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Brandon Jones breaks three-year win drought in NASCAR Xfinity race at Darlington

Brandon Jones snapped a three-year winless streak after taking victory in a dramatic NASCAR Xfinity race at Darlington. His last victory came 98 races ago at Martinsville early in the 2022 season. 

"It's all for my confidence but it's also nice to prove some haters and some people who said I wasn't capable of doing it wrong again," said Jones, who now has six wins as a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver. "This race team has had it coming for a long time. Sam McCauley is one hell of a crew chief. Had so many seconds last year, so I'm glad I got that off my back. This place is freaking awesome. I love coming to Darlington, man. Second win (here). This is huge momentum."

The run to the finish

In Saturday's race, there were only four sets of tires available to teams, forcing them to be careful about when to take fresh rubber. But when the green flag flew for the final stage, most of the frontrunners still had two sets left. 

At the front, it was a battle between the JR Motorsports teammates as Ross Chastain passed Justin Allgaier. He remained in control until a caution was waved for a spin by Taylor Gray. Pit road proved to be a struggle for Chastain's team, falling from first to fifth after his stop.

As the laps ticked away, the three Cup Series regulars got into it near the front. Chastain slid up in front of Chase Elliott, who proceeded to bump Chastain under caution to show his displeasure. Undeterred, Chastain aggressively gained ground on the ensuing restart, pinching Christopher Bell into the wall. Moments later, he charged around Jones and surged into the race lead.

It appeared to be his race to lose but another accident in the midfield meant another round of pit stops, where Chastain against lost several positions.

That left Jones leading among those who pitted. He still had to navigate a handful of cars who chose to stay out on older tires, but once he did, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver was able to drive off with the win.

Elliott finished second, Allgaier third, Chastain fourth, and Carson Kvapil fifth. Connor Zilisch, Christian Eckes, Nick Sanchez, Sammy Smith, and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top ten.

Photos from Darlington - Practice, Qualifying & Race

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Harrison Burton, AM Racing Ford

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Garrett Smithley, SS Greenlight Racing

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Sheldon Creed, Haas Factory Team Ford

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Jeremy Clements, Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Kris Wright, Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Jeb Burton, Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Sammy Smith, JR Motorsprots Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Christopher Bell, Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Ryan Sieg, RSS Racing Ford

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Parker Retzlaff, Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Austin Hill, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Christopher Bell, Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Jeb Burton, Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet, Parker Retzlaff, Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Jeremy Clements, Jeremy Clements Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Carson Kapvil, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Josh Williams, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Taylor Gray, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Jesse Love, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Christian Eckes, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

David Starr, Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brennan Poole, Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Harrison Burton, AM Racing Ford

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Garrett Smithley, SS Greenlight Racing

2025 Darlington - Saturday

David Starr, Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Jesse Love, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Sammy Smith, JR Motorsprots Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Christopher Bell, Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Mason Massey, Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Leland Honeyman Jr., Cope Family Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Ross Chastain, Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Jesse Love, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Josh Bilicki, DGM Racing Chevrolet, Harrison Burton, AM Racing Ford

2025 Darlington - Saturday

General view

2025 Darlington - Saturday

General view

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Parker Retzlaff, Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet, Matt DiBenedetto, Viking Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet, Josh Bilicki, DGM Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Harrison Burton, AM Racing Ford

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Jesse Love, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Connor Zilisch, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Dale Earnhardt Jr. congratulates Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

Brandon Jones, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 Darlington - Saturday

NASCAR XFINITY
58
Cla Driver # Manufacturer Laps Time Interval Pits Points
1 B. JonesJoe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 147

1:54'56.353

  6 52
2 C. ElliottHendrick Motorsports 17 Chevrolet 147

+1.105

1:54'57.458

1.105 7  
3 J. AllgaierJR Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 147

+2.375

1:54'58.728

1.270 7 53
4 R. ChastainJR Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 147

+3.193

1:54'59.546

0.818 7  
5
C. KvapilJR Motorsports
1 Chevrolet 147

+3.516

1:54'59.869

0.323 7 37
6
C. ZilischJR Motorsports
88 Chevrolet 147

+4.089

1:55'00.442

0.573 7 31
7 C. EckesKaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 147

+6.330

1:55'02.683

2.241 7 43
8
N. SanchezBig Machine Racing Team
48 Chevrolet 147

+6.531

1:55'02.884

0.201 7 29
9
S. SmithJR Motorsports
8 Chevrolet 147

+7.567

1:55'03.920

1.036 7 28
10 S. CreedHaas Factory Team 00 Ford 147

+8.838

1:55'05.191

1.271 7 29
11
J. LoveRichard Childress Racing
2 Chevrolet 147

+9.501

1:55'05.854

0.663 7 28
12 R. SiegRSS Racing 39 Ford 147

+10.050

1:55'06.403

0.549 7 25
13 H. BurtonAM Racing 25 Ford 147

+10.461

1:55'06.814

0.411 8 40
14
S. MayerHaas Factory Team
41 Ford 147

+11.044

1:55'07.397

0.583 11 23
15 J. BurtonJordan Anderson Racing 27 Chevrolet 147

+11.054

1:55'07.407

0.010 7 22
16 A. HillRichard Childress Racing 21 Chevrolet 147

+11.530

1:55'07.883

0.476 7 21
17
D. DyeKaulig Racing
10 Chevrolet 147

+13.716

1:55'10.069

2.186 7 20
18
D. ThompsonSam Hunt Racing
26 Toyota 147

+13.760

1:55'10.113

0.044 7 19
19 B. PooleAlpha Prime Racing 44 Chevrolet 147

+14.649

1:55'11.002

0.889 7 26
20
P. RetzlaffAlpha Prime Racing
4 Chevrolet 147

+14.872

1:55'11.225

0.223 7 17
21 J. ClementsJeremy Clements Racing 51 Chevrolet 147

+15.549

1:55'11.902

0.677 7 16
22 R. EllisDGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports 71 Chevrolet 147

+15.804

1:55'12.157

0.255 7 15
23 M. DiBenedettoViking Motorsports 99 Chevrolet 147

+15.962

1:55'12.315

0.158 7 14
24 J. BilickiDGM Racing with Jesse Iwuji Motorsports 91 Chevrolet 147

+16.791

1:55'13.144

0.829 7 16
25 C. BellJoe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota 147

+18.190

1:55'14.543

1.399 7  
26 D. StarrJoey Gase Motorsports 53 Chevrolet 147

+19.531

1:55'15.884

1.341 9 11
27
N. LeitzSS-Green Light Racing
07 Chevrolet 147

+20.563

1:55'16.916

1.032 9 10
28
B. PerkinsJordan Anderson Racing
31 Chevrolet 147

+20.756

1:55'17.109

0.193 7 9
29
M. MasseyAlpha Prime Racing
45 Chevrolet 147

+21.821

1:55'18.174

1.065 8 8
30
K. SiegRSS Racing
28 Ford 147

+24.688

1:55'21.041

2.867 8 14
31
A. AlfredoYoung's Motorsports
42 Chevrolet 147

+24.944

1:55'21.297

0.256 9 12
32 G. SmithleySS-Green Light Racing 14 Chevrolet 147

+24.949

1:55'21.302

0.005 9 5
33
T. GrayJoe Gibbs Racing
54 Toyota 147

+25.331

1:55'21.684

0.382 10 5
34
G. Van AlstJoey Gase Motorsports
35 Chevrolet 146

+1 Lap

1:55'27.073

1 Lap 9 3
35
W. SawalichJoe Gibbs Racing
18 Toyota 139

+8 Laps

1:55'22.160

7 Laps 7 2
36 J. WilliamsKaulig Racing 11 Chevrolet 137

+10 Laps

1:50'10.888

2 Laps 11 1
37
L. Honeyman Jr.Cope Family Racing
70 Chevrolet 128

+19 Laps

1:38'57.141

9 Laps 5 1
38 K. WrightOur Motorsports 5 Chevrolet 27

+120 Laps

21'41.596

101 Laps 6
In this article
Nick DeGroot
NASCAR XFINITY
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