Brandon Jones Snaps Winless Drought With Darlington Victory

Brandon Jones celebrating in Victory Lane after winning the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)

DARLINGTON, S.C. — Victory was a long time coming for Brandon Jones, who won the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway, snapping a 98-race winless streak dating back to April 2022.

Jones was leading late in the race before being passed for the lead by Ross Chastain on Lap 127 of 147. However, just a few laps later, a caution came out for a multi-car incident, bringing all but four of the lead-lap cars down pit road to put on their final set of tires.

During the cycle, the No. 20 team helped Jones win the race off pit road, beating Chastain and Chase Elliott out of the pits. On the ensuing restart, he made quick work of the cars who stayed out and went on to claim the win.

Brandon Jones doing a burnout at Darlington Raceway after breaking his 98-race winless drought. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)

“It’s all for my confidence, but it’s also nice to prove some haters and some people who said I wasn’t capable of doing it wrong again,” Jones said after the race. “This is huge momentum. I knew we were on a high, just didn’t know it was going to happen.”

This was the sixth career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory for Jones and the second at Darlington Raceway. After a tough first three weeks of the season in his return to Joe Gibbs Racing, Jones and his No. 20 team have found their stride the last five weeks, scoring four top 10s during that span along with the victory this weekend.

The last two seasons were tough for Jones, who while driving for JR Motorsports, was not able to win a race and missed the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs both seasons. Following the race, he credited his mental toughness for helping him overcome that stretch and return to Victory Lane.

Brandon Jones racing at Darlington Raceway during the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)

“I put loads and loads of time into being mentally tough to get through two tough years like I just came off and no wins,” he said. “A lot of emotion. This is a lot of midnights and going to bed really late to try to stay tough and to continue to grind this out to get our first win this season.”

Elliott finished in second place after a busy afternoon for the No. 17 team. In the first stage of the race, Elliott endured a decent amount of damage to the right front of his car, forcing him to restart at the back of the pack for the start of Stage 2 before eventually working his way back up inside the top 10 by the end of the stage.

“It was a crazy day,” said Elliott. “There was a lot that went on with going to the back and having a lot of damage and that wasn’t helping. It was fun, appreciate them (Hendrick Motorsports) letting me drive. Maybe do it again next year sometime.”

Brandon Jones doing a burnout on the front straightaway at Darlington Raceway after scoring his first win of the 2025 season. (Photo: Sydney Redden | The Podium Finish)

When looking back at the final restart, Elliott was surprised by how many of the cars that stayed out on older tires chose the top lane, which allowed him and Jones to start on the bottom with fresher tires. He also mentioned that by the time his car got dialed in after the final restart, there were not enough laps left to catch Jones.

“I was surprised that as many guys chose the top lane because that kind of put me and Brandon (Jones) in a position where we could both choose bottom (lane),” he said. “Neither one of us wanted to get stuck up on the outside once guys kind of started fanning out. I got to where I wanted to, and I was just tight there. (It) finally started to turn a little better, and I started making some time on him (Jones) with two or three to go and at that point you’re out of time.”

Finishing behind Elliott inside the top five were Justin Allgaier, Chastain and Carson Kvapil. Rounding out the top 10 were Connor Zilisch, Christian Eckes, Nick Sanchez, Sammy Smith and Sheldon Creed.

Stage 1 Top 10 Results

1. Harrison Burton
2. Justin Allgaier
3. Brennan Poole
4. Kyle Sieg
5. Anthony Alfredo
6. Brandon Jones
7. Christian Eckes
8. Josh Bilicki
9. Ross Chastain
10. Sheldon Creed

Stage 2 Top 10 Results

1. Justin Allgaier
2. Christian Eckes
3. Ross Chastain
4. Brandon Jones
5. Harrison Burton
6. Carson Kvapil
7. Christopher Bell
8. Chase Elliott
9. Jesse Love
10. Sheldon Creed

Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway Finishing Results