Date: July 12, 2018
Event: Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 (Race 12 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Location: Kentucky Speedway in Sparta (1.5-mile oval)
Format: Three Segments; 35 laps/35 laps/80 laps
Start/Finish: 6th / 4th (running, completed 150 of 150 laps)
Winner: Ben Rhodes of ThorSport Racing (Ford)
With no cautions in the final stage of the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225, Brandon Jones spent the final 80 laps fighting for track position. After a cycle of green-flag pit stops during the final stage, Jones was able to work his way up to fourth place in his No. 51 Soleus Air/Menards Tundra to finish the race.
Stage One Recap:
- Jones started sixth and said his Tundra was a bit tight.
- When the first stage ended on lap 35, he was fourth and pitted for right-side tires and minor adjustments.
Stage Two Recap:
- Jones gained one position in the pits to restart Stage Two in third.
- He moved up to second during the restart and remained there for the next 34 laps of Stage Two.
- He pitted on lap 73 under caution for four tires and returned to the race in third place.
Stage Three Recap:
- Jones started the final 80-lap stage in third. He remained there until a green-flag pit cycle when he pitted for right-side tires on lap 124.
- Once the entire field had completed their pit stops, Jones was in fourth place.
- With no cautions in the final stage, there was never an opportunity for him to regain much track position since the field was so spread out around the track.
- He finished fourth and was the highest finishing Toyota of the race.
Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 51 Soleus Air/Menards Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports:
Where did you need a little bit more that last run?
“Where we really did was the second to the last run there. We made an awesome change, came down and I think the two tires that we did just kind of countered our adjustments there a little bit and just still made us too tight at the end, but we raced the 41 (Ben Rhodes) all day there, so I feel like we would have been in contention. It was just kind of track position all day. It was really hard to get around guys. You’d really have to pack air on to get them off the line, so that was kind of the technique tonight to use to be able to pass some guys. We made a few of them and came home fourth, so that’s all in all a great day. I’ve got one more race with these guys in the 51 in Vegas and hopefully that will be our time to get one.”
Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 Recap:
- Ben Rhodes won his first race of the season followed by Stewart Friesen, Matt Crafton, Jones and John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top-five finishers.
- The race featured three cautions for a total of 14 laps. There were 11 lead changes among five drivers. KBM’s Noah Gragson led 62 laps and Todd Gilliland led one.
How Jones’ KBM Teammates Fared:
- Todd Gilliland, driver of the No. 4 Toyota, finished 7th
- Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 18 Toyota, finished 8th
NCWTS Owner Championship Standings:
The No. 51 team is third in the Truck Series Owner’s Championship Standings, 74 points out of first.
Next Race:
Dirt standout Logan Seavey will be behind the wheel of the No. 51 Tundra when racing action resumes next week on Wednesday, July 18 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, which is the only dirt track on the NASCAR schedule. Live coverage of the race begins at 9 p.m. ET on FS1. Jones will return to the No. 51 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, Sept. 14.
