Brandon Jones breaks a 98-race drought with a victory at Darlington Raceway on Saturday afternoon in the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200
DARLINGTON, S.C. – After diligently working through a 98-race winless streak over the last three NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones reminded his competitors — and his fans — Saturday that he’s still a race winner and a title contender.
Brandon Jones Breaks a Drought
The well-liked 28-year-old Atlanta native took the lead on a re-start with 12 laps remaining in Saturday’s Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at the historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway – beating 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott to the finish line by a healthy 1.105 seconds to hoist his first trophy since April 2022 — a span of 98 races.
The 1.366-mile Darlington track may be nicknamed Too Tough To Tame, but it presented a tamer race than the series produced a week ago on the typically wild and woolly Martinsville half-miler. This weekend featured 14 lead changes among nine drivers – overly aggressive driving did not result in any changes up front.
Instead, strategy, a fast car, and unwavering belief in himself and his team made the difference for Jones.
“It’s nice for my confidence, right, but it’s also to prove to the haters and people that said I was incapable of doing it, wrong again,’’ said Jones, whose No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 24 of the races 137 laps.
“This place is freaking awesome man, I love coming to Darlington, ‘’ he added, “Second win and just huge momentum. I knew we were on a high just didn’t know when it was going to happen.’’
The Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 Results
Justin Allgaier led the most laps (56) on the afternoon and won Stage 2, finishing third in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. In fourth and fifth were his teammates Ross Chastain and rookie Carson Kvapil. JR Motorsports is co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller. All five of its Chevrolets were in the top ten, with rookie Connor Zilisch finishing sixth and Sammy Smith ninth.
Rookies Highlight Darlington Top Ten
Rookies punctuated the top ten despite it being the first time most of them had ever raced at the famously challenging venue. In addition to Kvapil and Zilisch, rookies Christian Eckes and Nick Sanchez claimed seventh and eighth place. Smith and veteran Sheldon Creed are the ninth and tenth place finishers,
More Driver Accomplishments
Harrison Burton’s AM Racing team won the opening stage. Taylor Gray from Joe Gibbs Racing is credited with the Xfinity Fastest Lap (160.706 mph).
“I am proud of Brandon Jones, I know how hard the kid has worked, he’s done a good job and I’m happy to see him get to victory lane’’ said the reigning series champion Allgaier, who has now tied NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Mark Martin with nine-consecutive top tens in Xfinity Series races at Darlington.
It’s been that kind of year for Allgaier. He’s finished in the top ten in six of the last seven races in 2025. He had back-to-back victories at Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami in March and a runner-up finish at Atlanta in February.
“Disappointed,’’ Allgaier conceded on his Darlington day. However, noting his Chevy’s speed was good and the team overcame an early race pit road miscue.
“We were able to get the track position back, at least for the most part. But clean air was too important today. When we were up front, we had it. But I really needed the long runs and just didn’t have that at the end of the race today. Proud of everybody on our BRANDT Chemical Chevrolet. We’re on a heckuva run with top fives right now.’’
The Xfinity Series Point Standings
Justin Allgaier continues to lead the series point standings after seven races this season. Sam Mayer is second at -71 markers behind the leader. Austin Hill, Sheldon Cread, and Jesse Love take the third, fourth, and fifth spots. Love is -99 markers behind the leader.
Up Next
The series’ popular Dash 4 Cash incentive program returns with next week’s SciApps 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race begins at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Next week, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, Haas Factory Team’s Creed, Allgaier, and Alpha Prime Racing’s Brennan Poole will compete for the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus check from Xfinity. Their eligibility is based on their results in the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway race last week.
The race next week marks the first spring race at Bristol since 2019. Christopher Bell was the race winner.