Roulette Recap follows a randomly drawn NASCAR Xfinity Series driver throughout a race and recaps their efforts. The driver could face calamity on lap one or start from the rear and win the race – there is no telling ahead of time. May the odds be ever in the driver’s favor.
Pennzoil 150
The Indianapolis Road Course has not been kind to Brandon Jones. In three starts at the 2.439-mile course, two have ended in DNFs for the JR Motorsports driver. However, in 2022, he finished P15.
Heading into the Pennzoil 150, the Atlanta, Georgia native qualified P25. Sitting 45 points below the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff cut line, Jones needed to put forth a Herculean effort in Indy.
Stage 1
With rain on the horizon but wet tires an option, the green flag waved and drivers were off. Through the opening two laps, Jones maintained P25 as he worked to get around Sage Karam and Parker Retzlaff. By Lap 3, Jones had gained a position and was settling in as the storm clouds grew above the track.
One lap later, reports of rain sprinkled the radio waves as Jones continued to work on Retzlaff. Lap 7 brought the caution as the rain was too hard for drivers to race on slick tires. Jones updated crew chief, Jason Burdett on the handling of his No. 9 Menards Chevy Camaro.
Red Flag
Shortly after the yellow was displayed, the red flag waved as lightning was in the area. After a short delay, teams were told to switch to rain tires in non-competitive stops. Essentially, “A cluster,” as was discussed on the No. 9 channel.
Now, instead of racing the weather, teams would be racing the light – and the decision when to switch back to slicks.
Before the action resumed, some teams took to pit road for various reasons. Jones remained on track and restarted P20, for a single file restart, on Lap 12.
As drivers passed through the restart zone, they sped off down the front straightaway, fanning out and spraying water.
The No. 91 of Ross Chastain went for an early spin. Jones gained a position in the chaos and came through unscathed. A lap later, Kaz Grala took a stroll through the grass and Jones gained one more spot.
With seven to go in the opening stage, Jones was sitting P18 behind a gaggle of cars three-wide.
Pit Stop Strategy
Drivers used this lap to hit the pits and switch tires ahead of the upcoming caution-free stage break. Jones was encouraged to keep moisture in his tires and continue gaining spots. He had worked his way to P13.
With five to go, Jones broke into the top 10 awaiting his turn to pit. He was quickly passed by drivers on slicks and Burdett instructed Jones, “Keep going.” Two laps later, in P10, it was his turn for fresh tires and a fill-up of fuel.
He returned to the track to finish out the stage in P30.
Stage 2
The action continued with battles all over the track. However, Jones was on an island of his own as the field stretched out around the course. On Lap 2 of the second stage, drivers who had yet to pit came to their stalls to switch tires and refuel. This allowed Jones to move to P28.
Jones was encouraged, “Nothing out back, all out front. Keep hitting your marks. Doing good.”
The next bit was a quiet run for Jones and he was slowly working around cars. When the caution waved as the No. 53 of Brad Perez blew up, Jones updated his team, “I feel like I’m able to carry more speed through (Turns) 8, 9, and 10. So that’s the positive.”
Long Green Flag Run
Burdett opted to pit for fuel and Jones returned to the track with 10 to go in the stage. Additionally, drivers were instructed to resume double-file restarts now that the track was relatively dry.
The restart was chaotic, as anticipated, and Jones fell back to P22 as drivers went three-wide. However, throughout the restart lap, he was able to secure P21 after getting around the No. 4 of Kyle Weatherman.
Jones went three-wide and battled for position. Unfortunately, he came out on the losing end and fell back once again to P22.
As the aggression picked up, mistakes were starting to be made. Jones took advantage of those and, with three to go, had moved from P23 to P17.
Jones ended the second stage in P15.
Stage 3
The final stage opened with numerous cars hitting pit road under green flag conditions. Jones was encouraged to keep up the good work as he flirted with the top 10. With 20 to go, Jones was called to pit from P10.
As Jones exited pit road, the caution waved for the No. 34 of Andre Castro who had stalled on the track. Jones sat in P20 and radioed to tell his team he was having some brake fade.
The leaders pitted and Jones stayed on track, cycling through to P12 with 16 laps to go. Drivers fanned out down the front stretch and jockeyed for position. After an attempt to go three wide, Jones was spun after contact with Grala. This incident shuffled him back to 29th.
He was encouraged, “You’re better than all these guys. Pick ’em off one at a time.”
Within two laps, he had gained four spots and was working hard on the No. 50 of Preston Pardus. Meanwhile, the backdrop was a gorgeous sunset and tire smoke.
Once again, drivers began to have trouble throughout the field and Jones did all he could to take advantage of their misfortunes.
With seven to go, he was in P22 and on the bumper of Mosack, working hard to pass the Sam Hunt Racing driver. One lap later he made the pass and set sail in clean air.
Spotter Josh Williams told Jones, “You’re a second faster than those three in front of you. Go get them.”
Playoff Push
Ultimately, Jones ended his day in P21.
Once the Playoff Leaderboard updated, Jones was 66 points below the cutline, still in 14th. He will need to look forward to Watkins Glen or Daytona to propel himself into the Playoffs.
Sponsor Shoutout
As NASCAR fans know, sponsors make the sport go ’round. We want to give a shoutout to Menards who has been a huge part of the season for Brandon Jones and the No. 9 team. Additionally, Tomcat jumped on board in an eye-catching way this weekend.
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Keep up with Brandon Jones (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and JR Motorsports (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) on all their social channels.
