Brandon Jones will return to Richard Childress Racing in 2016 as a full-time driver in the NASCAR XFINITY Series for the Welcome, N.C. organization.
Jones shared seat time with Austin Dillon and Paul Menard as drivers of the No. 33 Chevrolet in the XFINITY Series in 2015. The Atlanta native has competed in four XFINITY Series races under the RCR banner in both events at Iowa Speedway as well as Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Bristol Motor Speedway.
Jones made his XFINITY Series debut at Iowa Speedway in May where he started fifth and finished eighth. Through four XFINITY Series races, Jones has garnered an average starting position of 10.2 and an average finishing position of 17.5 so far this year. His final XFINITY Series race for this season is at Kentucky Speedway on September 26.
The 18-year-old driver also competed on a limited basis in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Series East and ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. So far this season, Jones has 20 starts combined between the three series, capturing eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes with 143 laps led. In June, he earned his career-best NASCAR sanctioned event finish of second place at Iowa Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series.
In 2014, Jones competed in three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events, earning a fourth-place finish at Dover International Speedway. In addition, Jones competed in three ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards races. Jones became the first driver in the 62-year history of the ARCA Racing Series to win his first two starts by taking the checkered flag back to back at Winchester and Indianapolis and notching a third-place finish at Madison, WI. in his next start.
“Brandon’s performance in his limited schedule with RCR this season has been very impressive,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RCR. “We’re thrilled to provide him an opportunity in 2016 to showcase his talents over an entire XFINITY Series season.”
Jones’ crew chief and team will be named at a later date. Currently this season, Jones has worked with RCR crew chiefs Nick Harrison and Danny Stockman.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to drive for RCR on a full-time basis in 2016,” said Jones. “I’ve learned a lot working with the RCR organization and the No. 33 XFINITY Series team in 2015 and look forward to continuing my development, contribute to RCR’s success and produce positive results for all of my sponsors and fans. I’m excited to see what the 2016 season holds for me and our team. I look forward to setting my goals higher for the season because of the support from RCR, ECR Engines and Chevrolet.”
