Jones Wins Darlington Xfinity Race with a Strong Final Run

DARLINGTON, SC – RIS.News.com -  Brandon Jones took the lead with 12 laps to go and went on to win Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race at Darlington Raceway.Jones snapped a 98-race winless streak with the victory — his second at Darlington and sixth of his Xfinity career.

“This is just one I wanted to make a statement in. Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott; some extremely talented Cup drivers in this field today,” Jones said. “Sam McAulay (crew chief), these Joe Gibbs Racing guys, this pit crew, unbelievable! That’s what it takes to win these races.”

Chase Elliott finished second and was followed by JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier, Ross Chastain, Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. Sammy Smith placed ninth, as all five JR Motorsports cars finished in the top 10.

Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell made contact while racing for second with less than 25 laps to go in the race. The contact damaged Bell’s car and he fell back in the field, finishing 25th.

Chastain and Christopher Bell made contact while racing for second with less than 25 laps to go in the race. The contact damaged Bell’s car and he fell back in the field, finishing 25th.

After starting on the outside pole, Jones spent the majority of the race in the top ten, finishing stage one in sixth and taking the lead for the first time off the stage brake caution's pit stop. The JGR driver improved to fourth in stage two.

Jones was leading the final stage, and the three Cup drivers of Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain were all racing behind him in the top five. In an aggressive attempt to make it to the front, Chastain rubbed Bell, leading to a wrinkled fender for Chastain and a tire rub for Bell. Jones' JGR teammate was a heavy favorite to take the win at Darlington before his contact with Chastain.

Elliott, in his one Xfinity start of the 2025 season, was unable to chase down Jones on the final 13-lap sprint to the checkered flag. Both Jones and Elliott restarted on the bottom, and Jones got out to an early lead, but Elliott didn't start cutting into the lead in the final few laps. The Hendrick Motorsports regular settles for second ahead of Xfinity Series Championship points leader Justin Allgaier.

"I got to where I wanted to and I was just tight there," Elliott said.  "I couldn’t turn and finally started to turn a little better and started making some time on him with two or three to go, at that point, we were just out of time. It was a crazy day, a lot going on."

Unofficial Results: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200, April 5, 2025 - Darlington Raceway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
2, Brandon Jones, No. 20 Menards/Turtle Wax Toyota, 147, 6, 4, 3, 24, 5, 52, Running
8, Chase Elliott(i), No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 147, , 8, , , , 0, Running
3, Justin Allgaier, No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet, 147, 2, 1, 3, 56, 1, 53, Running
27, Ross Chastain(i), No. 9 Acceptance Insurance Chevrolet, 147, 9, 3, 2, 21, , 0, Running
6, Carson Kvapil #, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Clarience Tech Chevrolet, 147, , 6, , , , 37, Running
16, Connor Zilisch #, No. 88 WeatherTech Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 31, Running
9, Christian Eckes #, No. 16 Black's Tire Chevrolet, 147, 7, 2, 1, 1, , 43, Running
15, Nick Sanchez #, No. 48 Big Machine Vodka Spiked Coolers Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 29, Running
12, Sammy Smith, No. 8 TMC Transportation Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 28, Running
10, Sheldon Creed, No. 00 Road Ranger Ford, 147, 10, 10, , , , 29, Running
11, Jesse Love, No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet, 147, , 9, , , , 28, Running
17, Ryan Sieg, No. 39 Sci Aps Ford, 147, , , , , , 25, Running
14, Harrison Burton, No. 25 DEX Imaging Ford, 147, 1, 5, 2, 12, 1, 40, Running
5, Sam Mayer, No. 41 Audibel Ford, 147, , , , , , 23, Running
22, Jeb Burton, No. 27 AJ Transport Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 22, Running
19, Austin Hill, No. 21 Bennett Transportation Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 21, Running
7, Daniel Dye #, No. 10 HELM Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 20, Running
30, Dean Thompson #, No. 26 Thompson Pipe Group Toyota, 147, , , , , , 19, Running
23, Brennan Poole, No. 44 CW & Sons/Clark's Chevrolet, 147, 3, , 1, 4, , 26, Running
26, Parker Retzlaff, No. 4 Dr Teal's Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 17, Running
18, Jeremy Clements, No. 51 Harrison's Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 16, Running
25, Ryan Ellis, No. 71 Southern Elevator Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 15, Running
21, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 99 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 14, Running
31, Josh Bilicki, No. 91 Rita's Italian Ice Chevrolet, 147, 8, , , , , 16, Running
1, Christopher Bell(i), No. 19 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, 147, , 7, 1, 27, , 0, Running
37, David Starr, No. 53 The Motorcoach Store Chevrolet, 147, , , 1, 1, , 11, Running
36, Nick Leitz, No. 07 Liberty Brew Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 10, Running
24, Blaine Perkins, No. 31 Capital City Towing Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 9, Running
35, Mason Massey, No. 45 Capital City Hauling Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 8, Running
34, Kyle Sieg, No. 28 Night Owl Ford, 147, 4, , 1, 1, , 14, Running
32, Anthony Alfredo, No. 42 Randco Chevrolet, 147, 5, , , , , 12, Running
28, Garrett Smithley, No. 14 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet, 147, , , , , , 5, Running
4, Taylor Gray #, No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota, 147, , , , , , 5, Running
38, Greg Van Alst, No. 35 CB Fabricating Chevrolet, 146, , , , , , 3, Running
20, William Sawalich #, No. 18 Starkey Toyota, 139, , , , , , 2, Running
29, Josh Williams, No. 11 Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet, 137, , , , , , 1, Overheating
33, Leland Honeyman, No. 70 DWC/Nesquik Throwback Scheme Chevrolet, 128, , , , , , 1, Accident
13, Kris Wright, No. 5 First National Bank Corp. Chevrolet, 27, , , , , , 1, Suspension
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Length: 147 Laps, 200.802 Miles
Time: 1 Hr, 54 Mins, 57 Secs.
Average Speed: 104.812 MPH
Margin of Victory: 1.105 Seconds

Fastest Lap Bonus: No. 54, Lap 2, 30.6 seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 25, 7, 44, 28, 42, 20, 16, 91, 9, 00
Stage 2 Top 10: 7, 16, 9, 20, 25, 1, 19, 17, 2, 00

Comments: Brandon Jones won the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200, his sixth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear for the reason indicated: Nos. 10, 14, 18, 21, 26, 35 (unapproved adjustments).

Failed to Qualify: (2) No. 74 Dawson Cram, No. 32 Austin Green.

Cautions: 6 for 36 laps;
Laps: 23-28 (Debris turn 1 [35]);
47-53 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]);
92-98 (Stage 2 Conclusion [07]);
113-117 (No. 10, 54 incident frontstretch [27]);
119-123 (No. 14, 71 incident turn 3 [54]);
130-135 (No. 70, 42, 28 incident turn 2 [35]).

Lead Changes: 14 among 9 drivers;
C. Bell(i) 1-27;
J. Allgaier 28-38;
H. Burton 39-49;
D. Starr 50;
B. Jones 51-52;
J. Allgaier 53-93;
C. Eckes # 94;
J. Allgaier 95-98;
R. Chastain(i) 99-114;
K. Sieg 115;
H. Burton 116;
B. Jones 117-126;
R. Chastain(i) 127-131;
B. Poole 132-135;
B. Jones 136-147

Unofficial Points: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 Darlington Raceway
Rank, Driver, Car, Starts, GL, Points, Ldr, Nxt, Race Wins, Stage Wins, Playoff Pts
1) Justin Allgaier, 7, 8, 0, 346, 0, 0, 2, 3, 13
2) Sam Mayer, 41, 8, 0, 275, -71, 71, 0, 0, 0
3) Austin Hill, 21, 8, 0, 267, -79, 8, 2, 4, 14
4) Sheldon Creed, 00, 8, 0, 251, -95, 16, 0, 0, 0
5) Jesse Love, 2, 8, 0, 247, -99, 4, 1, 0, 5
6) Connor Zilisch #, 88, 8, 0, 224, -122, 23, 1, 2, 7
7) Brandon Jones, 20, 8, 7, 216, -130, 8, 1, 0, 5
8) Carson Kvapil #, 1, 8, 1, 213, -133, 3, 0, 0, 0
9) Ryan Sieg, 39, 8, -1, 210, -136, 3, 0, 0, 0
10) Harrison Burton, 25, 8, 5, 198, -148, 12, 0, 2, 2
11) Sammy Smith, 8, 8, 2, 193, -153, 5, 0, 1, 1
12) Jeb Burton, 27, 8, -2, 191, -155, 2, 0, 0, 0
13) Daniel Dye #, 10, 8, -2, 188, -158, 3, 0, 0, 0
14) Aric Almirola, , 4, -7, 186, -160, 2, 1, 1, 0
15) Nick Sanchez #, 48, 8, 1, 177, -169, 9, 0, 0, 0
16) Christian Eckes #, 16, 8, 4, 176, -170, 1, 0, 0, 0
17) Taylor Gray #, 54, 8, -5, 171, -175, 5, 0, 0, 0
18) Brennan Poole, 44, 8, -1, 166, -180, 5, 0, 0, 0
19) Dean Thompson #, 26, 8, 0, 157, -189, 9, 0, 0, 0
20) Jeremy Clements, 51, 8, 1, 143, -203, 14, 0, 0, 0
21) Josh Williams, 11, 8, -3, 140, -206, 3, 0, 0, 0
22) William Sawalich #, 18, 8, 0, 126, -220, 14, 0, 0, 0
23) Parker Retzlaff, 4, 7, 0, 122, -224, 4, 0, 0, 0
24) Matt DiBenedetto, 99, 8, 1, 113, -233, 9, 0, 0, 0
25) Blaine Perkins, 31, 8, -1, 112, -234, 1, 0, 0, 0
26) Ryan Ellis, 71, 8, 0, 112, -234, 0, 0, 0, 0
27) Anthony Alfredo, 42, 8, 0, 98, -248, 14, 0, 0, 0
28) Kyle Sieg, 28, 8, 0, 96, -250, 2, 0, 0, 0
29) Josh Bilicki, 91, 6, 1, 81, -265, 15, 0, 0, 0
30) Kris Wright, 5, 8, -1, 78, -268, 3, 0, 0, 0
31) Garrett Smithley, 14, 7, 0, 70, -276, 8, 0, 0, 0
32) Leland Honeyman, 70, 5, 0, 65, -281, 5, 0, 0, 0
33) Joey Gase, , 5, 0, 59, -287, 6, 0, 0, 0
34) Patrick Emerling, , 3, 0, 40, -306, 19, 0, 0, 0
35) Justin Bonsignore, , 2, 0, 33, -313, 7, 0, 0, 0
36) Mason Massey, 45, 4, 2, 33, -313, 0, 0, 0, 0
37) Nick Leitz, 07, 3, 4, 32, -314, 1, 0, 0, 0
38) Jordan Anderson, , 1, -2, 30, -316, 2, 0, 0, 0
39) Alex Labbe, , 1, -2, 28, -318, 2, 0, 0, 0
40) Caesar Bacarella, , 1, -1, 24, -322, 4, 0, 0, 0
41) Brad Perez, , 2, -1, 23, -323, 1, 0, 0, 0
42) Greg Van Alst, 35, 5, 3, 23, -323, 0, 0, 0, 0
43) Patrick Staropoli, , 1, -1, 21, -325, 2, 0, 0, 0
44) Ryan Truex, , 1, -1, 20, -326, 1, 0, 0, 0
45) Mason Maggio, , 3, -1, 20, -326, 0, 0, 0, 0
46) Corey Day, , 1, 0, 16, -330, 4, 0, 0, 0
47) Cj Mclaughlin, , 1, 0, 12, -334, 4, 0, 0, 0
48) Austin Green, , 2, 0, 12, -334, 0, 0, 0, 0
49) Carson Ware, , 2, 0, 12, -334, 0, 0, 0, 0
50) David Starr, 53, 1, -50, 11, -335, 1, 0, 0, 0
51) Myatt Snider, , 2, -1, 11, -335, 0, 0, 0, 0
52) Thomas Annunziata, , 2, -1, 9, -337, 2, 0, 0, 0
53) Dawson Cram, , 2, -1, 7, -339, 2, 0, 0, 0
54) Sage Karam, , 1, -1, 5, -341, 2, 0, 0, 0
55) Preston Pardus, , 1, -1, 1, -345, 4, 0, 0, 0
56) Baltazar Leguizamon, , 1, -1, 1, -345, 0, 0, 0, 0
57) William Byron(i), , 1, -1, 0, -346, 1, 0, 1, 0
58) Alex Bowman(i), , 1, -1, 0, -346, 0, 0, 1, 0
59) Chase Elliott(i), 17, 1, -59, 0, -346, 0, 0, 0, 0
60) Kyle Larson(i), , 1, -2, 0, -346, 0, 0, 1, 0
61) Ross Chastain(i), 9, 2, -2, 0, -346, 0, 0, 0, 0
62) Riley Herbst(i), , 1, -2, 0, -346, 0, 0, 0, 0
63) Christopher Bell(i), 19, 1, -63, 0, -346, 0, 0, 0, 0
64) Corey Heim(i), , 2, -3, 0, -346, 0, 0, 0, 0
65) Carson Hocevar(i), , 1, -3, 0, -346, 0, 0, 0, 0
66) Tyler Tomassi, , 0, -3, 0, -346, 0, 0, 0, 0
67) JJ Yeley(i), , 0, -3, 0, -346, 0, 0, 0, 0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series