CP MOTORSPORTS - JONES FINALLY ABLE TO CELEBRATE A TRUCK WIN

 

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(Tim Bradbury/NASCAR via Getty Images)

 

Erik Jones, driver of the #4 Special Olympics World Games Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway on June 19, 2015 in Newton, Iowa. (Daniel Shirey/NASCAR via Getty Images)

For most of the 2015 Camping World Truck Series season, Erik Jones has looked unbeatable - until the end of the races.

Jones, driver of the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, leads all drivers in laps led so far on the season but had yet to notch a victory. This time Jones was not going be denied.

Jones was unbeatable on restarts and pit road during Friday night's American Ethanol 200 from Iowa Speedway. The 19-year old Jones started on the pole for the fifth time in his Truck series career and led 112 of the race's 200 laps.

Jones thinks the trip to victory lane may serve as a springboard for a successful season.

"We've been so close," Jones explained. "We've led a lot of laps and just haven't quite got to victory lane so tonight was a good night to do it. It felt good. I'm just excited to get the rest of the year going at this point. It seems like it took us a while to get here but now that we're here, I think we'll keep reeling a few off."

It's the second straight time Erik Jones has won in the truck series at Iowa Speedway. Jones was able to take the lead from points leader Matt Crafton on the race's final restart despite not coming off of pit road in the top spot.

Jones believes his truck was money on restarts.

"Every once in a while you get a truck that fires off on restarts, sometimes they don't," Jones said. "This one was just one that I felt comfortable with and I really felt like I could drive hard on restarts. It seemed like we got a good restart everytime whether it was luck or we just positioned ourselves right. We just happened to be in position to grab the lead on most of the restarts. It was just a good truck that fired off on restarts."

Spencer Gallagher, driver of the #23 Allegiant Travel Chevrolet, races Christopher Bell, driver of the #51 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota, during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway on June 19, 2015 in Newton, Iowa. (Daniel Shirey/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Brandon Jones, driving for GMS Racing, finished in a career-best second place. Jones, the driver of the No. 33 AGRA Industries Chevrolet Chevrolet, believes GMS may be turning the corner with his finish coming a week after his teammate Spencer Gallagher notched his best series finish at Gateway Motorsports Park.

"I think we've had speed all year long, honestly," Brandon Jones said. "It's just starting to kind of come around for us, it's kind of starting to come on our side a little bit. Like you were saying, Spencer (Gallagher) finished second last week and now us so I think we're getting a lot of gains on a lot of the KBM trucks and everything and making a lot of speed. I'm looking forward to these next couple of races."

Tyler Reddick finished in third place followed by two-time defending series champion Matt Crafton. Erik Jones' KBM teammate

Christopher Bell was highly successful in his Truck series debut with a fifth place finish. Behind the wheel of KBM's storied No. 51 Toyota, Bell admitted the goal for his debut was simple; just finish the race.

"Coming here I had just one expectation and goal - to just finish the race," Bell explained. "What I expected to run and then to come out with a top five is something I'm thrilled about. Obviously being in a KBM truck puts on a lot of pressure to you because they're expected to run good. They do have really nice trucks. The truck was probably a little bit better than the driver tonight and I think Erik (Jones) can prove that one. I'm just really thankful to be here and hopefully I'll get some more opportunities."

With the fourth place finish, Matt Crafton was able to maintain his hold on the top spot in the Truck series point standings, 12 points ahead of two-time event winner Tyler Reddick in second place. With the win, Erik Jones moves to third in the points just 26 points back of Crafton.

NASCAR's Camping World Truck Series will be back in action July 9th when the series heads to Kentucky  Speedway.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race Number 9
Unofficial Race Results for the 7Th Annual American Ethanol 200 Presented
By Enogen - Friday, June 19, 2015
Iowa Speedway - Newton, IA - .875 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 200 Laps - 175 Miles - Purse: $573,101
Leader
Fin    Str    Trk    Driver    Team    Laps    Pts    Bns    Driver Rating    Winnings    Status    Tms    Laps
1    1    4    Erik Jones #    Special Olympics World Games Toyota    200    48    5    149.1    $48,421    Running    3    112
2    4    33    Brandon Jones #    AGRA Industries Chevrolet    200    43    1    113.0    $29,147    Running    1    4
3    3    19    Tyler Reddick    BBR  Music Group Ford    200    41        96.5    $27,459    Running        
4    9    88    Matt Crafton    Chi-Chi's/Menards Toyota    200    41    1    121.8    $21,600    Running    1    33
5    10    51    Christopher Bell    Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota    200    39        99.7    $18,646    Running        
6    16    17    Timothy Peters    Red Horse Racing Toyota    200    38        97.4    $16,562    Running        
7    14    23    Spencer Gallagher    Allegiant Travel Chevrolet    200    37        80.8    $16,006    Running        
8    13    14    Daniel Hemric #    California Clean Power Chevrolet    200    36        77.0    $15,757    Running        
9    7    00    Cole Custer    Haas Automation Chevrolet    200    35        76.5    $15,701    Running        
10    12    05    John Wes Townley    Zaxby's Chevrolet    200    34        80.9    $16,596    Running        
11    11    54    Justin Boston    ROKMobile.com Toyota    200    33        79.8    $15,591    Running        
12    18    29    Austin Theriault #    Cooper Standard Ford    200    32        84.8    $15,451    Running        
13    8    11    Ben Kennedy    Local Motors Toyota    200    31        69.2    $15,396    Running        
14    6    75    Caleb Holman    FoodCountryUSA/LopezWealthMgnt Chevrolet    200    30        75.3    $13,090    Running        
15    23    07    Ray Black Jr. #    ScubaLife.com Chevrolet    199    29        61.9    $15,801    Running        
16    17    15    Mason Mingus    811 Call Before You Dig Chevrolet    199    28        62.5    $15,062    Running        
17    20    98    Johnny Sauter    Nextant/Curb Records Toyota    198    28    1    81.0    $14,952    Running    1    14
18    22    94    Timmy Hill    Premium Motorsports Chevrolet    198    26        52.2    $14,813    Running        
19    5    13    Cameron Hayley #    Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota    198    26    1    97.0    $14,702    Running    1    37
20    19    02    Tyler Young    RandcoIndustries/Young'sBuildingSys Chev    197    24        51.1    $13,897    Running        
21    27    10    Jennifer Jo Cobb    POW-MIAFamilies.org Chevrolet    196    23        41.8    $13,230    Running        
22    26    74    Jordan Anderson    Chevrolet    193    22        40.5    $12,119    Running        
23    2    8    John H. Nemechek #    Meetball Chevrolet    157    21        99.9    $11,980    Accident        
24    21    50    Travis Kvapil    Burnie Grirlls Chevrolet    148    20        45.5    $11,897    Drive Shaft        
25    29    6    Norm Benning    Boedeker Construction Chevrolet    93    19        35.8    $12,019    Oil Leak        
26    25    08    Korbin Forrister #    Tilted Kilt Chevrolet    65    18        38.7    $11,841    Engine        
27    15    63    Jake Griffin    Vatterott College/Mittler Bros. Chevrolet    41    17        46.8    $11,786    Accident        
28    30    45    Tommy Regan    Trijicon/Cope's Distribution Chevrolet    33    16        33.8    $11,539    Electrical        
29    28    1    Ryan Ellis    Altec/Shane Duncan Band Chevrolet    24    15        32.6    $11,511    Suspension        
30    31    03    Michael Affarano(i)    Chevrolet    22    0        29.2    $11,011    Vibration        
31    24    36    Justin Jennings    LGSeeds/MittlerBrosMachine&Tools Chevrolet    15    13        35.6    $9,511    Electrical        
32    32    0    Caleb Roark    Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet    5    PE        29.8    $8,511    Vibration        
 Race Comments:    Erik Jones has won the American Ethanol 200 presented by Enogen, his fifth victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Prior to the start of the race the following trucks dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: Nos. 1 and 74 (unapproved adjustments).
 Failed to Qualify:    N/A
 Time of Race:    1 Hrs, 48 Mins, 33 Secs.    Average Speed:    96.730 MPH    Margin of Victory:    5.860 Seconds
 Caution Flags:    6 for 36 laps: Laps: 7-11 (#23, 00 Accident Turn 2 [0]); 26-30 (#07 Spin Turn 4 [6]); 42-50 (#63 Accident Turn 2 [6]); 122-127 (#13 Spin Turn 2 [75]); 152-156 (#50 Accident Turn 2 [00]); 159-164 (#8, 75 Accident Frontstretch [11]).
 Lead Changes:    6 among 5 drivers: E. Jones # 1-43; J. Sauter 44-57; C. Hayley # 58-94; M. Crafton 95-127; E. Jones # 128-152; B. Jones # 153-156; E. Jones # 157-200.
Top 10 Driver Points:     (1) M. Crafton 370;(2) T. Reddick 358;(3) E. Jones # 344;(4) J. Sauter 327;(5) J. Townley 294;(6) S. Gallagher 288;(7) T. Peters 283;(8) D. Hemric # 282;(9) C. Hayley # 280;(10) B. Kennedy 269.
Keystone Light Pole Award    : Erik Jones, #4 136.193 mph    Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race    : Joe Gibbs Engines, #4
Mobil 1 Driver of the Race    : Erik Jones, #4     Sunoco Rookie of the Race    : Erik Jones, #4
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race:    Jul. 9, 2015 - Kentucky Speedway

 

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