By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Though Christopher Bell owned the day at Atlanta Motor Speedway, teammates Brandon Jones feels he was one step behind.
The Joe Gibbs Racing sophomore was a consistent contender in the top five throughout Saturday’s Rinnai 250 from Atlanta, starting ninth and jumping positions almost immediantly.
The Georgia native was feeling strong until a pit road penalty on lap 83 when he was caught speeding while entering the pits.
Rebounding for fourth place, Jones knew he had much more.
“Our teammate [Christopher] Bell is always quick here,” Jones said. “He had the car to beat all day but I think we had a strong second-place car behind him.
“The pit crew did one hell of a job on pit road. I got that speeding penalty there, we had a big stage to recover. At least we got the caution at the end. I got a chance, that’s all I can ask for.”
With second-place Jeffrey Earnhardt spinning his tires on the final restart with three laps to go, Jones’ progress was halted, however, continued back into the top five.
“That top lane did just not get going. I talked to Jeffrey after the race some, he obviously spun his tires pretty bad. I tried to push him for as long as I could to try and help him get going, but eventually, I had to shoot the middle and try to make something happen.”
Finishing fourth at his home track, the result marked Jones’ second straight top-five finish to start 2019, already tying his total top-five number from 2018.
The quick start has Jones excited for the following weeks to come in the Xfinity Series.
“I feel like if I can finish fourth here then we’re going to get a win soon,” he said. “This is only my second race with Jeff Meendering and he did a heck of a job making calls. We got the car close all day, made small air pressure adjustments and that’s what you got to ask for your crew chief.”