Talladega, AL.–(Russell Branham) They weren’t able to keep up with this Jones at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday, as 18-year-old Blake Jones pulled away from the field on a green-white-checkered restart to win the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 ARCA Racing Series event.
Not only did Jones’ first career ARCA Racing Series victory come in only his second career start on a superspeedway, it also occurred a month before he graduates from high school in his hometown of Sevierville, Tenn.
“It’s hard to put into words. This has almost brought tears to my eyes,” an emotional Jones said from Victory Lane. “This is the biggest race I’ve ever won. It’s a dream come true.
“Just to be able come here and race at Talladega is amazing. And then to win here, it’s unreal. It’s just incredible. I really can’t explain how happy I am.
Tom Hessert appeared poised to grab the victory before a late caution forced the G-W-C finish. As the cars were getting back up to speed on the final restart, Hessert’s car suddenly shook and began to drop off the pace, and it quickly became apparent that he had run out of fuel.
“Tom had a heck of a race car. It was just as good of a car as we had,” Jones said. “We kind of knew he was close on fuel, but we didn’t ever expect him to run out.
“I think I might have been able to get him even if he didn’t run out of fuel. We had an incredibly fast race car. I’m just glad to be able to get these guys to Victory Lane. It was a great afternoon.
Pole-sitter Cody Coughlin finished second, followed by Cole Powell in third, Brandon Jones fourth, Russ Dugger fifth, Matt Kurzejewski sixth, Scott Sheldon seventh, Sarah Conrett-Ching eighth, Bo LeMastus ninth and Tyler Audie 10th. Hessert fell all the way to a 15th-place finish.
The ARAC Racing Series point standings got a little tighter, as the drivers who entered the race in the top two positions in the standings both ran into trouble. Points-leader Grant Enfinger, a native of Fairhope who won the first three ARCA races of the season, finished 28th, while Austin Wayne Self – who was second in the standings – finished 32nd.
Talladega’s weekend kicked off today with practice sessions for the GEICO 500 (NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) and Winn-Dixie 300 (NASCAR XFINITY Series), as well as practice, qualifying and green flag for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards event. The evening concludes with “The Big One on the Blvd” Mardi Gras-style parade, which will feature NASCAR drivers and fan competitions on the track’s infield Talladega Blvd.
Saturday’s slate includes qualifying for the GEICO 500 and Winn-Dixie 300, followed by the start of the Winn-Dixie 300 at 2 p.m. (CST). The day concludes in the evening with the Talladega Superspeedway traditional Infield Concert featuring country music maverick Chase Rice, along with Buddy Brown and Dee Jay Silver. The concert is free with the purchase of a Sunday GEICO 500 (12 noon CST start) admission ticket. For ticket information, call 1-877-Go2-DEGA or visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.
All seating along the frontstretch grandstands and towers are equipped with roomy and comfortable 21- and 22-inch wide chair back seats. Large High Definition Sprint Vision video boards that were implemented in 2014 will be back – three are permanent – and placed along the frontstretch to provide views of the whole track to every seat in the house. The video boards, three of which that are now permanent, are an initiative that is planned to be implemented at all International Speedway Corporation (ISC) tracks in the coming years.
| FIN | STR | NO | DRIVER/HOMETOWN | TEAM & CAR | LAPS | STATUS |
| 1 | 3 | 22 | Blake Jones/Sevierville TN | Uncle Ray’s Potato Chips Dodge | 79 | Running |
| 2 | 1 | 55 | Cody Coughlin/Delaware OH | JEGS Toyota | 79 | Running |
| 3 | 21 | 58 | Cole Powell/Mount Brydges Ontario | Gary Yeomans Ford | 79 | Running |
| 4 | 9 | 25 | Brandon Jones/Atlanta GA | Tide-Menards Toyota | 79 | Running |
| 5 | 12 | 80 | Russ Dugger/Owasso OK | Finney-Gosselin Racing Chevrolet | 79 | Running |
| 6 | 6 | 54 | Matt Kurzejewski/Mansfield PA | Costy’s Energy Service Chevrolet | 79 | Running |
| 7 | 11 | 20 | Scott Sheldon/Las Vegas NV | Allegiant Travel Chevrolet | 79 | Running |
| 8 | 18 | 2 | Sarah Cornett-Ching/Summerland BC | Race101.net Chevrolet | 79 | Running |
| 9 | 13 | 42 | Bo LeMastus/Louisville KY | Crosley Brands-T&T Constr-Glad Precision Dodge | 79 | Running |
| 10 | 15 | 12 | Tyler Audie/Orlando FL | Audie Expo-NP Properties Toyota | 79 | Running |
| 11 | 19 | 59 | David Levine/Highland Park IL | Ford Performance-Traqgear-Gary Yeomans Ford | 79 | Running |
| 12 | 14 | 17 | Buster Graham/Lafayette LA | Louisiana Tech Ford | 79 | Running |
| 13 | 17 | 66 | Mark Thompson/Cartersville GA | Phoenix Air Toyota | 79 | Running |
| 14 | 7 | 15 | Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN | 101 Ranch Records-Menards Toyota | 79 | Running |
| 15 | 2 | 77 | Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ | Barbera’s Autoland Dodge | 79 | Running |
| 16 | 20 | 30 | Terry Jones/Amherstburg Ontario | JAAR Excavating Toyota | 79 | Running |
| 17 | 24 | 10 | Ed Pompa/Ballston Spa NY | Milton CAT-Double H Ranch Chevrolet | 79 | Running |
| 18 | 22 | 6 | Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL | Southwest Florida Cable Construction Ford | 79 | Running |
| 19 | 25 | 68 | Chris Bailey/South Park PA | CA Bailey Excavating-Notch Gear Ford | 78 | Running |
| 20 | 27 | 9 | Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL | DK-LOK Ford | 77 | Running |
| 21 | 26 | 76 | Andy Seuss/Salisbury NC | O.B. Builders Chevrolet | 77 | Running |
| 22 | 30 | 97 | Bobby Hamilton Jr./Greenbrier TN | Nitroforce Industries Titan 1000 Dodge | 77 | Running |
| 23 | 35 | 7 | George Cushman/Waterville NY | Cushman Truck Repair Chevrolet | 77 | Running |
| 24 | 34 | 95 | Scott Edwards/Ormond Beach FL | Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge | 77 | Running |
| 25 | 28 | 06 | James Swanson/Clarksboro NJ | Kan Do Chevrolet | 77 | Running |
| 26 | 8 | 5 | Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA | Lucas Oil-MAV TV Chevrolet | 76 | Electrical |
| 27 | 32 | 0 | Barry Fitzgerald/Sykesville MD | Colonial Bus Ford | 76 | Running |
| 28 | 10 | 23 | Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL | Alamo-BeasleyAllen.com Chevrolet | 66 | Accident |
| 29 | 5 | 69 | Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN | Kimmel Racing Ford | 66 | Accident |
| 30 | 16 | 52 | Clay Campbell/Martinsville VA | Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet | 66 | Accident |
| 31 | 23 | 48 | Brad Smith/Shelby Township MI | Radon.com Ford | 52 | Accident |
| 32 | 4 | 98 | Austin Wayne Self/Austin TX | AM Technical Solutions-Pirate Energy Ford | 52 | Accident |
| 33 | 31 | 40 | Eric Caudell/Piedmont OK | Carter 2 Motorsports Dodge | 37 | Electrical |
| 34 | 29 | 3 | Josh White/Charleston WV | LRSolutions-Hixson Construction Chevrolet | 21 | Transmssn |
| 35 | 33 | 00 | Tim Viens/Daytona Beach FL | Racedaysponsor.com Ford | 7 | Overhtng |
| Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell: Cody Coughlin 50.968 (187.883 mph) | ||||||
| Margin of Victory: 0.551 seconds | Cautions: 4 for 27 laps | |||||
| Time of Race: 1:40:29 | Average Speed: 125.478 mph | |||||
| Lap Leaders: Coughlin 1-3, 9-15, 17 (11); Blake Jones 4-8, 73, 78-79 (8); Hessert 16, 18-72, 74-77 (60) | ||||||