Driving in his first restrictor plate race, Brandon Jones finished fourth in Friday’s ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 at the famed 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway.
Jones, a two-time ARCA Series winner in just six career starts, qualified ninth in his colorful No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Tide-Menards Toyota.
Strong from the onset, Jones, the Richard Childress Development Driver, mimicked the poise of a veteran as he navigated his Talladega Tide machine solidly inside the top-5 where he’d bide his time for a chance to challenge for the top spot.
Jones would get his chance in the form of a one-lap shootout after a last lap caution forced overtime.
Jones, restarting in the fourth position, jumped into the second spot as the field entered turns one and two. Trailing race leader Blake Jones by three-car lengths on the backstretch, Brandon Jones would close on the final turn but lost momentum as trailing cars pulled out and challenged for the win. With Blake Jones taking the checkered flag, Cody Coughlin and Cole Powell narrowly edged out Brandon Jones as the drivers crossed the stripe three-wide.
“We ran up front nearly all day and put ourselves in position to win this thing at the very end. We had a strong car but things just didn’t work out today,” said Jones.
Not the finish Jones was hoping for but a memorable learning experience.
“I’m happy with my performance but the most important part of all this is how much I’m taking away from today’s race. I learned a ton and will take this experience to future Truck and XFINITY races. We’ll be very competitive the next time we come back,” said Jones after the race.
Menards racing teammate, Frank Kimmel driving in his first series race since Daytona International Speedway, finished 14th behind the wheel of his No. 15 101 Ranch Records-Menards backed Toyota.
Kimmel, a two-time Talladega winner and ARCA’s all-time leader in wins, qualified seventh in his Venturini Motorsports prepared Toyota.
Running inside the top-10 early Kimmel’s fortune would change after the mid-way point in the race when the Clarksville, Indiana native was tagged by the No.66 car as he attempted to leave the pits during a routine pit stop. Taking on right side damage to his 101 Ranch Records-Menards car Kimmel’s crew would be forced to make a series of pit stops to repair the damage.
“We had a really strong car all day. But that incident on pit road really hurt us. As I was leaving the pits the No.66 dove down into his pit stall as I was getting back going and we hit,” said Kimmel. “That tore the right front fender up so then the car wasn’t quite as good and then the left rear got tore up in that same deal too.
“It’s a bad deal to have had such a good car and not have the laps left in the race to get back up front. I can’t thank everyone enough for giving me this opportunity to get back on the track – I appreciate Menards, 101 Ranch Records, and Richmond Water Heaters for helping out.”
Kimmel will return to the No.25 flagship Ansell-Menards driver’s seat on May 17th – ARCA’s next scheduled event at Toledo Speedway for the running of the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care.
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