–Rising star Brandon Jones made his ARCA Racing Series debut at the historic half-mile high-banked oval of Winchester Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The 17-year-old from Atlanta barely missed winning the pole for the Sunday matinee, instead starting second behind veteran Ken Schrader. At the start of the 200-lap event, Jones settled into a groove and went to school watching Schrader work his way around the 100-year-old speedway. Jones would eventually go on to lead laps 58 through 78 during the early portion of the race before slipping out of the lead. With fewer than 20 laps remaining, the Exide team called Jones down pit road under yellow for fresh Hoosier tires and fuel. A late-race yellow flag bunched up the 22-car field with just five laps remaining, and Jones restarted in the second position next to Mason Mitchell. Staying close to the bumper of the leader, Jones made a last-ditch effort to get by the No. 98 for the victory. Jones drove his Exide machine deep into Turns 3 and 4 and was able to get under Mason, drag racing down the frontstretch. Jones edged out Mitchell at the line, earning his first-career ARCA Racing Series victory. Jones became one of just a handful of drivers in ARCA Racing Series history to win while making their series debut. The Atlanta native is also the second driver in the Turner Scott Motorsports stable to win in the series this season.
Brandon Jones Quote:
“This is just awesome. Starting next to Schrader, I was able to sit back and learn from him. I saw him sort of drop back early in the race to save his tires, and I kind of drove the tires off of mine. My Exide guys gave me a great pit stop and once we got fresh tires, we went with the strategy of saving the tires for the end. When I got out there, I knew we had a car that was capable of winning. I kind of got into Mason at the end, which I hated to do, but we were battling for the win. This is great track; it’s pretty crazy that the track has been around this long. I’m very happy to add my name to the list of winners here.”
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