Date: May 11, 2018
Event: 37 Kind Days 250 (Race 6 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Kansas Speedway in Kansas City (1.5-mile oval)
Format: Three Segments; 40 laps/40 laps/87 laps
Start/Finish: 13th / 9th (running, completed 167 of 167 laps)
Winner: Noah Gragson of Kyle Busch Motorsports (Toyota)
Brandon Jones made his first start for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Friday night at Kansas Speedway. After qualifying his No. 51 Lyons Industries/Menards Tundra 13th, Jones worked the entire race to communicate the changes he needed to crew chief Mike Hillman Jr., and the duo worked well together to earn a hard-fought ninth-place finish.
Stage One Recap:
Stage One Recap:- Jones started 13th and moved up to ninth within the first 30 laps of the race. He reported the Lyons Industries/Menards Tundra was a little tight throughout the corners.
- When Stage One ended on lap 40, Jones was in seventh place.
- He pitted on lap 44 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help free-up the handling.
Stage Two Recap:
- After quick work by the pit crew, Jones started the second stage in fourth place and remained there during the entire 40-lap stage.
- The changes during the previous stop helped quite a bit, but the truck was still a little tight when Jones was in traffic.
- When the pits opened on lap 83, he pitted for fresh tires and another air pressure adjustment.
Stage Three Recap:
- Jones started the final 87-lap stage in seventh place.
- His Tundra was still tight and with 50 laps to go he had fallen back to 11th place.
- Without a caution in the final 50 laps, the teams were forced to make green-flag pit stops to finish the race. Jones came to pit road on lap 135 for final adjustments and four tires.
- He was 15th with 20 laps to go, but as the rest of the field cycled through their green-flag stops Jones moved up to 12th.
- In the final four laps of the race, he fought his way into the top 10 for a ninth-place finish.
Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 51 Lyons Industries/Menards Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
Talk about your race today:
“All in all, it was a pretty good day. I think the only thing that held us back at the end was trying to keep up with the race track. I don’t think I did a 100 percent good job of making the right calls to stay up with the track. During that last segment the track got way too tight on us, so I had to make a call for a big adjustment. It was a good adjustment, just not enough there at the end to make anything happen with it.
“I know we are better than ninth. We’ve got Charlotte coming up next week. I’m looking forward to going there and I think we’ll be much better there.”
37 Kind Days Recap:
- KBM’s Noah Gragson won the race, followed by Kyle Busch, Stewart Friesen, John Hunter Nemechek and Johnny Sauter rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured four cautions for a total of 21 laps. There were 13 lead changes among eight drivers. KBM’s Noah Gragson led a race-high 128 laps, while Kyle Busch led one lap.
How Jones’ KBM Teammates Fared:
- Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 1st
- Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 2nd
NCWTS Owner Championship Standings:
The No. 51 team is currently fourth in the Truck Series Owner’s Championship Standings, 54 points out of first.
Next Race:
Jones will pilot the No. 46 Tundra when the Truck Series returns to action next Friday, May 18 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the race begins at 8:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Kyle Busch will drive the No. 51 Tundra next week at Charlotte as well.
