NASCAR
NASCAR Xfinity Series Fans Respond To Brandon Jones Shedding Self-Doubt, Earning Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 At Darlington Raceway
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Published05 Apr 2025
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brandon Jones faced self-doubt over the past several seasons.
Winless in 98 consecutive starts, Jones heard critics attempt to dissect his skillset. Was he good enough? Jones answered his nay-sayers Saturday with a commanding performance at Darlington Speedway, claiming the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200.
“All for my confidence,” Jones told CW, noting he wanted to reach “people who said I wasn’t capable of doing it.”
Jones opened Saturday on the outside pole and raced with the lead pack for most of the event, maintaining pace with three Cup Series regulars: pole-sitter Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain. Elliott, who finished P2 in his lone Xfinity starts this season, was unable to overtake Jones over the final 13 laps.
“This is huge,” Jones said. “We’re going to celebrate this big.
“This race team has had it coming for a long time.”
Xfinity points leader Justin Allgaier earned a P3.
“I got to where I wanted to and I was just tight there,” Elliott said. “I couldn’t turn and finally started to turn a little better and started making some time on him with two or three to go, at that point, we were just out of time. It was a crazy day, a lot going on.”
X (Twitter) s responded to Jones visiting Victory Lane for the first time since April 2022 at Martinsville and celebrating his second career win at Darlington …
Brandon Jones breaks a 98-race drought with a win at Darlington!
The celebration says it all ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/t3hDylMgZB
— Taylor Kitchen (@_TaylorKitchen_) April 5, 2025
The Xfinity start at Darlington …
It's time to dance with The Lady in Black!
We're underway at @TooToughToTame! pic.twitter.com/MZWDZ7qCXe
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 5, 2025
Bell controled the early stages, but Jeb Burton utilized tire strategy rallied from a 14th starting position to overtake Allgaier on Lap 39 and claim the Stage 1 win …
Fresh tires help you go fast!@HBurtonRacing plays the strategy game to win Stage 1 at @TooToughToTame. pic.twitter.com/FavpeEQuxh
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 5, 2025
Back in front during Stage 2, Allgaier extended his lead to 4.03 seconds over Christian Eckes. He went on to secure the 10 stage points …
It's all Allgaier in Stage 2!@J_Allgaier takes the green-and-white checkered flag. pic.twitter.com/1wppeZtb9O
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 5, 2025
A late victim last Saturday at Martinsville, Taylor Gray spun out after getting bumped by Daniel Dye. (Sammy Smith was nowhere close to the action this time.) The incident allowed the pack to catch up to Allgaier …
A look at the that led to the incident. pic.twitter.com/gDViM8GmZY
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 5, 2025
After Chastain ran down Allgaier along Turn 1 and cleared what appeared to be one of the race’s top machines two turns later on Lap 100, Bell started closing in. Chastain and Bell eventually made and Jones took advantage of the opportunity …
We'll have a sprint to the finish after this incident involving the Nos. 42 and 70. pic.twitter.com/kTH6mfAaIA
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 5, 2025
Jones made his own victorious …
This is what it’s all about. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/KniXeHSYsW
— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) April 5, 2025
