LONG POND, Pa. (Jun. 4, 2016)
Post-Race Highlights:
- For the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Pocono Raceway, Erik Jones and the No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Camry team notched their fifth pole of the season and third straight pole. Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) swept the top-three qualifying positions for the Pocono Green 250.
- With rain in the forecast Saturday afternoon, Jones led the field to the green flag and after getting loose in turn one on the first lap, gave up the lead to teammate Kyle Busch. Jones dropped to third, but was able to move up to second on lap three.
- The NASCAR scheduled competition caution waved on lap 15. Crew chief Chris Gabehart called Jones to pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a minor adjustment. With teams opting for varying pit strategies, Jones restarted the race from the fifth position on lap 19. The caution flag was immediately displayed for a wreck before teams completed the lap. Jones radioed the team that he again was struggling on the restart getting in to turn one. Opting to stay on track, the race restarted on lap 23 with Jones in the sixth position.
- Settled in for the run, Jones was able to pick off competitors one at a time, moving back in to second on lap 27.
- Maintaining a 1.5 second gap to leader Kyle Larson, the field was slowed on lap 30 for debris. Jones pitted for four tires, fuel and another small round of adjustments. With most teams opting for fuel only or two tires and fuel, the 20 team lost multiple positions and restarted the race on lap 34 in 16th.
- Focused on getting back to the front and spotter Chris Lambert helping move him through three-wide racing, Jones moved the Sport Clips Camry from 16th on lap 34 to fifth on lap 35. Jones was able to make his was to fourth before the caution was again displayed for a wreck on lap 38. The team stayed out under the caution and the race restarted on lap 43.
- With a fast Camry, Jones was able to take over second on lap 46 and set his eyes on leader Kyle Larson. Closing in on Larson, Jones was within a few car lengths of the 42 car when the caution was displayed on lap 51 for rain and eventually red flagged on lap 53.
- NASCAR attempted to dry the track between rain showers, but eventually called the race after rain continued.
- Larson won the race followed by Jones, Ty Dillon, Busch and Joey Logano.
- Jones moves up to fifth in the point standings, 49 points behind teammate and leader Daniel Suarez.
- The XFINITY Series heads to Michigan International Speedway next weekend for the Menards 250 Presented by Valvoline on Saturday, June 11. The race can be viewed live on Fox Sports 1 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Erik Jones’ Post-Race Thoughts:
Is weather something you just have to prepare for?
“Yeah, it’s part of it, but I think we just ran out of time overall. If we were able to keep racing, we needed probably about two more corners or a lap at most to really get there and get around Kyle (Larson). We had a good Sport Clips Camry, but it’s just a matter of running out of time and the way strategy worked out.”
Did you know the rain would come so soon?
“We knew it was coming. We saw it. We tried to play the best we could for it. I was doing all I could right there to try to get back in the lead the quickest I could. We didn’t think we’d get to halfway, honestly. We knew it was coming and tried to play the best we could into it, but, at the same time, you’ve still got to run your race and try to put yourself in a good position to run all the way to the end.”
Did you run out of time to get to the lead?
“Yeah, not enough time, so thought we by far had one of the best cars in the field, but just couldn’t get back to the lead there before it started raining, so it’s unfortunate, but Sport Clips Camry was good. Just not enough time to get back to the lead and have a shot at it. Pretty unfortunate, but move on from here.”
Is it frustrating to know you probably had the fastest car with the race ending short?
“It’s pretty frustrating, you know? You look at this whole year and it’s kind of been a season of just missing it by that much kind of year for us. We missed it a few races here with penalties and circumstance and the way things worked out and today was another one of those days where I thought we had a good shot at the win and the way it played out we just didn’t – it didn’t work out for us. It’s pretty frustrating being that fast, but just nice to know we’re that fast – nice to know we can contend for wins.”
What was it like trying to pass in traffic?
“It’s tough to pass. I forgot kind of how hard it was to pass here. It seemed like if – even if you were a lot better than the guy in front of you and you ran them down, it still took you a lap to really set them up and work them over and get around them, get a run. You’ve just really got to set yourself up to get that run on the straightaway and try to get up next to them and drag them down and hope you can clear them, but it’s tough to pass, but I think it was fun for me to try to setup those passes and change your entry to try to get a good run down the straightaway and get a run on them.”
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About Sport Clips Haircuts
Sport Clips Haircuts is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas. It was established in 1993 and began franchising in 1995. The sports-themed haircutting franchise, which specializes in haircuts for men and boys, is ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the “Fastest-Growing Franchises” and in the top 20 in its “Franchise 500.” There are more than 1,500 Sport Clips stores open in the U.S. and Canada. Sport Clips is the “Official Haircutter” of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), offers veterans preferential pricing on haircuts and franchises, and was named a “2016 Best for Vets: Franchises” by Military Times. Sport Clips provides “haircuts with heart” through its annual Help A Hero fundraiser that has given almost $4 million to the VFW; national partnership with St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants; and other national and local philanthropic outreach. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards, and partners with numerous NCAA and professional sports teams. To learn more about Sport Clips, visit sportclips.com.