Credit: 307891Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway. Erik Jones, driver of the #20 GameStop/Mortal Kombat X Toyota, celebrates by saluting the crowd after a burnout after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 10, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Starting from pole Car 20 Erik Jones GameStop/Mortal Kombat X Toyota won the 19th Annual O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, his 1st win in 9 NASCAR XFINITY Series races. At 18 years, 10 months, 11 days, Jones is the 2nd youngest winner at Texas (Chase Elliott). A NASCAR Next graduate, this is Jones’ 5th NASCAR national series win. He also has four wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. 2nd Place Car 22 Brad Keselowski Discount Tire Ford starting from tail posted his 11th top-10 finish in 15 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his 3rd Top 10 finish in 2015. 3rd Place Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Goody’s Chevrolet starting from 5th place posted his 6th Top 10 finish in 8 races at Texas Motor Speedway.
Credit: 307892Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images. Erik Jones, driver of the #20 GameStop/Mortal Kombat X Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 10, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.
4th Place Car 7 Regan Smith TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet starting from 6th place followed by 5th place Car 33 Austin Dillon Ruud Chevrolet starting from 3rd place. 6th Place Car 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. AdvoCare Ford starting from 8th place was the highest finishing rookie. 7th Place Car 54 Denny Hamlin Monster Energy Toyota starting from 11th place followed by 8th place Car 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet starting from 9th place. 9th Place Car 60 Chris Buescher Safety-Kleen Ford starting from 10th place. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 2 Brian Scott Albertsons/Reser’s Chevrolet in 10th place, starting from 7th place.
Ty Dillon leads the point standings by 2 points over Chris Buescher.
Credit: 307882Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images. Erik Jones, driver of the #20 GameStop/Mortal Kombat X Toyota, and Daniel Suarez, driver of the #18 ARRIS Toyota, lead the field to the green flag for the running of the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 10, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The race had 6 Cautions for 30 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 3 for Fluid on the track. 2nd Caution on lap 18 for Car 52 Joey Gase DB Sales Company Chevrolet spin in turn 1. 3rd Caution on lap 65 for Debris in turn 3. 4th Caution on lap 80 for Car 24 Eric McClure Hefty Easy Grip Cups Toyota crash in turn 4. 5th Caution on lap 129 for Debris on the frontstretch. 6th Caution on lap 169 for Car 14 Cale Conley # IAVA Toyota, Car 62 Brendan Gaughan WIX Filters Chevrolet crash in turn 2.
Credit: 307890Robert Laberge/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway. A general view of cars racing the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 10, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The race had action with 15 Lead Changes among 8 drivers: E. Jones(i) 1-4; D. Earnhardt Jr.(i) 5-13; E. Jones(i) 14; D. Earnhardt Jr.(i) 15-17; E. Jones(i) 18; B. Gaughan 19-21; B. Scott 22-47; B. Keselowski(i) 48-65; E. Jones(i) 66-82; B. Keselowski(i) 83-120; D. Wallace Jr. # 121-123; D. Armstrong 124-130; A. Dillon(i) 131; E. Jones(i) 132-137; D. Earnhardt Jr.(i) 138-150; E. Jones(i) 151-200.
It was an exciting race at Texas Motor Speedway as Erik Jones won his 1st NASCAR XFINIT Series pole & Series win. Jones fought NASCAR Sprint Cup racers Brad Keselowski & Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win. “This is surreal. That confidence is something I never doubted in myself,” said Jones, who shared the Victory Lane celebration with crew chief Michael Wheeler. “This is just amazing. We beat Cup guys tonight! Just a really cool day and something I’m really proud of not only for myself but everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s a great feeling knowing you had to work for it, that it was not just handed to you.”
Credit: 307889Jared C. Tilton/NASCAR via Getty Images. Erik Jones, driver of the #20 GameStop/Mortal Kombat X Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 10, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Team-owner Joe Gibbs acknowledged that Jones is on the “fast track” to an eventual Cup ride. “Erik has great family support and got everybody around him and carries himself well,” Gibbs said. “Very talented. I had to call Kyle (Busch) and give him credit (for discovering Jones). We’re really proud of him. I think he won his first Truck race in his fifth race. The big thing is tonight he beat some good people, good cars up front and really quality stuff. We’re proud of him and he should be proud of himself.”
Credit: 307877Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images. Erik Jones, driver of the #20 GameStop/Mortal Kombat X Toyota, poses with the 21 Means 21 Pole Award after qualifying for the pole for the NASCAR XFINITY Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 10, 2015 in Fort Worth, Texas.
This was also a great effort by Brad Keselowski, who won a 2nd place start from qualifying, but started tail due to unapproved changes to the car. Jeff Gordon who was a guest commentator, stated it will be exciting to watch Keselowski work his way through the field.
Top 10 Driver Points: (1) T. Dillon 219;(2) C. Buescher 217;(3) C. Elliott 208;(4) D. Wallace Jr. # 204;(5) R. Reed 197;(6) R. Smith 197;(7) E. Sadler 181;(8) B. Gaughan 176;(9) B. Scott 169;(10) D. Suarez # 160.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Race Number 6
Unofficial Race Results for the 19Th Annual O’reilly Auto Parts 300 –
Friday, April 10, 2015 Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX – 1.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 200 Laps – 300 Miles – Purse: $1,465,164
Finishing Position Starting Position Car # Driver Team Laps Status
1. 1. Car 20 Erik Jones(i) GameStop/Mortal Kombat X Toyota 200 Running
2. 2. Car 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Discount Tire Ford 200 Running
3. 5. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i) Goody’s Chevrolet 200 Running
4. 6. Car 7 Regan Smith TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet 200 Running
5. 3. Car 33 Austin Dillon(i) Ruud Chevrolet 200 Running
6. 8. Car 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. # AdvoCare Ford 200 Running
7. 11. Car 54 Denny Hamlin(i) Monster Energy Toyota 200 Running
8. 9. Car 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 200 Running
9. 10. Car 60 Chris Buescher Safety-Kleen Ford 200 Running
10. 7. Car 2 Brian Scott Albertsons/Reser’s Chevrolet 200 Running
11. 13. Car 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Ford 200 Running
12. 16. Car 3 Ty Dillon Bulwark/Wayne Workwear Chevrolet 200 Running
13. 22. Car 42 Brennan Poole DC Solar Chevrolet 200 Running
14. 17. Car 98 Sam Hornish Jr.(i) Carroll Shelby Engine Co. Ford 200 Running
15. 14. Car 16 Ryan Reed Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 200 Running
16. 18. Car 43 Dakoda Armstrong Purina Animal Nutrition Ford 200 Running
17. 15. Car 25 John Wes Townley(i) Zaxby’s Chevrolet 200 Running
18. 4. Car 18 Daniel Suarez # ARRIS Toyota 199 Running
19. 20. Car 28 JJ Yeley Texas 28 Spirits Stage Toyota 199 Running
20. 19. Car 39 Ryan Sieg Flasr Chevrolet 199 Running
21. 21. Car 4 Ross Chastain # Flex Shot Chevrolet 199 Running
22. 25.Car 51 Jeremy Clements Crescent Consulting Chevrolet 198 Running
23. 31. Car 44 David Starr Zachry Toyota 198 Running
24. 23. Car 19 Mike Bliss Dealer Associates Toyota 197 Running
25. 30. Car 01 Landon Cassill G&K Services Chevrolet 197 Running
26. 29. Car 55 Brandon Gdovic WindStax Chevrolet 196 Running
27. 26. Car 0 Harrison Rhodes # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 195 Running
28. 34. Car 90 Mario Gosselin Crash Claims R Us Chevrolet 195 Running
29. 27. Car 24 Eric McClure Hefty Easy Grip Cups Toyota 192 Running
30. 38. Car 97 Peyton Sellers Obaika Racing Chevrolet 190 Running
31. 37. Car 52 Joey Gase DB Sales Company Chevrolet 186 Running
32. 24. Car 8 Blake Koch Toyota 182 Running
33. 12. Car 62 Brendan Gaughan WIX Filters Chevrolet 167 Accident
34. 28. Car 14 Cale Conley # IAVA Toyota 165 Accident
35. 32. Car 13 Timmy Hill(i) Braille Battery Grafoid Dodge 150 Running
36. 36. Car 70 Derrike Cope Nature Nate’s Honey/Zilla Wraps Chevrolet 79 Engine
37. 33. Car 15 Stanton Barrett Lilly Trucking/4caring.org Ford 11 Engine
38. 35. Car 10 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 10 Vibration
39. 39. Car 40 Derek White Braille Battery Grafoid Dodge 7 Transmission
40. 40. Car 74 Mike Harmon Absolute Machines Dodge 2 Engine
Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #22, 52, 74 (unapproved adjustments). Failed to Qualify: N/A Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 15 Mins, 21 Secs. Average Speed: 132.989 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.624 Seconds. 3M Lap Leader: Erik Jones, #20 79 LapsCoors Light Pole Award: Erik Jones, #20 185.166 mph Duralast Brakes “Brake in the Race”: Erik Jones, #20 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Joe Gibbs Racing Engines – Mark Cronquist, #20 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: Darrell Wallace Jr, #6 Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Darrell Wallace Jr, #6
Next Race: Apr. 18, 2015 – Bristol Motor Speedway
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