Erik Jones Defends His 2014 Victory at Iowa Speedway
Erik Jones celebrates in victory lane at Iowa Speedway Friday night.
Jones dominates in his first victory of 2015
NEWTON, Iowa (June 19, 2015) – Based on practice and qualifying, Erik Jones entered the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Ethanol 200 presented by Enogen with the race’s dominant truck.
The 19-year-old Jones, driver of the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 truck, won the pole by turning a lap in 23.129 seconds (136.193 mph) in the third and final round.
Jones set an Iowa Speedway track record for the youngest NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole winner at the age of 19 years, 0 months, 20 days and won the fifth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole of his career. The previous record holder was Austin Dillon (20 years, 2 months, 14 days).
When the dust settled after 200 laps, it was Jones who drove to Casey’s General Stores Victory Lane for the second consecutive race at Iowa Speedway. He led 112 of 200 laps.
“What a day, what a day,” Jones said. “Sat on the pole, won the race. That’s how you do it.”
Eerily similar to last year, Jones won his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the year at Iowa Speedway.
“The last month was stressful all around; stressful on me as a person,” Jones said. “It really made me grow a lot and look at a lot of things and just figure out a lot of things at this level of racing.”
Jones had finished third or better four times for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2015. But the No. 4 truck’s ability to consistently beat the field on restarts allowed Jones to secure the win at Iowa Speedway. Jones joins Timothy Peters as the only NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers with two wins at the “Fastest Short Track on the Planet.” Peters visited Casey’s General Stores Victory Lane in 2012 and 2013.
Next up, Iowa Speedway will host the USAC Silver Crown Series Casey’s General Stores 100 on Saturday. Iowa Speedway and Knoxville Raceway have teamed up to offer an unprecedented ticket package for race fans. The combo ticket provides fans the opportunity to attend the USAC Silver Crown Series at Iowa Speedway tomorrow afternoon followed by the Lucas Oil Championship Cup Series at Knoxville Raceway.
Notes from Iowa Speedway
· Hawkeye Stages is offering race fans an exclusive round-trip bus package from Iowa Speedway to Knoxville Raceway tomorrow afternoon. Shuttle tickets are $40 round-trip. Buses will depart Iowa Speedway’s General Campground, north of the track (paved circular drive), at 5:15 p.m. with a return trip from Knoxville 45 minutes after the end of the race. To make your reservation or to get more information, call 641-792-3232 or email newtonfrontdesk@hawkeyestages.com.
This unique package is the first such partnership between “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet” and the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.”
· Grammy Award winning band Blues Traveler will perform following the July 17 ARCA Racing Series 150. Blues Traveler will hit the Pork Party Pavilion, overlooking Turn 4, approximately one hour after the checkered flag is waved.
· “The Fastest Short Track on the Planet” will host the Verizon IndyCar Series Iowa Corn 300 – the 14th race of the season – July 18, 2015.
