Eddie Sharp Racing Post Race Report
RACE: UARA-STARS 150 (UARA-STARS Series)
TRACK: Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway
DATE: August 10, 2012
BRANDON JONES CLAWS TO FINISH 12TH AT TRI-COUNTY (N.C.) MOTOR SPEEDWAY AFTER POST-QUALIFYING MECHANICAL FAILURE RELEGATED HIM TO START 32ND
Brandon Jones in the No. 33 Chevrolet
DENVER, NC (August 13, 2012) - Coming off a win in the United Auto Racing Association (UARA) STARS Series at Concord (N.C.) Speedway, Brandon Jones came from the back of the pack in a 32-car field to finish 12th on Friday night at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway. After suffering a mechanical failure during qualifying, the No. 33 Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) team worked diligently to replace the part and get Jones' Chevrolet ready for the action at the 4/10-mile speedway. Before the end of the event, Jones picked up 20 positions to finish on the lead lap in 12th place.
Visiting Tri-County Motor Speedway for the first time in his career, Jones spent Thursday's practice session getting acclimated to the North Carolina short track. With speeds inside the top 10 throughout the session, the No. 33 ESR team focused on minor adjustments to pick up as much speed as possible on the track.
By Friday, the drivers of the UARA-STARS Series had one last practice session before qualifying and racing in the 150-lap event. Jones' Chevrolet suffered a mechanical failure with its lifter during qualifying forcing the team to replace the part and forfeit their qualifying time.
Starting from the back of the pack, Jones took the green flag in the 32nd position. With the leaders running 16-second laps, Jones was forced to get up on the wheel of his Chevrolet as soon as the green flag fell to avoid losing a lap. As the race progressed, Jones methodically moved through the field picking up positions and working his way up the leaderboard. By the conclusion of the 150-lap event Jones was scored in the 12th position.
"I had a lot of fun racing through the field this week at Tri-County," commented Jones. "The guys at Eddie Sharp Racing did a great job building us a competitive Chevrolet, which allowed us to finish 12th. I'm really proud of everyone's effort this week; we were all disappointed when the lifter broke, but our team came together to make the changes that we needed to make and got our No. 33 Chevrolet ready for the race. We have a few weeks off coming up, but I'm really looking forward to getting back in the car at Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway next month."
Jones will make his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut in the Greenville 140 on Labor Day, September 3, at Greenville Pickens (S.C.) Speedway. After that, Jones will rejoin the UARA-STARS Series for round 12 of the 16-race season at Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway on Friday, September 14.
Media Contact:
Ashleigh Aungst
Public Relations Manager
Eddie Sharp Racing
Office: 704.489.8809
Mobile: 717.222.0664
AAungst@TeamESR.com
Photos by Drew Heiwarter
