For the third year in a row, the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) drivers will display the names of active military units and installations on their race car windshields during Friday’s Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Brandon Jones will pilot the No. 19 Comcast NBCUniversal Salute to Service Toyota and honor the United States Air Force Thunderbirds based in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is huge for Brandon and he enjoys a special relationship with the Thunderbirds after the orientation flight he received at Daytona earlier this year.
· JONES AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: This is a huge weekend for NASCAR, Brandon Jones, Comcast and XYO Network. Brandon Jones returns to the 2.5-mile high-banked Superspeedway for the 4th of July weekend. This has been a good track for Jones posting his first top-10 finish with Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) earlier this year and has recorded two top-10 finishes in his previous five starts and captured his first pole in 2016.
· JGR AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: JGR has 85 total starts at Daytona International Speedway in the NXS, earning four wins, 19 top-five finishes, 33 top-10 finishes and eight pole starting positions. The team has led 587 laps, completed 8,654 of 9,609 attempted laps (90.0%) and earned an average start of 10.7 and an average finish of 17.3. Tony Stewart (2008), Denny Hamlin (2008), Joey Logano (2011) and Matt Kenseth (2013) each have one win for JGR in the series.
· RACE INFO: Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway is scheduled for Saturday, July 6, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Watch and listen live on NBCSN, SiriusXM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.
Jones’ Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats at Daytona International Speedway:
|
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5 |
Top 10 |
Poles |
Laps Led |
Avg. Start |
Avg. Finish |
|
5 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
11.0 |
18.8 |
Jones’ 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
|
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5 |
Top 10 |
Poles |
Laps Led |
Avg. Start |
Avg. Finish |
|
15 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
1 |
164 |
8.9 |
12.8 |
Jones’ Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats:
|
Starts |
Wins |
Top 5 |
Top 10 |
Poles |
Laps Led |
Avg. Start |
Avg. Finish |
|
86 |
0 |
3 |
24 |
2 |
227 |
14.5 |
16.6 |
From the Cockpit:
Brandon Jones: “I’m really looking forward to returning to Daytona, especially because we are running the Comcast NBCUniversal Salute to Service Toyota. Being able to run that car on Independence Day weekend is very special to me because I feel so strongly about supporting our military. I’m also honored to be able to carry the USAF Thunderbirds’ name on our windshield and remember fallen pilot Major Stephen “Cajun” Del Bagno. Daytona is a track where we have posted some great stats. It’s where I got my first NASCAR career pole and where we kicked off the year with a top-10 run this February. We just came off Chicagoland Speedway where running the top was key, so we’ll switch gears for Daytona to run right on the bottom even on straightaways. It’s two diversely different tracks back to back. The good news is that we’ve got two other really strong teammates in Christopher Bell and Ryan Preece, and if we’re able to line up right on the track, I know we can all work together really well. Most of all, I hope we’re able to make Maj Del Bagno, his family and the Thunderbirds proud.”
From the Pit Box:
Chris Gabehart: “Daytona in July is a fantastic way to celebrate the 4th of July and kick off the second half of the NASCAR Xfinity Season. Our season thus far has shown continual improvement and we feel good about going to Daytona and having a great shot to post our third top 10 in three speedway races for this year. This would be a great way to kick off the second half of the season.”
Joe Gibbs Racing PR/Photo Credit Getty Images for NASCAR
