Brandon Jones Hoping to Repeat Success at Auto Club

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer

Entering the fifth race of the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, Richard Childress Racing driver Brandon Jones is still looking for his first Top 10 of the year. Jones heads into the Service King 300 at Auto Club Speedway 13th in points in his No. 33 Chevrolet Truck Month Chevrolet Camaro.

This time last year, Jones had already earned three Top 10 finishes, including one at Auto Club Speedway.

The 2017 season had a promising start as Jones earned his first career Xfinity Series pole in the season opener at Daytona. However, that has been the highlight of his season so far. Jones was caught in one of the many melees at Daytona, and has a best finish of 14th that came at Atlanta.

In his NASCAR career, Jones has one top five and 14 Top 10s in 42 starts in the Xfinity Series. He also has 30 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts where he has five top fives and 11 Top 10s.

Jones happily explained last years’ success at Auto Club,

“You know it’s funny with Fontana. We struggled the entire day last year, in both practice and qualifying, but we could figure out some stuff during the race that helped us. I’m hoping that this year will go like that again.”

Jones also explained why Auto Club can be a difficult track to compete at,

“That track is tough because there isn’t a designated line to run. You have to see where the fast guys are running and that’s where you start running too. It’s a huge track with scooping corners, so there’s room to move. You’ll see some guys go all the way down to the apron at some points. It all depends on where your car works. There’s four or five different lanes to choose from, so it all depends on your car is handling.”

Now Jones and his Richard Childress Racing team head into Auto Club Speedway hoping to improve on their 2016 success at the 2-mile oval.