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JUSTIN MOORE TO PERFORM PRE-RACE CONCERT AHEAD OF eNASCAR iRACING PRO INVITATIONAL ON SUN., APR. 5
Motorsport
Drivers Justin Bolton and Dylan Duval Ready for First Short Track of 2020 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Season
| Details: |
| • Event: eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series (Round 4 of 20) • Time/Date: 9 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 31 (TONIGHT) • Location: Virtual Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval) • Distance: 250 laps (133.25 miles)
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| Where to Watch: |
| Overview: |
| • This is the first time in 2020 that the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will compete on a short track. All of the series’ previous races have come at tracks 1.5 miles in length or longer.
• This is the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series’ fourth visit to the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, but only its second since 2011.
• Last year’s eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series race at Bristol was run under the lights. This year’s edition is a daytime affair.
• Stewart-Haas eSports drivers Justin Bolton and Dylan Duval come into Bristol after each earned their season-best result in the series’ last race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. Duval finished 15th and Bolton was 17th.
• Duval finished 25th in last year’s race at Bristol, while Bolton makes his Bristol debut tonight.
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| Justin Bolton, driver of the No. 10 Get Busch Delivered! Ford Mustang: |
| “We’ve run well, but we don’t have the finishes to show for it. We were up toward the top-five at the end of the first run in our last two speedway races, but haven’t been able to get it done when it mattered. We’re going into Bristol optimistic that we can turn our season around. I’ll be driving the No. 10 Get Busch Delivered! Ford Mustang, and we’ve been spending a lot of time working on this setup. We feel confident that we’ll have something to compete with. And for those of you who are 21 or older, go to Busch.com/delivery and then enter your zip code to see what options are available in your area. From there, you can get Busch delivered right to your doorstep. While we’re racing, you can relax and unwind with an ice-cold Busch.”
Bolton is a 25-year-old engineer on Stewart-Haas Racing’s NASCAR Xfinity Series team who helped Cole Custer to a career-high seven victories in 2019. Bolton has raced in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series off and on since 2014, accumulating 49 starts with nine top-five finishes and a career-best points result of ninth in 2015. The Latrobe, Pennsylvania, native also has real-world racing experience, as Bolton has raced Legends cars and Late Model stock cars, winning the 2013 Fall Classic at Hickory (N.C.) Motor Speedway in the Limited Late Model division.
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| Dylan Duval, driver of the No. 41 PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang: |
| “Coming into the season, Bristol is the track I had circled as being the one I was most concerned about. Last season at Bristol, I really struggled and wasn’t happy with how we performed. The racing at Bristol is so close quarters – having an ill-handling car can lead to a very long night of racing. We’ve turned a lot of laps and have explored many setup options to get our PEAK Coolant & Antifreeze Ford Mustang dialed in for tonight’s race. There are a lot of unknowns going into it. It’s our first race on the low-downforce package, and this race will be in the daytime as opposed to last year’s race, which was at night. We’ve done our homework, though, and I think we’re prepared. This season has started off pretty rough for us – having an issue on pit road at Daytona and struggling with dirty air and passing at California. Going into Homestead last week, we needed to start turning our season around and we did exactly that with running inside of the top-10 and, ultimately, finishing 15th. Coming into Bristol, I’m hoping to build off of what we did at Homestead and continue to make up some points.”
Duval is a 24-year-old from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The graphic designer debuted in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series in 2012 and is the first Canadian iRacing winner in series history, taking the checkered flag at the virtual Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016. Duval has made 76 starts in his seven-year career, scoring eight top-fives and earning a best points finish of fifth in 2016.
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| About Stewart-Haas eSports: |
| NASCAR is the ultimate test of driver acumen and mechanical know-how, where teams scrutinize every detail in a never-ending quest for speed. Stewart-Haas Racing has thrived in this environment, winning races and championships to firmly establish its presence in NASCAR. Stewart-Haas eSports emulates these efforts in the virtual world, where sim technology provides a visceral experience that amplifies the grit and determination of NASCAR drivers in the real world. Stewart-Haas eSports is a natural extension of Stewart-Haas Racing, where competition and simulation are one. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com and follow on Twitter @SHR_eSports.
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| About Stewart-Haas Racing: |
| Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The Kannapolis, North Carolina-based organization has won two NASCAR Cup Series titles, one NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and more than 70 NASCAR races, including such crown-jewel events as the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ |
Unique Traits Of a Race Car
Car racing is a high paced, exciting sport enjoyed by millions. The vehicles that are driven during this contest are specially built for this. Here are a few differences that set them apart. (more…)
Suárez 33rd in Texas eNASCAR iRacing Debut – Late Mishaps Ruin Top-Five Bid for CommScope Toyota Driver
Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 (Round 2)
Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
Date: Sunday, March 29, 2020
Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles)
Result: Started 9th, Finished 33rd (Accident, completed 110 of 130 laps)
Winner: Timmy Hill of MBM Motorsports
Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 125-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 96 CommScope Toyota Camry:
“I think it was a lot of fun. I definitely learned a lot. My very first time to try iRacing ever was Thursday. So, I feel like we adapted quickly and we had some good speed in our CommScope Toyota. We actually raced way better than I was expecting. We qualified in the top-10, we raced in the top-10, top-five. We were passing a lot of cars and I thought we could finish in the top-five after the (final pit stop) cycle. And then we got wrecked because (Ty Dillon) had old tires or I’m not sure what. But the race itself was very good, very fun. I just wish we were a little more consistent with the cautions because sometimes somebody wrecks and there’s no caution, sometimes somebody just goes through the grass and the caution comes out. Other than that, I’m really looking forward to next week. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Notes:
· The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of actual racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
· The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series kicked off March 22 at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
· With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.
· Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series consists of 35 drivers and all races are broadcast by FOX Sports.
Clint Bowyer Finishes 11th in O’Reilly Auto Parts 125; Chase Briscoe Gets Spun in Qualifying Race, Doesn’t Advance to Feature
| Details: |
| • Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 (Round 2) • Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series • Date: Sunday, March 29 • Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval) • Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles) • Winner: Timmy Hill of MBM Motorsports • Note: Race extended five laps past its scheduled 125-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.
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| Stewart-Haas eSports Results: |
| • O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 • Clint Bowyer (Started 15th, Finished 11th / Running, completed 130 of 130 laps)
• Qualifying race • Chase Briscoe (Started 7th, Finished 15th / Running, completed 30 of 30 laps)
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| Clint Bowyer, Driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang: |
| “Today was all about survival, guys. I needed a redo for my Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang because I got together with (Greg) Biffle, ‘The Biff’, off of (turn) two. I guess we were three-wide. I didn’t realize we were three-wide. My spotter Jeff Gordon, I had to fire him halfway through the race and moved to Larry McReynolds. Larry said nothing when we were three-wide and I wrecked and collected a bunch of them. But again, a great time was had by all. Timmy Hill, big win for him and his brand. It’s going to be a lot of fun to compete in this over the next few weeks. But, man we are all in this together! Looking forward to next week.”
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| Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 98 Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com Ford Mustang: |
| “Unfortunately, we didn’t make it through the qualifying race this week, so we’ll have to wait and give it another shot next weekend at Bristol. We had a really fast Ford Performance Racing School/HighPoint.com Mustang and it would’ve been interesting to see how we stacked up against the Cup drivers.”
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| Notes: |
| • The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of actual racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
• Xfinity and Truck Series drivers have to race their way into the feature event, and only four open spots were available for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 125. Alex Labbe won the 30-lap qualifying race, followed by Anthony Alfredo, Ty Majeski and Ruben Garcia, Jr.
• As an Xfinity Series driver, Briscoe was one of 32 drivers in the qualifying race attempting to finish in the top-four to earn a place in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 125. Briscoe was spun on lap 14 while running sixth, effectively ending his opportunity for a top-four finish.
• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.
• Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series consists of 35 drivers and all races are broadcast by FOX Sports.
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| Next Up: |
| • Stewart-Haas eSports returns to action on Tuesday, March 31 in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series race at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway with drivers Justin Bolton and Dylan Duval.
• The race starts at 9 p.m. EDT with live coverage via:
• Duval and Bolton come into Bristol after each earned their season-best result in the series’ last race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway. Duval finished 15th and Bolton was 17th.
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| About Stewart-Haas eSports: |
| NASCAR is the ultimate test of driver acumen and mechanical know-how, where teams scrutinize every detail in a never-ending quest for speed. Stewart-Haas Racing has thrived in this environment, winning races and championships to firmly establish its presence in NASCAR. Stewart-Haas eSports emulates these efforts in the virtual world, where sim technology provides a visceral experience that amplifies the grit and determination of NASCAR drivers in the real world. Stewart-Haas eSports is a natural extension of Stewart-Haas Racing, where competition and simulation are one. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com and follow on Twitter @SHR_eSports.
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| About Stewart-Haas Racing: |
| Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The Kannapolis, North Carolina-based organization has won two NASCAR Cup Series titles, one NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and more than 70 NASCAR races, including such crown-jewel events as the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. For more information, please visit us online at www.StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ |
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series – Roush Fenway
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series – Advance
Track: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile)
Teams: No. 6 Fifth Third Bank/Nutrien Ag Ford, No. 16 Castrol Ford, No. 17 Fastenal Ford
Drivers: Ross Chastain (No. 6), Greg Biffle (No. 16), Chris Buescher (No. 17)
Twitter: @RoushFenway, @Roush6Team, @Roush16Team, @17RoushTeam
Hashtag: #ProInvitationalSeries
eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series – Sunday, March 29 at 1 p.m. ET on FOX Broadcast Network, FS1, FOX Sports App
ADVANCE NOTES
Event Details
· Last Sunday, NASCAR, iRacing and FOX Sports teamed up to deliver the first-ever eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series event, with a 100-lap race from the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway.
· After drawing 903,000 viewers on FS1 last week, FOX has committed to coverage of the remainder of the season, beginning Sunday at 1 p.m. live from virtual Texas Motor Speedway.
· Chris Buescher will once again pilot the No. 17 eMustang, while Ross Chastain will again be behind the virtual wheel of the No. 6. In a surprising return to his roots, Greg Biffle will join the eField and pilot the No. 16 car.
Buescher at Texas Motor Speedway
· Buescher returns to his virtual home track at TMS this weekend, where he has nine career Cup Series starts.
· He holds an average finish of 22.1 with a best Cup finish of 15th back in 2018.
· In Xfinity Series action, Buescher has five starts at Texas with one top-10, a ninth-place run in the No. 60 in 2015.
Chastain at Texas Motor Speedway
· Chastain has four career NCS starts at TMS with a best finish of 18th (spring – 2018).
· In Xfinity action, Chastain has 10 races under his belt at the 1.5-mile track, including a runner-up finish in the fall of last season.
Biffle at Texas Motor Speedway
· Biffle returns to the virtual seat at Roush Fenway Racing, where he made 760 combined starts for Jack Roush across NASCAR’s three major touring series. Texas is the home of four of Biffle’s career NASCAR wins, including two in the Cup Series and two in trucks.
· Biffle made 26 Cup starts at TMS from 2003-16, earning a pair of wins (2005, 2012) along with 13 top-10s. He earned the same number of wins in the Truck Series, most recently jumping in the seat for Kyle Busch’s No. 51 truck where he won last season. His other Truck win came in 2000 in the No. 50 truck for Jack Roush.
NASCAR/iRacing History
NASCAR and iRacing have an unprecedented history in the esports space, currently in the 11th season of the longest-running officially sanctioned esports racing series, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series. It features 40 of the best sim racers in the world competing for more than $300,000, one of the richest payouts in esports racing competition.
Roush Fenway’s 2020 lineup includes Nathan Lyon, driver of the No. 6 and a native of St. Louis Missouri, and Kollin Keister, driver of the No. 17, who hails from Frostburg, Maryland.
DANIEL SUÁREZ eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series Texas Preview
| Details: |
| • Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 (Round 2) • Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series • Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 29 • Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval) • Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles)
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| Where to Watch: |
| • FOX network • Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer. • FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150) • FOX Sports Racing for fans in Canada
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| Overview?: |
| • The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of actual racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
• The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series kicked off last Sunday at Homestead and it is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
• With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.
• Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series consists of 35 drivers and all races are broadcast by FOX Sports.
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| DYK?: |
| • Last Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway was the single most-watched esports event in U.S. history. The race drew 903,000 viewers on FS1, besting the previous high of 770,000 viewers when Mortal Kombat aired on The CW in 2016.
• The race was the highest-rated broadcast on FS1 since mass postponements of sporting events began on March 15.
• During the race, the #ProInvitationalSeries was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the United States.
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| Daniel Suárez, Driver of the No. 96 CommScope Toyota Camry |
| “I don’t even know what to expect, to be honest. Obviously, I think we’re going to have some fun, but at the same time I’m very competitive and I want to do well. I’ve never done iRacing before, I’ve never had an account before and I really didn’t know much about iRacing. I had an old GT25 simulator that I bought used about 10 years ago to race on the PlayStation. As for iRacing, I have no experience before, but for me, that’s not an excuse. I’ve done a lot on other simulators, like the TRD (Toyota Racing Development) simulator, that might help some. But this is way different, it’s its own animal. iRacing is still very realistic and does an amazing job, but it’s still a game. The simulator we use at TRD, that’s not a game, but a lot of things about what iRacing does is very impressive. I borrowed a rig from Toyota and hopefully I can use it for as many races as I need to. A kid named Eric who’s a professional iRacing guy, he’s been helping me with the things I knew I was going to need help with. He’s been great, and he’s going to be my spotter. The whole point is to have some fun and be competitive and get better and give the fans some excitement, like we saw in the first race last week. I don’t know how long this is going to last, but hopefully we’ll be able to have some fun and keep getting better. Overall, I think it’s good for our sport. It’s one advantage we have against some other sports, that we can do stuff like this. Soccer, basketball, American football, they can’t do it like this. I feel it’s fun. We just have to take it for what it is.”
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| Daniel Suárez Texas Invitational Notes: |
| • This will be Suárez’s first start in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series and first-ever iRacing event.
• In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing at Texas, Suárez has six career starts with best finishes of third in each of last year’s two races – his only career top-fives and top-10s on the 1.5-mile oval.
• In NASCAR Xfinity Series competition at Texas, Suárez has five career starts with a best finish of fifth the fall 2016 race en route to that year’s series championship. He had another top-10 finish of sixth in the fall 2015 race.
• Suarez finished second in both 2015 races in his first two career NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at Texas. He added a fifth-place finish in his only other Truck Series start there in the fall 2016 race. |
Greg Biffle to Make Return Behind the Wheel of Roush Fenway’s No. 16 Ford
CONCORD, N.C. (March 27, 2020) – Greg Biffle will make his return to Roush Fenway’s No. 16 this weekend, when he takes the wheel of the Castrol© Ford Mustang in Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series event set at Texas Motor Speedway. Biffle piloted Jack Roush Fords for 19 seasons, carving out a career worthy of the Hall of Fame while winning a pair of championships in the Truck and Xfinity Series and coming just short of becoming the only driver in history to win the championship in all three of NASCAR’s major touring series.
View From the Virtual Pit Box – SHR Crew Chiefs Offer Their Take on iRacing
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (March 27, 2020) – “When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” This is an ancient Chinese proverb, and it’s particularly apt when it comes to NASCAR and its embrace of iRacing.
Texas Invitational Advance – Erik Jones Readies for Round Two
Details:
- Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 (Round 2)
- Series: eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
- Time/Date: 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, March 29
- Location: Virtual Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
- Distance: 125 laps (187.5 miles)
Where to Watch:
- FOX network
- Announcers: Jeff Gordon, Mike Joy and Larry McReynolds, with in-race commentary from Clint Bowyer.
- FS1 (DIRECTV Channel 219 and Dish Channel 150)
- FOX Sports Go app
- FOX Sports Racing for fans in Canada
DYK?:
- Last Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at the virtual Homestead-Miami Speedway was the single most-watched esports event in U.S. history. The race drew 903,000 viewers on FS1, besting the previous high of 770,000 viewers when Mortal Kombat aired on The CW in 2016.
- The race was the highest-rated broadcast on FS1 since mass postponements of sporting events began on March 15.
- During the race, the #ProInvitationalSeries was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in the United States.
Overview:
- The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series is an exhibition esports series featuring a collection of actual racecar drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series.
- The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series kicked off last Sunday at Homestead. It is a multi-week series emulating the original 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
- With the sports world on a necessary hiatus to combat the spread of the coronavirus, the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series exists in place of actual NASCAR events.
- Each race in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series consists of 35 drivers and all races are broadcast by FOX Sports.
Erik Jones, driver of the No. 20 Craftsman Toyota Camry:
“I honestly did not know how I’d do in last week’s race at Homestead. It had been forever since I last went iRacing, so it was like I was a rookie all over again. But things came to me fairly quickly, although I’m still nowhere near where I want to be. Performance aside, I think we all came away from that race impressed with how the entire industry rallied around it, and fans seemed to like it too. Now we’re on big FOX this Sunday, so even more people will be watching. Obviously, that’s good, but it does kind of ramp up the pressure. You want to do well. Even though it’s a simulation, we’re all competitors and we want to win. And it’s appropriate that I’ve got CRAFTSMAN on my Toyota Camry this Sunday at Texas. I moved into a new house this week and between putting furniture together, hanging stuff up and even fixing a few things that broke, if I wasn’t carrying a box I was carrying a screwdriver or a wrench. iRacing practice time took a backseat to the move, so I hope my limited practice time doesn’t show up in the race.”
- Jones started 25th and finished 10th in last week’s eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race at Homestead.
- Jones dusted off his iRacing skills for Homestead, as the race marked his return to iRacing after a lengthy layoff. In a tweet before the race, Jones said, “The last time I went iRacing, there was a solar eclipse. So, yeah, two rare events. Don’t miss this one!” For those wondering, the last solar eclipse in the U.S. happened on Aug. 21, 2017. Jones was 24 races into his rookie season in the NASCAR Cup Series.
- In actual NASCAR Cup Series racing at Texas, Jones has three top-five and five top-10 finishes in seven career starts.
- Jones’ best Texas finish is fourth, earned three straight times (April 2018, November 2018 and March 2019.)
- In Jones’ last five starts at Texas, he has finished in the top-10 each time.
- Jones is a three-time Xfinity Series winner at Texas. He won in his first Xfinity Series start at Texas on April 10, 2015. Jones then swept Texas’ 2017 slate of Xfinity Series races.
- Jones has six career Xfinity Series starts at Texas and has never finished lower than fourth. And he’s qualified on the front row in every start except one, when he qualified third for the November 2015 race.
- Jones is also a Truck Series winner at Texas. His third and most recent Truck Series start at Texas came in November 2015 and it ended in victory lane. It was Jones’ seventh career Truck Series win. Jones has only made two Truck Series starts since – one in 2016 and one in 2018. He scored top-10s in both.