NASCAR Erik Jones

365 posts

Matt Tifft 2017 XFINITY Series Program Confirmed with Joe Gibbs Racing

Matt Tifft, driver of the #11 Waste Connections Inc/BrainGear Toyota, stands on the grid during Salute to Veterans Qualifying Fueled by Texas Lottery for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Striping Technology 350 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images
Matt Tifft, driver of the #11 Waste Connections Inc/BrainGear Toyota, stands on the grid during Salute to Veterans Qualifying Fueled by Texas Lottery for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Striping Technology 350 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

NASCAR NEXT Class Participant Overcomes Health Trials to Earn Full-Season Opportunity

JGR Introduces Matt Beckman as 2017 XFINITY Series Crew Chief

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announces today Ohio-native Matt Tifft will pilot a Toyota Camry full-time in 2017, across all 33 races of the NASCAR XFINITY Series. The 20-year old rookie, a part-time driver currently in the Joe Gibbs Racing stable, who accomplished his first top-five result and first pole-qualifying run in only nine races in 2016, has now earned a larger opportunity to compete in NASCAR’s XFINIY series, appropriately themed “Names are Made Here.”

Tifft has run a limited schedule in both the XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series over the last three seasons, making a combined 31-career starts. In these early stages of his career Tifft has recorded one top-five and eight top-ten finishing spots in the Camping World Tuck Series and one top-five, five top-ten finishes and a pole-qualifying position in the XFINITY Series. Tifft has also recorded time in NASCAR’s K&N Pro West, K&N Pro East and ARCA Series and the X-1R Pro Cup Series. Continue reading

Larson Holds Off Keselowski for NASCAR XFINITY Series Win at Texas

Grabbing the lead after a restart on lap 171 of 200, Kyle Larson moved to the top of the track just in time to hold off polesitter Brad Keselowski for the victory in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

In a race that saw Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez open some breathing room in the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase with respective fourth- and fifth-place finishes, Larson got a push from sixth-place finisher Elliott Sadler on the decisive restart and kept Keselowski behind him for the final 30 laps.

Despite brushing the outside wall in turn one with eight laps left, Larson’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet got to the finish line .385 seconds ahead of Keselowski’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford, as the winner worked traffic over the closing five laps. Continue reading

NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Preview

OReillyChallenge_2011

NASCAR XFINITY Series teams are racing 300 miles over 200 laps in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, November 5th at 3:30 pm ET. Television coverage is on NBC with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

 

What to Watch For: Texas marks the penultimate race of the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Round of 8. Elliott Sadler (12 points above Erik Jones on the cutoff line) leads the Chase Grid, followed by Daniel Suarez (+12), Blake Koch (+5), Justin Allgaier (0, currently holds tiebreaker over Erik Jones), Erik Jones (0), Ryan Reed (-2), Brendan Gaughan (-17) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (-18).

The Round of 8 drivers’ career average finishes at Texas: Erik Jones (2.3), Elliott Sadler (12.1), Justin Allgaier (12.5), Daniel Suarez (13.3), Darrell Wallace Jr. (13.3), Ryan Reed (16.2), Brendan Gaughan (19.4) and Blake Koch (31.5). Jones is the lone Chase contender who has won at Texas Motor Speedway (2015). Continue reading

Jones Hopes to Capture Championship 4 Berth at Texas

rik Jones, driver of the #20 Reser's Main Street Bistro Toyota, looks on prior to the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 15, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo - Jeff Curry/Getty Images
#rik Jones, driver of the #20 Reser’s Main Street Bistro Toyota, looks on prior to the NASCAR XFINITY Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 15, 2016 in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo – Jeff Curry/Getty Images

Texas Motor Speedway is the site of many memories for Erik Jones.

In 2014, he received his diploma on the driver introductions stage prior to the June NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at the 1.5-mile track. Last season, he won his first career NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Texas and took the checkered flag again when he returned for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in November.

Jones will try to make another Lone Star state memory by winning Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway at 3:30 pm ET on NBC. In three career NASCAR XFINITY Series starts at TMS, Jones has finished first (spring 2015), fourth (fall 2015) and second (spring 2016). Continue reading