LAS VEGAS, Nevada (Mar. 3, 2019)
Box Score Info:
Date: March 3, 2019
Event: Pennzoil 400 (Round 3 of 36)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile Oval)
Format: 267 Laps (Stages: 80 laps / 80 laps / 107 laps)
Start/Finish: 18th/13th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Point Standings: 9th (98 points, 35 points out of 1st)
Race Winner: Joey Logano
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80)
· Erik Jones started the race from the 18th position and finished stage one in fifth place.
· Moving in to the top 10 early in the race, Jones took over sixth on lap 37 before making his first stop of the day on lap 41 for four tires, fuel and a round of adjustments to help with a free-handling Sport Clips Camry.
· Reporting that he was a little tight following the pit stop, Jones and the No. 20 team were able to run as high as third before dropping to fifth at the end of stage one. Crew chief Chris Gayle called Jones to pit road under the stage one caution period for four tires, fuel and a set of adjustments.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81 – 160)
· The No. 20 Sport Clips team started stage two from seventh and finished the 80-lap stage in the 13th position.
· Continuing to report a tight-handling condition for the No. 20 Camry, Jones dropped to 14th before making a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 125 for four tires, fuel and another set of adjustments.
· Following the stop, Jones fell to 17th before moving back up to 13th at the end of stage two.
· The team called Jones to pit road for a routine stop and gained three positions on pit road to move up to 10th during the stage two break.
Stage 3 Recap (Laps 161 – 267)
· Jones started from 10th and crossed the finish line in the 13th position.
· Unable to make progress forward during the final stage of the race and with the team continuing to make adjustments to help improve the handling of the No. 20 Sport Clips Camry, Jones slipped to just outside the top 10 for a 13th-place finish in the Pennzoil 400.
Additional Notes
· Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch finished third, Martin Truex Jr. finished eighth and Denny Hamlin finished 10th.
Next Race: Teams now continue the “West Coast Swing” as they head to ISM Raceway for the fourth race of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. The race will be broadcast live Sunday, March 10, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.