Trenton's Jones gunning for ARCA honor
Friday, April 25, 2008
In recent columns, you've read about a pair of young local drivers who have been busy making waves on the Kentucky Ohio Indiana Legends Tour.
Well, Trenton's Rob Jones also got his start in the KOIL Tour a couple of years ago, and now he's racing in the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series.
Extras
Last week at Anderson Speedway in Indiana, series rookie Jones chased series veteran Steve Christman throughout the race, and with four laps to go, drove his Chevy Colorado underneath for the lead.
"He came down a little bit, and I got loose," Jones said. "It was almost a tank slapper on the back stretch, but I was able to gather the truck back and save it."
According to the ARCA Web site, Jones charged underneath Christman through Turn 1, but got loose on the bottom coming off Turn 2. By the time Jones gathered it back up, former series champion Paul Hahn slipped underneath for the second position.
Jones eventually finished third, but that first-race performance has him gunning for Rookie of the Year honors this season.
The ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series will be at nearby Winchester (Ind.) Speedway on May 4.
Jones' all-area crew consists of car owner Bobby McConnel of Shandon, Marc Smith (spotter), brother Tommy Smith (crew chief) of Hamilton and James Wilson (car chief) of Oxford. The car is sponsored by R&B Contractors, also of Shandon.
You also can watch Jones race in person a couple weeks later. That's when the ARCA Trucks join the ARCA RE/MAX Series stock cars for a race weekend at Kentucky Speedway on May 10.
Tickets can be purchased by phone at (888) 652-7223 online at kentuckyspeedway.com or at the track's ticket office, 400 Buttermilk Pike, Suite 100, in Fort Mitchell, Ky.
Sour grapes
Did anyone happen to hear Helio Castroneves' initial comments about being passed by Danica Patrick with two laps to go in Japan?
He initially claimed that it wasn't until he looked at Twin Ring Motegi's infield scoring pylon that he realized he'd just been passed for the lead.
Did that sound a bit fishy to anyone else?
If you've ever listened to a race on a radio scanner, you'll know that the driver's spotters are constantly keeping their drivers abreast of just whom they're ahead of and who's coming up from behind. And if it's for position, they definitely make sure the driver knows about it. He knew she was passing for the lead, but there was nothing he could do about it without running out of fuel in the process.
Then a day later, Graham Rahal made the offhand comment that Patrick's win "wasn't pretty." That's just sour grapes because Patrick left his dad's Rahal-Letterman team in order to be competitive again.
Guys, like it or not. She won. Get over it, and move on.
Got a local racing story? Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.
