Brandon Jones (racing Driver)

Brandon Alexander Phillip Jones (born February 18, 1997) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Tricon Garage. He also competed in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West in the past.

He was formerly a development driver for the now defunct Eddie Sharp Racing, Turner Scott Motorsports and GMS Racing teams as well as Richard Childress Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing.

Racing career

Beginnings

Jones began racing in 2010 at age 13, under the supervision of short track racer Bubba Gale and his son former KHI development driver Cale Gale. Jones would race full-time in 2011 in the pro truck divisions at Lanier Raceplex and Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia, winning track points championships at both facilities. Jones raced in late models for Eddie Sharp Racing in 2012, competing in the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) and United Auto Racing Association (UARA) series. Jones would make his debut in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East later that year at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, finishing 14th in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet after wrecking on the last lap while running in fifth place. In 2013 at the age of 15, Jones signed a contract to drive for Turner Motorsports (later Turner Scott Motorsports) to run the full UARA season, the PASS Series, six races in the K&N East Series and one in the West series, and selected NASCAR Late Model Stock races. Cale Gale and Mike Greci would serve as crew chiefs for Jones. Jones would also make his national series debut in the Camping World Truck Series for TSM, running the No. 33 truck for the team beginning at Bristol Motor Speedway in August. Jones finished 27th at Bristol, 20th at Iowa, and 19th at Martinsville.

In 2014, Jones would move into the K&N Pro Series East full-time for Turner Scott Motorsports, joining fellow teenager Ben Rhodes. Jones also ran an expanded Truck Series schedule and select ARCA Racing Series events. Jones' efforts would be headed by another former driver Shane Huffman. Jones won his debut ARCA race at Winchester Speedway, scored a second win at Indianapolis Raceway Park and finished third at Madison International Speedway. He would score his first K&N Pro Series win at Iowa Speedway in August, holding off former teammate Kenzie Ruston and Cole Custer. After 14 of 16 races in the K&N East Series and three Truck Series races, which included a fourth-place finish at Dover, Jones would part ways with TSM due to internal issues in the organization, joining Richard Childress Racing for the remaining K&N races. Jones would run the 33 truck for GMS Racing in two additional races, sponsored by Rheem brand Russell. He would finish 4th in the K&N Pro Series East standings.

Xfinity Series with RCR

For 2015, Richard Childress Racing signed Jones to a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, sharing the No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro with Childress' grandson Austin Dillon and Paul Menard. At Jones's final race of the campaign — the fall Kentucky event — he scored his first top five in the series by finishing fifth. Jones also ran a part-time schedule in the ARCA Racing Series, sharing the No. 25 Menards Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports with ARCA legend Frank Kimmel, as well as contesting 16 races in the Truck Series for GMS Racing. Jones also ran select K&N Pro Series East races for NTS Motorsports.

On September 24, RCR announced that Jones would begin competing full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2016, keeping the No. 33. Jones also joined Ranier Racing to compete part-time in the Truck Series, driving the No. 71. He started the season with a seventh-place finish after being involved in the first crash at Daytona. His breakout race came at Talladega, where Jones led the most laps with 31 but finished 18th. Having avoided DNFs throughout the season, Jones qualified for the Playoffs where he was eliminated in the Round of 12. He ended up totaling 12 top ten finishes — none of them being top fives — and finished tenth in the overall standings.

To start 2017, Jones won his first career Xfinity Series pole at Daytona with a speed of 184.472 mph. In the race, Jones would run in the top ten up until lap 29 when his car turned hard right into the SAFER Barrier as a result of The Big One. He walked away from the crash unharmed. Overall, Jones could not build on his rookie season, missing out on the Playoffs and retiring from eight races. Following the season, he would replace Matt Tifft at Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2018 season.

First Xfinity wins at JGR

Jones began his tenure at JGR with a tenth place at the Daytona season opener. He soon experienced a hot streak during the spring, leading the most laps at Bristol and finishing sixth, taking second at Talladega, and getting a pole position at Dover. Though this and further top tens helped Jones to qualify for the Playoffs, he was unable to finish any post-season event higher than sixth, leading to a ninth place in the drivers' standings after an elimination in the Round of 12.

In 2019, Jones remained at JGR and scored four top tens on his way to another Playoff appearance. He was eliminated from the Round of 12 once again after an early wreck at Dover but redeemed himself at Kansas, taking his first win in the Xfinity Series. Jones began the 2020 Xfinity Series season with two straight top-ten finishes. After winning the pole in the third race at Auto Club Speedway he scored his second career Xfinity win the following week at Phoenix Raceway after passing Kyle Busch with 20 laps remaining. His second win of the year followed at Kansas, as Jones passed Austin Cindric for the lead on the final lap. Just over a month later, Jones clinched his third victory at Darlington by pulling ahead of Denny Hamlin and Ross Chastain with two laps remaining. His wins qualified him for the Playoffs, where Jones made it through to the Round of 8 before being eliminated following a multi-car crash at Texas. Nevertheless, Jones finished a series-best sixth in the standings at the end of the year.

Jones continued driving for Joe Gibbs in 2021. After scoring nine top fives but equally having ten results of 33rd or worse during the regular season, Jones entered the Playoffs seeded in tenth. Finishing second at the rain-shortened Talladega race and fifth at the Roval helped him progress through the first round, though Jones would once again be eliminated during the Round of 8 — he finished the year seventh in points.

In 2022, during his final season at JGR, Jones finished inside the top ten less frequently but won at Martinsville during the spring, making a last lap pass over the night's most dominant driver Ty Gibbs. The same track would see the sight of Jones's best opportunity to qualify for the Championship 4: having battled through the Round of 12, Jones was leading the Martinsville playoff race, having overtaken Gibbs during the final overtime lap, when Gibbs dumped him from behind for the win, resulting in a 23rd-place finish and an elimination in the Round of 8 for Jones. Following the incident, Jones claimed that he had "lost all respect" for Gibbs, whose actions prevented the No. 19 driver from locking in to the title race. Jones finished eighth in the standings. During the same year, Jones and JGR also ran five races in the ARCA Menards Series; Jones would win three of them.

Two years at JR Motorsports

On September 14, 2022, it was announced that Jones would join JR Motorsports for the 2023 season. His maiden season at the Chevy-running team was a disappointment, as the Georgia native only took three top fives during the season. This included a runner-up finish at the Kansas cutoff race, where a dominating performance by John Hunter Nemechek prevented Jones from qualifying for the Playoffs with a win. He eventually ended up 14th in the championship. Jones remained in the No. 9 car during 2024 but did not improve his results; despite taking three pole positions across the year he only claimed a single top five result at Charlotte, where he pressured Chase Elliott for the win, and retired from a total of ten races — twice due to engine issues, eight times due to crashes. He once again missed out on the Playoffs and finished 14th in the standings.

Return to JGR

For the 2025 season, Jones will be returning to Joe Gibbs Racing. On January 18, 2025, it was announced that Jones would drive the No. 20. Jones started the season with a 37th-place finish at Daytona. At Darlington, Jones would snap a 98-race winless streak with a win by over 10 car lengths.

Personal life

Brandon Jones is the son of JR Jones, President and CEO of Rheem Comfort Products, which has sponsored Jones, Kevin Harvick, Turner Scott Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and several other teams through their Rheem, RUUD, Richmond, and Russel/HTPG brands.

Jones graduated from Lake Norman High School in Mooresville, North Carolina. He is married to Ashley Jones.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

Craftsman Truck Series

Season still in progress

Ineligible for series points

ARCA Menards Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series East

ARCA Menards Series West

References

External links

*

Official profile at Joe Gibbs Racing
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Brandon
1997 births
Living people
Racing drivers from Atlanta
ARCA Menards Series drivers
NASCAR drivers
Joe Gibbs Racing drivers
JR Motorsports drivers
Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers
KCMG drivers
Richard Childress Racing drivers
Trans-Am Series drivers
CARS Tour drivers