if I did catch him, I’d have a shot for the win.”
 

While he was unable to catch Niedecken and the lead, Jones finished one spot  behind him and as the one of the two fastest cars on the track. Jones  has nothing but gratitude for the experience Garvey gave him this  weekend.
 

“You race with the cards you were dealt and I think we did an awesome job of that this weekend. I can’t thank Tracy  Goodson, Mike Garvey, Tim Goodson, Irvin and Billy enough for their help this past weekend,” he said. “I learned a lot. I couldn’t have done any of it without the support of my team back at shop in Mooresville. I  think that shows what our team is all about. Seat time is important, and I got to have fun and race!”
 

Jones’ next scheduled races will see him return to both Pensacola and Mobile with the Southern Super Series on July 24 and 25.

Adam Sinclair
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