Toyota Racing – Brandon Jones
NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS)
Chicagoland Speedway – June 28, 2019
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones was made available to the media in Chicago:
Brandon Jones, No. 19 Menards/Bali Toyota Supra, Joe Gibbs Racing
Are you excited about Chicagoland this weekend?
“Chicago is always a blast. It is one of the best mile-and-a-halves that we go to. There isn’t that many wrecks. It definitely produces top, bottom and middle groove racing. For a driver, that’s what we love. We love being able to move around. We don’t have any big Cup drivers in this race. Those guys do a great job of knowing when the top is not good and going to the bottom. And when the bottom isn’t good, they know when to go back to the top. Those are big things that those guys know what to do with their experience.”
How do you conserve your equipment for the longer runs?
“I think I am a lot more aware of that, even from last year. Especially when you run the Truck Series, it definitely helps. You drive those trucks a little bit different than the Xfinity Series, but I am going to get a taste of that racing this evening and see how many laps it is taking to move to the top, how to set up passes, things like that. It will be interesting for sure. You definitely have different pit strategy in the Truck Series. You pretty much just stop at each stage, and that is all you have. In the Xfinity Series, you can play some games. You have some longer stages, so we will keep that all-in consideration.”
Is there anything that those dominate cars this year have been able to do that you can see?
“There is something to do with their feet. The way they are gassing the car or breaking the car. With low downforce, you really want to carry as much corner speed as you can. The car is never connected to the track and you have to get over that feeling. Once you do, you see the dirt guys really in control of their car. They don’t really seem to be affected by that as much versus someone that came through the asphalt ranks. I think the dirt stuff is helping some of these guys on these worn-out tracks.”
Do you have more truck races this year?
“We have Kentucky and Phoenix.”
How did you choose your races?
“It was pretty much where Kyle (Busch, team owner, Kyle Busch Motorsports) had openings. I tried to stay at tracks that had Xfinity races. I think Kansas was our one-off.”
How do you approach the summer with being in a good spot in the points?
“I still want to win. I want to lock myself in. We have been trying to get some stage points. I learned that last year that is a big deal. You really want the stage points, the playoff points. So we have been going after that as much as we can. Our long-run speed has been there all year.”
