After a 98-race drought, Brandon Jones is back to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, triumphing in Saturday’s Sports Clips VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway.
The Atlanta, Georgia-native spent the final 12 circuits of Saturday’s event out front in his No. 20 Menards / Turtle Wax Toyota GR Supra, after maneuvering through several drivers on older tires during the final green-flag run of the event.
Jones was able to hold off a star-studded cast of drivers throughout the race’s final laps, which included 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott and defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier.
The victory marks the sixth of Jones’ career in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, all of which have come with Joe Gibbs Racing, although Saturday’s triumph is the first for the second-tier series veteran while driving the iconic No. 20.
“It’s a group effort, it’s not just me, I put loads and loads of time into being mentally tough,” Jones said post-race. “To get through two tough years like I just came off of with no wins, and to be able to come back and sit in the No. 20.”
RACE RESULTS: 2025 Sports Clips 200 at Darlington Raceway
It’s the second victory in the Xfinity Series for Jones at Darlington Raceway, the first of which came in the Fall of 2020. Jones’s last victory came at Martinsville Speedway in the Spring of 2022.
“It’s just a lot of emotion, but yeah, this is tons of late nights, a lot of midnights, and going to bed really late to continue to stay tough and continue to grind this out and to get our first win here this season.”
By the time the checkered flag was displayed, Jones had extended his gap to 1.105 seconds over Elliott, driving the No. 17 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Justin Allgaier, who led a race-high 56 laps on the afternoon, came home a solid third.
Allgaier’s teammates at JR Motorsports, Ross Chastain, Carson Kvapil, and Connor Zilisch, brought home finishes of fourth, fifth, and sixth. Christian Eckes, another Rookie of the Year candidate, finished seventh.
Nick Sanchez brought Big Machine Racing home in eighth place after a couple of close calls on the final restart of the race, which nearly cost the team a lead-lap finish, let alone a spot inside the top-10. Sammy Smith and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top-10.
After some excellent strategy calls by crew chief Danny Efland, Harrison Burton and AM Racing finished 13th, but won the race’s first stage and finished fifth in the second, bringing home an incredible points haul for the No. 25 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Leaving Darlington, Justin Allgaier has a MASSIVE 71-point advantage over second-place in series point standings, Sam Mayer (who finished 14th at Darlington). Austin Hill, Sheldon Creed, and Jesse Love round out the top-10.
Next week, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is heading to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Spring race’s return in 2025. Coverage of the event will be on Saturday, April 12, on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 5:00 PM ET.
