Brandon Jones celebrates after winning Saturday night’s ARCA Menards Series race at Iowa Speedway. Photo: ARCA Menards Series
Brandon Jones had to wait out a three-hour weather delay and battle through a handful of challenges from the likes of Sammy Smith and Jesse Love.
But ultimately, nothing was going to stop the 25-year-old from winning Saturday night’s ARCA Menards Series race at Iowa Speedway.
Jones, the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular from Atlanta, Georgia, used a long run at the end of the 150-lap race on the 0.875-mile paved oval to overtake Smith and cruise to the victory in a fashion that was similar to his ARCA Menards Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway two weeks ago.
Jones, now has a pair of wins in his two ARCA starts in 2022.
“Charlotte kind of went the same way,” Jones explained. “Long run toward the end there. Kind of came to life at the end. I had to work for it, though. These guys were really tough on me today. Jesse Love, obviously Sammy Smith was really quick. Those dudes were really hard to race.
“But all in all, we had a better Toyota Camry there in the long haul, I think.”
Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the ARCA Menards Series with the Xfinity Series on an off weekend, Jones took the lead from Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Sammy Smith with 18 laps to go and never looked back.
The event was a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series East. So despite missing out on the win, Smith collected valuable points in that series to extend his championship lead over Taylor Gray, who finished 18th after retiring from the race early with mechanical issues. Smith is the defending East Series champion.
Love, who qualified on the General Tire Pole for the Iowa race, showed race-winning speed before he stumbled to the pits with an issue in the closing laps. He finished 13th.
Love’s issue opened the door for Connor Mosack to score a third-place finish, a new career-high in series competition. Jonathan Shafer finished in fourth, with Conner Jones in fifth.
Leland Honeyman, Nick Sanchez, Greg Van Alst, Ron Vandermeir Jr. and Amber Balcaen rounded out the top 10.
Rajah Caruth, who entered the Iowa race as the ARCA Menards Series championship points leader, dealt with a tire issue early in the race and quickly lost a couple laps. He finished 12th.
Daniel Dye, who entered the race third in points, suffered an engine failure after 88 laps and was credited with a 17th-place finish.
The ARCA Menards Series will return to action Saturday, June 18 at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan.
ARCA Menards Series
Iowa Speedway – Newton, Iowa
Calypso Lemonade 150 – June 11, 2022
1. Brandon Jones
2. Sammy Smith
3. Connor Mosack
4. Jonathan Shafer
5. Conner Jones
6. Leland Honeyman
7. Nick Sanchez
8. Greg Van Alst
9. Ron Vandermeir, Jr.
10. Amber Balcaen
11. Toni Breidinger
12. Rajah Caruth
13. Jesse Love
14. Bryce Haugeberg
15. Brad Smith
16. Alex Clubb
17. Daniel Dye
18. Taylor Gray
19. D.L. Wilson
20. Tanner Allen
21. Stephanie Moyer
22. Zachary Tinkle
23. Tim Richmond
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