Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-45):
● Started eighth and finished eighth. Earned three bonus points.
● On lap six while running in the eighth position, Jones reported that his No. 19 1st Foundation Toyota Supra was too loose on exit.
● With 12 laps remaining in Stage 1, crew chief Jeff Meendering told Jones that he had the second-fastest car for four consecutive laps.
● Jones finished Stage 1 in the eighth position and said that the No. 19 machine needed better drive off the corner. The 1st Foundation team pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment during the break.
● The Atlanta native gained three spots on pit road to restart fifth for Stage 2.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 46-90):
● Started fifth and finished eighth. Earned three bonus points.
● Jones fell back to eighth place on the lap-54 restart after being caught in the inside line.
● Jones told the team on lap 62 that there was no change in handling after the adjustments made on the previous stop.
● Jones had one of the three-fastest cars before the end of Stage 2, but he was still struggling with rear grip on exit.
● Jones came to to pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment at the end of the stage.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 91-200):
●Started eighth and finished seventh.
● Restarted in eighth in the outside line and gained two spots to move up to sixth after taking the green on lap 99.
● On lap 133, Jones told the team the 1st Foundation Toyota Supra was still too loose center-exit.
● While holding off Michael Annett to maintain sixth place, Meendering told his driver he again had the second-fastest car on track.
● Jones radioed on lap 148 that his Toyota Supra was beginning to get tight on exit.
● Under caution on lap 155, Jones told the team he had gotten “way too tight” on exit, but he had fired off much better at the start of the run.
● Jones pitted on lap 156 for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment, but an issue with the jack dropped him to 10th for the lap-159 restart.
● The 22-year-old driver navigated his way up to eighth place by lap 163.
● Under the fourth caution of the race on lap 175, Jones told the team he was still too tight on exit. The team chose to stay on the racetrack where Jones maintained eighth for the lap-180 restart.
● The yellow caution flag was shown again on lap 183. Jones stayed out and kept his track position.
● Restarting with 14 laps to go, Jones moved up to seventh and held that position until the end of the race.
Notes:
● This was Jones’ fifth top-10 of the season and his third straight top-10 at Dover.
● Jones ran in the top-10 for the full 200-lap race and earned bonus points toward the Xfinity Series driver championship in each stage.
● Christopher Bell won the Allied Steel Buildings 200 to score his 11th career Xfinity Series victory, his third of the season and his second at Dover.
● There were five caution periods for a total of 29 laps.
● Only 13 of the 38 drivers finished on the lead lap.
● Reigning Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick leaves Dover as the championship leader with a 23-point advantage over Bell.
Brandon Jones, driver of the No. 19 1st Foundation Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing:
“We fought really hard yesterday. We did not have a car at the end of practice to run where we did today. We put our heads together and we had a plan, then pretty much changed the entire thing. We threw everything but the kitchen sink at our 1st Foundation Toyota Supra. In the race there, I think it was all about track position, really. It was so tough to pass. Even at one point, I think it was the 22 (Austin Cindric) got sideways in front of me and I still couldn’t pass him just from being so loose. We have a couple weeks off and this was a great day to rebound to get back to where we need to be.”
Next Up:
The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the Alsco 300 on Saturday, May 25 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FS1.
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