Millville, NJ (May 25, 2015) – Making his first career ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards road course start Richard Childress Development Driver, Brandon Jones, finished 10th in Sunday’s ARCA 150 presented by Unique Pretzels at scenic New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Despite limited road course experience, Jones, who started 11th on the grid, demonstrated an equal balance of patience and skill throughout the day. While maintaining a lead pack position Jones relied on pit strategy and a solid team effort before driving his No.25 Ansell-Menards Toyota solidly inside the top-5 during the late stages of the 67-lap event on the 2.25- mile Thunderbolt Raceway course.
Jones moved within striking distance of the leaders before a full course caution came out on lap-64. Jones would restart second beside race winner Kyle Weatherman for the final two circuits.
On the restart, Jones battled a tight group of cars down the long front-stretch before diving low and getting to the bumper of Weatherman coming off the difficult and congested right handed turn. However, with his rear view mirror filled with pressure from behind, Jones was shuffled off course, losing his position between turns two and three. Proving fatal to his race winning bid, the Georgia native would drop significantly in the running order before composing himself. With too much ground to make up, Jones would settle for a respectable 10th place finish.
Kyle Weatherman would survive the flurry and earn his first career ARCA victory.
“We got the restart we needed after that final caution,” said Jones. “I was expecting a tough battle going into turn-1 but we cleared the corner and found space to get to behind the 22 car. After that I just kinda got run off the track.”
Disappointed with the outcome, Jones rebounded by putting things in perspective.
“I haven’t run a whole bunch of these road course races so coming out of here and delivering a top-10 for the Menards and Ansell team is a good day. It’s all about gaining experience – that’s what today all was about.”
New Jersey marked Jones’ fifth ARCA start for the year – he now has three top-5’s and five top-10 finishes on the season. In eight career ARCA starts Jones has compiled two wins, six top-5’s and eight top-10 finishes.
Jones will return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series next week at Dover. His next scheduled ARCA race doesn’t come again until June 28th at Winchester Speedway.
ABOUT ANSELL:
Ansell is a global leader in protection solutions. Headquartered in Iselin, NJ, 11,000 employees across 42 countries design and manufacture innovative products relied on by millions of consumers, workers, first responders and healthcare professionals. The Ansell vision is to create a world where people enjoy optimal protection against the risks to which they are exposed by delivering safety, peace of mind and performance with unmatched quality, comfort and technology. This vision is delivered by the Ansell core brand products, from the HyFlex®, AlphaTec®, TouchNTuff®, ActivArmr®, Projex®, VersaTouch®, Trellchem® and Viking product lines.
ABOUT MENARDS:
With 287 stores in 14 Midwestern states, Menards has the tools, materials and supplies for all your home improvement needs whether just needing a light bulb or can of paint to building a deck or new home. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader; it’s no wonder their famous slogan – “SAVE BIG MONEY” – is so widely known and easy to remember. Menards does things right – the company’s strength and success can be seen in the well-stocked and maintained stores, the lowest prices in town and the way guests are always treated like family in a hometown hardware store atmosphere.
ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS:
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Kevin Swindell, John Wes Townley, Erik Jones, and Justin Boston. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (www.NIASHF.org) and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.
Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com | Twitter: @VenturiniMotor | Facebook: Venturini Motorsports
