Home field advantage is a benefit generally recognized across the sports world. The term implies a number of values – not the least of which are the psychological effects supporting fans can have on competitors.
It’s proven to be an effective advantage and one that driver Brandon Jones will experience this weekend in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, where he will pilot the No. 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR).
It’s the first time the young driver will race the iconic Interstate Batteries colors and he will have the pleasure of doing so in the backyard of the Texas-based company.
As the founding partner and “Official Battery of Joe Gibbs Racing,” Interstate Batteries has been powering the team for more than a quarter of a century. Since 1992, JGR’s first full season in NASCAR, Interstate Batteries has played an integral role in the organization’s development from start-up race team to championship powerhouse. Located just a handful of miles away in nearby Dallas, Interstate Batteries will provide Jones a few extra fans for what will be the 21-year-old driver’s 102nd career start in Xfinity competition.
Jones is competing in just his fourth full season of Xfinity competition. While he is not among the drivers making up the playoff field and vying for the series championship, he has quietly put together a solid 2018 season that is his best campaign to date since making his Xfinity debut at Iowa Speedway in Newton in 2015. In 30 starts this year, Jones has scored two top-five finishes and 14 top-10s. To top it off, he earned the top starting spot at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in May to score his second career pole award.
And, this weekend, he turns his attention once again to Texas – a track that in previous years had vexed the Atlanta native until coming on board with JGR in 2018.
In five starts at the 1.5-mile oval, Jones’ best finish to date is a ninth-place effort, a result he earned in April 2016 – his very first start Texas. He qualified ninth, ran a patient race and logged all 200 laps. Texas proved to be challenging for Jones during his next few visits to the Lone Star State with finishes of 19th, 15th and 35th.
Joining the JGR stable of drivers in 2018 proved to be a step in the right direction when it comes to racing at Texas for Jones as he qualified third during the spring race. He was a fixture among the top-five until an accident on lap 99 ended his day early and resulted in a 33rd-place result.
Leveraging a little home cooking, Jones hopes to deliver a victory for the “home team” this weekend in Texas.
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