Brandon Jones now has seven career wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, after dominating the final stage of the race at Kansas Speedway.
“That was exactly like how we needed that to go down,” said Jones in Victory Lane. “Two really solid stages and just no mistakes. The entire day was so well executed. That’s probably the most well executed race of my career. I’m so proud of these guys. We work so hard the entire week to get here and put races like this together. I was so happy. I know the fans want to see action, but I was just praying for long runs because this car was so good there.”
Watch: Brandon Jones punches ticket to Round of 8, wins Kansas
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver denied Connor Zilisch, who had nothing for him on the long runs. However, Zilisch now has enough points to clinch a spot in the next playoff round, as has his JR Motorsports teammate and reigning NXS champion Justin Allgaier.Â
With his runner-up finish, Zilisch also makes history with his 16th consecutive top five finish. Austin Hill finished third, Sammy Smith fourth, and Sheldon Creed fifth. Taylor Gray, Jesse Love, Nick Sanchez, Brenden Queen, and Dean Thompson filled out the remainder of the top ten.
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Stages 1 and 2
Jones started the race from pole position, but Taylor Gray quickly moved into the race lead. However, it was Allgaier who asserted himself as the driver to beat, dominating most of the stage.
There were no incidents as Allgaier claimed the Stage 1 win ahead of Jones and Mayer.
Jones won the race off pit road, but Allgaier snatched the lead back on the restart that began Stage 2.
The first incident of the day came soon after as Jeb Burton spun while battling under Parker Retzlaff.
Allgaier expressed concern over the radio over a possible loose wheel, but it turned out to be a non-issue. He swept the stages, again leading Jones and Mayer at the end of Stage 2.
Stage 3
Allgaier had a slow stop, which dropped him from first to sixth in the running order. This cleared the way for his teammate Zilisch to take command of the race.
Jones ran Zilisch down and took the lead with 64 laps to go, just a few laps before a critical round of green-flag pit stops.
Brenden Queen ran long, and it worked out perfectly for him as a hard crash for Justin Bonsignore triggered a caution flag. Bonsignore spun after contact from Sanchez, sending him nose-first into the inside wall.
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Allgaier and Mayer stayed out, saving their final set of tires while all of those behind them chose to pit.Â
Jones quickly retook the lead on the restart as those on older tires faded, but he had to deal with a challenge from Zilisch early in run.
Unfortunately for Allgaier, the caution he wanted never came, and he fell outside the top ten as Jones eventually drove away from Zilisch.
Photos from Kansas – Race
Kansas – Saturday, in photos
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B. Jones Joe Gibbs Racing
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Toyota
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C. Zilisch JR Motorsports
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Chevrolet
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A. Hill Richard Childress Racing
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S. Smith JR Motorsports
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S. Creed Haas Factory Team
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T. Gray Joe Gibbs Racing
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J. Love Richard Childress Racing
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N. Sanchez Big Machine Racing Team
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B. Queen Kaulig Racing
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D. Thompson Sam Hunt Racing
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W. Sawalich Joe Gibbs Racing
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D. Dye Kaulig Racing
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J. Allgaier JR Motorsports
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C. Eckes Kaulig Racing
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C. Kvapil JR Motorsports
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S. Mayer Haas Factory Team
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K. Sieg RSS Racing
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R. Caruth Hendrick Motorsports
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R. Sieg RSS Racing
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H. Burton AM Racing
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L. Honeyman Jr. Cope Family Racing
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P. Staropoli Sam Hunt Racing
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M. DiBenedetto Viking Motorsports
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J. Williams DGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports
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A. Alfredo Young’s Motorsports
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R. Ellis DGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports
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P. Retzlaff Alpha Prime Racing
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B. Poole Alpha Prime Racing
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A. Green Jordan Anderson Racing
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J. Burton Jordan Anderson Racing
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M. Massey Alpha Prime Racing
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J. Clements Jeremy Clements Racing
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J. Gase Joey Gase Motorsports
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G. Smithley SS-Green Light Racing
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K. Raz AM Racing
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B. Perkins Jordan Anderson Racing
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J. Bonsignore Joe Gibbs Racing
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N. Leitz SS-Green Light Racing
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