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Jones Wins Drive for Safety 300 At Chicagoland

Erik Jones does a winning Burn out. [Kim Kemperman Photo]

Erik Jones does a winning Burn out. [Kim Kemperman Photo]

 

Kyle Busch led 154 of 200 laps Saturday in the Drive for Safety 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Chicagoland Speedway, but he could only watch the finish from the pits as a flat tire opened the door for Erik Jones, Kyle Larson and Elliott Sadler to battle for a last lap win; a victory that went to 20-year-young Jones as the others faded out of contention.

Busch, the Sprint Cup star who has dominated for years when he competes in NASCAR’s lower divisions, looked like a sure candidate for victory lane once again, but his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota cut a tire while leading and spun to the apron with 18 laps remaining, setting the stage for a late race shootout among the remaining three.

“I knew we were in a good spot with our tires,” said the 20-year old Jones who lined-up sixth at the lap 186 restart but was able to get to the front just 4 laps later. “I didn’t know if we’d have enough time to get going and catch Larson and Sadler who quickly moved to the front. But it was just a matter of time till I was able to chase them down and regained the lead.”

Larson, who seemed a bit surprised that he was still in contention for the win, had his Ganassi Chevrolet penalized for pit road speeding and had also scraped the wall before making his final, unsuccessful charge. “We had problems earlier and the 20 (Jones) and the 1(Sadler) got away from me when I got loose.”

Larson, who found speed on the top groove all day, touched the wall again while closing on Jones during the final lap and finished second, with Sadler hanging on for third.

“I had a shot at winning, but I didn’t get a good restart. I was on old tires, so I was glad to get third,” explained Sadler who said that his finish would give his team momentum going into the XFINITY Series inaugural Chase post-season at Kentucky Speedway next week. Jones, who grabbed his fourth XFINITY win this season, will be the No. 1 seed in Kentucky.

Busch re-entered the 300-mile race after repairs to his wounded car and was able to finish 13th.

Daniel Suarez finished third with Justin Allgaier fourth and Clint Bowyer fifth.

“I wish this was our first round in the Chase. To get a win on a mile-and-a-half track is great. Our program is great; it’s been great all year,” said Jones, who failed to mention that Kentucky Speedway is also a track of that size. Perhaps the rest of the XFINITY Chase field should take note.

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