Concord, NC (June 24, 2015) – It was one year ago Brandon Jones made his dramatic debut in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, pulling off a last lap – final turn pass on 2014 champion Mason Mitchell to capture his first career series victory at Winchester Speedway.
“I can’t think of a more exciting and cool way to win in our first time out with ARCA,” said Jones. “It was a special day and to do it at such a historic track was very cool. There’s no question I’ll always remember that first win!”
Jones, a Richard Childress Racing development driver, is now set to defend his Winchester title as the ARCA Series returns to the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” for Sunday’s Herr’s Chase the Taste 200 presented by Federated Car Care. Armed with a new team and sponsor for the 2015 season, Jones will make his sixth start of the season behind the wheel of his No.25 Ansell-Menards Toyota Camry driving for Venturini Motorsports. In his first five attempts this season, Jones has already notched three top-5 and five top-10 finishes – his season best runner-up finish came earlier this year at Mobile Speedway.
“Our Ansell-Menards team continues to provide strong race cars. I’m expecting to have another hotrod this weekend and contend for the win,” said Jones. “I’ve been looking forward to coming back since the schedule came out during the off-season. Winchester is a great track with characteristics that fit my driving style very well. It reminds me a lot of Bristol, just a lot rougher surface, but the speed remains the same.”
In eight career ARCA starts, Jones has yet to finish outside the top-10. His impressive stat sheet includes back-to-back wins in 2013 to go along with six top-5 and eight top-10 finishes over the last two seasons. More impressive, the recent high-school graduate has adapted well during a busy 2015 racing season which includes four different national touring series with four different teams (ARCA Racing Series – Venturini Motorsports, NASCAR XFINITY – Richard Childress Racing, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – GMS Racing, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East – NTS Motorsports).
Coming off his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career best second-place finish last weekend at Iowa Speedway, Jones is confident he’ll keep the momentum rolling this weekend at Winchester.
“Overall we’ve had a good season across the board. The more I race the better we seem to get – seat time, strong equipment and good finishes breed confidence in a driver. I’m ready to make my mark again this weekend,” added Jones.
Of his 34 scheduled races this season, Jones will compete in 10 ARCA events with Venturini Motorsports in addition to 17 NASCAR Truck races, 5 NASCAR XFINITY races and 2 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events.
Brandon Jones along with Venturini teammate and co-pilot of the No.25 car, Frank Kimmel, continue to be a strong driving tandem in the Ansell-Menards Toyota. The two drivers who split the series schedule with 10 races apiece have already earned a combined six top-5 and 8 top-10 finishes, placing the Ansell-Menards car second in the ARCA Series Owner Championship point standings.
The Herr’s Chase the Taste 200 at Winchester Speedway is live on CBS Sports Network at 2:00 p.m. ET., Sunday, June 28th. ARCAracing.com will also feature live timing and scoring of all ARCA on-track activities Saturday and Sunday.
ABOUT ANSELL:
Ansell is a global leader in protection solutions. Headquartered in Iselin, NJ, 11,000 employees across 42 countries design and manufacture innovative products relied on by millions of consumers, workers, first responders and healthcare professionals. The Ansell vision is to create a world where people enjoy optimal protection against the risks to which they are exposed by delivering safety, peace of mind and performance with unmatched quality, comfort and technology. This vision is delivered by the Ansell core brand products, from the HyFlex®, AlphaTec®, TouchNTuff®, ActivArmr®, Projex®, VersaTouch®, Trellchem® and Viking product lines.
ABOUT MENARDS:
With 287 stores in 14 Midwestern states, Menards has the tools, materials and supplies for all your home improvement needs whether just needing a light bulb or can of paint to building a deck or new home. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader; it’s no wonder their famous slogan – “SAVE BIG MONEY” – is so widely known and easy to remember. Menards does things right – the company’s strength and success can be seen in the well-stocked and maintained stores, the lowest prices in town and the way guests are always treated like family in a hometown hardware store atmosphere.
ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS:
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Kevin Swindell, John Wes Townley, Erik Jones, and Justin Boston. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (www.NIASHF.org) and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.