JR Motorsports is swapping the positions of its two first-year NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chiefs Adam Wall and Phillip Bell, starting with Saturday’s Focused Health 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Throughout the final 10 events of the 2024 season, Brandon Jones will have Adam Wall calling the shots for the No. 9 Menards Chevrolet Camaro. Sammy Smith, who joined JR Motorsports at the start of the season, will begin forging a relationship with Phillip Bell.
In a statement provided to TobyChristie.com, JR Motorsports says: “We are committed to doing all we can to get all four of our JRM teams into the playoffs and we feel like this change will give both Sammy and Brandon the best opportunities to make that happen. We fully believe in all of our race teams and are going to do whatever we can to ensure the success of everyone.”
With events at Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and Bristol remaining in the regular-season, both Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones are in dire positions when it comes to qualifying for the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
In his second year of Xfinity Series competition, Smith has spent the Summer actively engaged in a back-and-forth battle for the final Playoff spot with Ryan Sieg and family-owned team RSS Racing.
After a strong showing at Darlington, the Johnston, Iowa-native has jumped back above the cutline, holding a 10-point cushion over the No. 39 heading to Atlanta. However, any new winner from below the cutline would severely damage his chances of advancing.
Despite his difficult points position, Smith has proven himself capable of running inside the top five throughout the entire 23-race schedule thus far, including twice in the last three events (Michigan and Darlington).
For Brandon Jones, the situation isn’t anywhere near as nuanced. The No. 9 must win.
It’s been a tough second season at JR Motorsports for Jones, who announced Tuesday he would leave the organization in favor of a return to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025, with just a single top-five and five top-10 finishes, which has been accompanied by a staggering seven DNFs.
Being 132 points below the cutline, Jones will need to make a return to Victory Lane in the next three weekends if he is to lock himself into the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
