NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Overview
Events: Kansas 200, Race 9 of 23, 134 Laps – 30/30/74; 201 Miles (No. 51 Barracuda Pumps® Toyota for Friday)
Kansas Speedway 200, Race 10 of 23, – 30/30/74; 201 Miles (No. 51 Delta® Faucets Toyota for Saturday)
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile tri-oval)
Date/Broadcast: July 24, 2020 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
July 25, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. ET FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
What You Need to Know
- Brandon Jones returns to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Series for the first time since he picked up his first career Truck Series victory on July 28 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. That day, Jones held off Sheldon Creed after a fierce battle where the two raced side-by-side for the final two laps before the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver pulled away on the final lap and crossed the finish line 0.864 seconds ahead of Creed. Before Jones picked up his victory, he had produced five runner-up finishes in Truck Series action.
- Jones will get behind the wheel of the No. 51 for both races of this weekend’s unprecedented doubleheader at Kansas Speedway. On Friday, he will carry primary sponsorship from Barracuda Pumps® and then before Saturday’s race, his Tundra will get a makeover and Delta® Faucets will adorn his Tundra. Both races will carry associate partnership from Menards®. His is scheduled for one more Gander Trucks start this season, it will come at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 30 with primary sponsorship from Magick Woods. Jones, a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contender, will also participate in Saturday night’s race for that series in his No. 19 Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing.
- The 23-year-old driver picked up his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Kansas last October after he took the lead with 10 laps remaining and crossed the stripe 0.272 seconds ahead of eventual series champion Tyler Reddick. In Gander Truck Series action, Jones has produced one top-five and two top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 14.7 across his three previous starts at Kansas Speedway, including a fifth-place result for KBM in last year’s event at the 1.5-mile track. He also has one top-five finish across two ARCA Menards Series events in the Sunflower State.
- Jones has one win, 65 laps led, seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 8.4 across 11 events for KBM since the start of the 2018 season. The Toyota driver produced a runner-up finish at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway last November in his final start of the year, which helped the No. 51 advance to, and eventually win the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors owner’s championship. Overall across 46 career Truck Series starts, he has one win, 85 laps led, 14 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 13.1.
- The Georgia native led 24 laps and brought home his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Phoenix Raceway in March. He was able to maneuver his way around KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch, who was his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate for the event, and led the final 20 circuits en route to the triumph. Across 16 starts this season he has posted one win, one pole, four top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average result of 16.9 across 16 starts. Jones. He ranks ninth in the Xfinity Series points standings but via his win at Phoenix is locked into the playoffs. Overall in 153 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, Jones has produced two victories, three poles, 445 laps led, 13 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes. Additionally, he has collected five career ARCA Menards Series victories and one ARCA Menards Series East win (Iowa Speedway, 2014).
- The No. 51 team leads the owner point standings by 30 points over the No. 16 team after eight events. So far this season the team has four wins, one pole, four top-five and five top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 7.6. Busch captured victories at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway. Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth while Brandon Jones was victorious at Pocono. The team leads the Gander Trucks Series with 356 laps led and seven Stage Wins this season, six with Busch and one with Riley Herbst.
- Veteran crew chief Danny Stockman leads the No. 51 team in 2020. Stockman called the shots for Austin Dillon’s championship efforts in both the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (2011) and the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2013) and has experience as a crew chief in all three national series. In Dillon’s Gander Trucks championship season, the pair totaled two wins, five poles, 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. The majority of Stockman’s experience atop the pit box has come in the Xfinity Series, where his drivers have recorded seven wins, 19 poles, 80 top-five and 148 top-10 finishes across 209 starts from 2012 to 2018. Stockman’s drivers have one pole and one top-10 finish across two starts in Truck Series action at Kansas.
Brandon Jones, Driver Q&A:
How big of a relief was it for you getting your first Truck Series victory after finishing second five times in your career?
“I think that was a huge relief getting that first win. We’ve been so close so many times in the past with KBM. It was so good to get the first one, especially with Danny Stockman. We’ve had so much history there. It was a fun one for sure to get the first.”
From your experience with the Xfinity Series doubleheader’s you’ve raced in, do you feel like you have to race differently in the Friday’s race knowing that you are required to start with the same vehicle on Saturday or start from the back?
“So, in the past this year, we’ve had a couple of doubleheaders with Xfinity. My experience with that has been not really so much taking the first race as precaution. I think even Kyle would tell you that you want to go as hard as you can in that first race and get two wins. There’s going to be people aggressive, but at the same time, know who you’re racing around, know what you’re doing at that time, and have that in the back of your mind but still go as hard as you can.”
You were a part of last year’s owner’s championship at KBM, what does it mean to be back again this year with KBM going for a nother one? “That was so much fun last year to be a part of the owner’s championship with KBM and the 51 team. This year, we already got a win for them, so that kind of got them going to the next round. I know Kyle got a bunch of wins for them. It’s going to be fun year. I think t hey are going to be a contender. They always are. To go to the owner’s championship and be a part of that is always fun.”
What does it mean to you to have a great partner like Menards that does so much for racing and to be representing two of their vendor partners? “Menards has really been a big part of my career throughout NASCAR and all the series I’ve been in in the past and present. To have Barracuda Pumps on board and Delta Faucets is so big for me. We’ve had so many amazing good sponsors through Menards. These two are goi ng to be really fun to race with and support. We are going to try to get them in victory lane.”
Brandon Jones Career Highlights:
- Jones has one win, 65 laps led, seven top-five and eight top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 8.4 across 11 events for KBM since the start of the 2018 season.
- Overall since making his Gander Trucks debut in August of 2013, Jones has recorded one win, 85 laps led, five runner-up, 14 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes across 46 starts.
- The Georgia native – who is also in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) in 2020 with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) – has registered two wins, three poles, 13 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes across 153 career Xfinity Series starts.
- Additionally, the 23-year-old driver has collected five career ARCA Racing Series victories, most recently at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in 2018, and one NASCAR K&N Pro Series win (Iowa Speedway, 2014)
Brandon Jones No. 51 Barracuda Pumps®/Delta® Faucets Tundra:
KBM-063: The No. 51 Cessna team will race KBM-063 for this weekend’s events at Kansas Speedway. KBM owner-driver Kyle Busch wheeled the Tundra to victory earlier this season at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway and Christian Eckes finished third with it last year at Homestead-Miami.
KBM Notes of Interest:
- KBM drivers have collected four wins, four poles, 597 laps led, 11 top-five and 18 top-10 finishes resulting in an average finish of 9.2 across 25 starts at Kansas.
- Noah Gragson led a race-high 128 laps and swept all three stages in the 2018 event at Kansas. Owner-driver Kyle Busch has collected two wins at Kansas (2014 & 2017) and William Byron earned his first career Gander Trucks victory there in 2016.
- KBM holds the NGROTS records for most career wins (79) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner’s Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers; Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).
- With 34 victories, the No. 51 is the winningest number in KBM’s Truck Series stable.
