Brandon Jones ends long victory drought at Darlington
After diligently working through a 98-race winless streak over the last three NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons, Joe Gibbs Racing's Brandon Jones reminded his competitors -- and his fans -- Saturday that he's still a race winner and a title contender.
The well-liked 28-year-old Atlanta native took the lead on a re-start with 12 laps remaining in Saturday's Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at the historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway -- beating 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott to the finish line by a healthy 1.105-seconds to hoist his first trophy since April, 2022 -- a span of 98 races.
The 1.366-mile Darlington track may be nicknamed "Too Tough To Tame," but it certainly presented a tamer race than the series produced a week ago on the typically wild and wooly Martinsville half-miler. This weekend featured 14 lead changes among nine drivers -- none of the changes up front a result of overly aggressive driving.
Brandon Jones celebrates in victory lane. AFP
Instead, strategy, a fast car and unwavering belief in himself and his team made the difference for Jones.
"It's nice for my confidence, right, but it's also to prove to the haters and people that said I was incapable of doing it, wrong again," said Jones, whose No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 24 of the races 137 laps.
Justin Allgaier, who led the most laps (56) on the afternoon and won Stage 2, finished third in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, followed by teammates Ross Chastain and rookie Carson Kvapil. The team, co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, had all five of its Chevys in the top 10 with rookie Connor Zilisch finishing sixth and Sammy Smith ninth.
Rookies punctuated the top 10 despite it being the first time most of them had ever raced at the famously challenging venue. In addition to Kvapil and Zilisch, rookies Christian Eckes and Nick Sanchez claimed seventh and eighth place with Smith and veteran Sheldon Creed rounding out the top 10.
Brandon Jones speaks to the media. AFP
Harrison Burton's AM Racing team won the opening stage and JGR's Taylor Gray was credited with the Xfinity Fastest Lap (160.706 mph) of the day.
"I am proud of Brandon Jones, I know how hard the kid has worked, he's done a good job and I'm happy to see him get to victory lane" said the reigning series champion Allgaier, who has now tied NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Mark Martin with nine-consecutive top 10s in Xfinity Series races at Darlington.
It's been that kind of year for Allgaier. He's finished top 10 in six of the last seven races of 2025, including back-to-back victories at Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami in March and a runner-up finish at Atlanta in February.
The series' popular Dash 4 Cash incentive program returns with next week's SciApps 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, marking the first spring race at Bristol since 2019. Christopher Bell was the race winner.
The highest finisher among Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill, Haas Factory Team's Creed, Allgaier and Alpha Prime Racing's Brennan Poole will win the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus check from Xfinity, having earning eligibility based on their results in the Martinsville (Va.) Speedway race last week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
15 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Gauff clinches French Open title after epic win over Sabalenka
8 June 2025 11:37 PARIS (AFP)Coco Gauff secured her French Open title on Saturday with a victory over Aryna Sabalenka, and said a maiden French Open trophy was "one I really wanted".The 21-year-old secured a hard-fought 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 win over the world number one in difficult, windy conditions at Roland Garros.'I felt like this is one I really wanted, because I do think this was one of the tournaments that when I was younger that I felt I had the best shot of winning,' the American said."So I just felt like if I went through my career and didn't get at least one of these, I would feel regrets and stuff. Today, playing Aryna, I was just, 'I just gotta go for it and try my best to get through the match.'"It was a long-awaited success for Gauff, who was in tears after losing the 2022 French Open final to Iga Swiatek as a teenager. She had also reached at least the quarter-finals in Paris in each of the previous four years.'That ceremony when Iga won, I just remembered trying to take it all in and pay attention to every detail and just feel like I wanted that experience for myself,' added the world number two, who also came back from a set down to beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open is the first woman to beat a world number one in a Grand Slam final from a set down since Venus Williams against Lindsay Davenport at Wimbledon in 2005. It was Gauff's first title since lifting the WTA Finals trophy last year, after suffering final defeats in both the Madrid and Italian Opens to Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini respectively.
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
Jordanians bask in glory of 2026 World Cup qualification
Amman: Huge celebrations erupted in Jordan after the national team qualified for the 2026 World Cup, earning a spot in the tournament for the first time following a decisive 3-0 victory against Oman. Fans drove their cars through Jordan's capital Amman late Thursday, honking their horns and chanting victory while others waved the national flag in triumph. 'We are all with you!' and 'It's getting closer, heroes' read messages written into the night sky in a spectacular drone light show. Jordan sealed their place on the penultimate day of Asian qualifying for the 2026 tournament, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Ali Olwin netted a hat-trick as the 2023 Asian Cup runners-up etched their name in the history books. They secured their spot in the World Cup when South Korea defeated Iraq, also on Thursday, 2-0. The royal court published pictures of King Abdullah II wearing a national team jersey as he watched the game from the embassy in London, where he was on a visit. 'This historic qualification is well-deserved by our team, which includes stars and cadres of whom we are proud,' he wrote on X. 'Special thanks go to our loyal fans who have been our support and encouragement.' Sohad Idrissi, a 48-year-old housewife who watched the game with her siblings, beamed with pride as she told AFP that her side had played 'a beautiful game and deserved to qualify for the World Cup.' Jordanian police stand guard as people celebrate after Jordan qualified for the World Cup for the first time, winning 3-0 over Oman, in Amman. Reuters 'Today the joy is two-fold: there is the joy of Eid al-Adha, and the joy of Nashama qualifying,' she said, using a nickname for the Jordanian team. Fadi Qalanzi, a 21-year-old university student, called the win 'a dream that is finally coming true'. 'Our team put on a beautiful performance, and they truly deserved to qualify,' he added. Osama al-Shreeda, a 60-year-old retired civil servant, also called it a dream come true. 'I've been following Jordanian football since 1978, and a relative of mine used to play with the national team,' he said. Jordan's fans cheer as they watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifier football match on big screens at the Prince Hamza hall in the Sports City in Amman. AFP 'It's a great opportunity for our team and its players to be recognised globally,' he added, calling it an achievement not just for Jordan but for the wider Arab region. 'It was about time, this is a joy we'd been waiting for for a long time,' said 55-year-old schoolteacher Nashat Badr. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan's coach said 'this victory belongs to all of us' after steering the Central Asian nation to the World Cup for the first time in their history. A 0-0 draw at the UAE on Thursday was enough to seal the landmark with a game to go in Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America. The expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams has given traditional outsiders such as Uzbekistan the chance to break into the top ranks of world football. 'We have come a long way and achieved an important result,' their coach Timur Kapadze said, according to the Asian Football Confederation. 'We congratulate our entire people and our president. This victory belongs to all of us. 'Yesterday and today the phone calls have not stopped.' Uzbekistan started competing as an independent nation in the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Backed by state funding, Uzbekistan are one of Asia's fastest-developing footballing nations. They are ranked 57th in the world. 'Everyone said they would support us and pray for us, the wishes for victory were a great inspiration for us,' said Kapadze, who replaced Srecko Katanec as head coach in January. Agencies
Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
Gauff stuns Sabalenka in lacklustre final for French Open glory
Coco Gauff showed the spirit of a champion when she fought from a set down to topple world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 in a lacklustre French Open final on Saturday for her maiden Roland Garros title and second Grand Slam singles crown. The 21-year-old became the first American to capture the singles trophy in Paris since Serena Williams in 2015 and the youngest from the United States to achieve the feat since her decorated compatriot in 2002. Victory also helped erase memories of her crushing defeat by Iga Swiatek in 2022 and confirmed her pedigree on the Grand Slam stage after a breakthrough triumph at the 2023 U.S. Open, where she had beaten Sabalenka. Coco Gauff poses with her trophy and ball boys after winning over Aryna Sabalenka. AFP "I was going through a lot of things when I lost here three years ago," said Gauff, who has won both her major titles after rallying from a set down. "I'm just glad to be back here. I was going through a lot of dark thoughts. Three finals ... I guess I got the most important win. That's all that matters." Gauff provided some comic relief later when she dropped the lid of the Suzanne Lenglen Cup while posing for a photo. NEW CHAMPION Paris was guaranteed a new champion but the first clash between the top two women in the world rankings in a major final since the 2018 Australian Open failed to live up to its billing on Court Philippe Chatrier with 100 unforced errors in total. Competing in her third straight Grand Slam final but first on the sport's slowest surface, Sabalenka broke to love in the third game with smart play at the net and mixed delicate drop shots and raw power to lead 4-1 in the first set. Coco Gauff celebrates after winning her women's singles final match against Aryna Sabalenka. AFP Gauff was undeterred and broke back from 0-40 down after a shaky service game by Sabalenka and hung on to draw level after eight games as the vocal centre court crowd spurred her on to prolong the contest. What followed was a festival of mistakes from both players in blustery conditions, before Gauff forced a tiebreak with a neat backhand winner, only to squander a 4-1 advantage as Sabalenka roared back to take the opening set. Gauff barely flinched and she dialled up the intensity in the second set by claiming four of the opening five games and levelled the match after her opponent's staggering unforced error count climbed to 51. WILD CELEBRATIONS The 2022 Paris runner-up stepped up another level in the deciding set to build a 3-1 lead before Sabalenka clawed her way back, but she composed herself just in time and wrapped up the win to spark wild celebrations among her fans. Gauff dropped to the ground in disbelief before shedding tears of joy and racing up the stands to meet her team, while Sabalenka was left to digest another major final defeat after losing the Australian Open title clash to Madison Keys. Winner Coco Gauff and ball boys and girls pose with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Aryna Sabalenkad. AP The result denied the 27-year-old the chance to become the only active woman on tour to lift singles titles at three of the four Grand Slams after her success at the Australian Open in 2023-24 and the U.S. Open last year. "You're a fighter, a hard worker, so congratulations to you and your team," a tearful Sabalenka said. The three-times major champion, who missed the opportunity to become the only active woman on tour to lift singles titles at three of the four Grand Slams, said it was her worst final after a solid two weeks. "It was honestly the worst tennis I've played in the last, I don't know how many months," Sabalenka added. "The conditions were terrible and she simply was better in these conditions. It was the worst final I've ever played." Reuters
