BRISTOL, Tenn. – Erik Jones staged a closing-laps charge to win Saturday’s Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
After a 200-lap race that was largely uneventful, the three-lap dash to the finish – set up by a caution flag – was riveting.
Kyle Larson had the lead at the final green flag, with Kyle Busch second, Daniel Suarez third and Jones fourth. Busch, Jones’ Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, was considered a major threat to win, but he had a poor restart.
Jones took advantage immediately and shot past Suarez and Larson into the lead.
Larson and Jones bumped several times over the final laps, but Jones held on to lead the last three laps for the win, the third of his career in the series. Busch was second, Larson third, Austin Dillon fourth and Justin Allgaier fifth.
“I did a really bad job on the restart,” said Larson, who led 94 laps. “A really bad job. I know I gave that one away. I’m really disappointed in myself.”
HEAT 2: Austin Dillon won the second heat race that set the starting field for the afternoon Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300.
NASCAR is experimenting with a new format in its second-tier series, using the results of the two heats to assemble the starting field for the 200-lap feature.
Although the approach to the race day was significantly different, the heats lacked excitement. Dillon led the entire distance.
Dillon finished in front of brother Ty Dillon and fellow Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano in the second race.
HEAT 1: Jones was the fastest driver in qualifying, earning the first starting spot in the first heat.
Sprint Cup drivers Larson and Busch were second and third, respectively.
Jones, Larson and Busch moved away from the rest of the field as they battled for the top three spots. Drivers in the first heat will line up in the odd-numbered positions in the 200-lap main event. Second-heat drivers will be in the even-numbered spots.
DASH 4 CASH: Suarez, Allgaier, Dillon and Jones qualified to compete for Dash 4 Cash bonus money.
HEAT 1 RESULTS
Lap length: .533 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Erik Jones, Toyota, 50 laps, 0 points.
2. (2) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
3. (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 50, 0.
4. (4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
5. (5) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
6. (7) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
7. (8) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 50, 0.
8. (10) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
9. (11) Ryan Reed, Ford, 50, 0.
10. (9) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 49, 0.
11. (6) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 49, 0.
12. (14) Jeff Green, Ford, 49, 0.
13. (15) Matt Tifft, Toyota, 49, 0.
14. (16) Brandon Gdovic, Chevrolet, 49, 0.
15. (18) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 49, 0.
16. (13) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 49, 0.
17. (17) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 48, 0.
18. (20) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 46, 0.
19. (19) Timmy Hill, Dodge, withdrew, 14, 0.
20. (12) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, withdrew, 3, 0.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 121.047 mph.
Time of Race: 0 hours, 13 minutes, 16 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.831 seconds.
Caution Flags: 0 for 0 laps.
Lead Changes: 0 among 1 driver.
Lap Leaders: E.Jones 1-50.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): E.Jones, 1 time for 50 laps.
Top 10 in Points: 1. D.Suarez, 207; 2. E.Sadler, 206; 3. J.Allgaier, 198; 4. B.Jones, 193; 5. E.Jones, 192; 6. T.Dillon, 187; 7. B.Gaughan, 183; 8. D.Wallace Jr., 160; 9. R.Reed, 160; 10. B.Poole, 152.
HEAT 2 RESULTS
1. (1) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 50 laps, 0 points.
2. (5) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
3. (3) Joey Logano, Ford, 50, 0.
4. (2) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 50, 0.
5. (6) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
6. (4) Aric Almirola, Ford, 50, 0.
7. (8) Jeb Burton, Ford, 50, 0.
8. (7) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
9. (11) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
10. (9) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 50, 0.
11. (10) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 49, 0.
12. (15) David Starr, Toyota, 49, 0.
13. (13) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 49, 0.
14. (16) B.J. McLeod, Ford, 48, 0.
15. (18) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 48, 0.
16. (19) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 44, 0.
17. (20) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 35, 0.
18. (17) Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, 31, 0.
19. (14) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, retired, 17, 0.
20. (12) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, retired, 9, 0.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 120.977 mph.
Time of Race: 0 hours, 13 minutes, 15 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 1.414 seconds.
Caution Flags: 0 for 0 laps.
Lead Changes: 0 among 1 driver.
Lap Leaders: A.Dillon 1-50.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): A.Dillon, 1 time for 50 laps.
Top 10 in Points: 1. D.Suarez, 207; 2. E.Sadler, 206; 3. J.Allgaier, 198; 4. B.Jones, 193; 5. E.Jones, 192; 6. T.Dillon, 187; 7. B.Gaughan, 183; 8. D.Wallace Jr., 160; 9. R.Reed, 160; 10. B.Poole, 152.
RACE RESULTS
Lap length: .533 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Erik Jones, Toyota, 200 laps, 44 points.
2. (5) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 200, 0.
3. (3) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 200, 0.
4. (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, 0.
5. (7) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200, 36.
6. (8) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 200, 35.
7. (4) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, 34.
8. (10) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 200, 0.
9. (6) Joey Logano, Ford, 200, 0.
10. (12) Aric Almirola, Ford, 200, 0.
11. (9) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 199, 30.
12. (14) Jeb Burton, Ford, 199, 29.
13. (19) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 199, 28.
14. (20) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 199, 27.
15. (15) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 199, 26.
16. (11) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 198, 25.
17. (24) David Starr, Toyota, 198, 24.
18. (27) Brandon Gdovic, Chevrolet, 197, 23.
19. (26) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 197, 22.
20. (36) Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, 197, 21.
21. (17) Ryan Reed, Ford, 197, 20.
22. (21) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 197, 19.
23. (25) Matt Tifft, Toyota, 197, 0.
24. (22) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 197, 17.
25. (13) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 196, 16.
26. (29) Harrison Rhodes, Chevrolet, 196, 15.
27. (23) Jeff Green, Ford, 196, 15.
28. (28) B.J. McLeod, Ford, 196, 13.
29. (30) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 195, 12.
30. (31) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 195, 11.
31. (33) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 195, 10.
32. (37) Timmy Hill, Dodge, 193, 0.
33. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, ignition, 192, 8.
34. (34) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 192, 7.
35. (32) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 187, 6.
36. (35) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 182, 5.
37. (16) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 133, 4.
38. (38) J.J. Yeley, Toyota, electrical, 74, 3.
39. (40) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, transmission, 21, 0.
40. (39) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, vibration, 4, 0.
Race Statistics
Average Speed of Race Winner: 93.829 mph.
Time of Race: 1 hour, 8 minutes, 10 seconds.
Margin of Victory: 0.418 seconds.
Caution Flags: 3 for 23 laps.
Lead Changes: 10 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: E.Jones 1-40; J.Green 41; E.Jones 42-60; K.Larson 61-62; K.Busch 63-102; K.Larson 103-126; K.Busch 127; K.Larson 128-194; K.Busch 195-196; K.Larson 197; E.Jones 198-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): K.Larson, 4 times for 94 laps; E.Jones, 3 times for 62 laps; K.Busch, 3 times for 43 laps; J.Green, 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: 1. D.Suarez, 207; 2. E.Sadler, 206; 3. J.Allgaier, 198; 4. B.Jones, 193; 5. E.Jones, 192; 6. T.Dillon, 187; 7. B.Gaughan, 183; 8. D.Wallace Jr., 160; 9. R.Reed, 160; 10. B.Poole, 152.
