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 With a relatively nondescript, problem-free sixth-place finish in
Friday night's Ford EcoBoost 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Jones
secured the series driver's championship as well as the owner's
title for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
Discovered by Busch when he beat his future car owner as a
16-year-old in the Snowball Derby for Super Late Models, Jones
delivered the championship after running two part-time seasons for
KBM.
"I can't think of a better way to repay these guys," Jones said in
Victory Lane after securing the title by 15 points over runner-up
Tyler Reddick. "I can't think of a better way to thank Kyle for all
these years (than by) getting the driver's championship for him.
He's wanted one since the company started, and to bring it home for
myself and for KBM, you couldn't really ask for a better ending than
that."
The youngest champion in series history at 19 years, 5 months, 21
days, Jones has been earmarked for a meteoric ascent to the top
level of NASCAR racing.
"It means so much more to have the opportunity to help these younger
drivers and to help these kids that are coming up through the ranks
to be successful," Busch said.
"And to do that with Kyle Busch Motorsports and Toyota, there's
nothing greater than to have that feeling and to build that company
from the ground up, from nothing, and take it to where it is today."
But first things first. Team owner Joe Gibbs reiterated Friday the
plan to run Jones in a full season of NASCAR Xfinity Series racing
next year, with a few selected Sprint Cup events added to the mix.
Jones has already gotten his baptism in Sprint Cup. Earlier this
season, he subbed for Kyle Busch at Kansas, the last of 11 races
Busch missed after breaking his right leg and left foot in the
season-opening Xfinity Series event at Daytona.
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Jones filled a relief role for Denny Hamlin at Bristol in April
after Hamlin's neck locked up during a rain delay. And when Matt
Kenseth received a two-race suspension for wrecking Joey Logano on
Nov. 1 at Martinsville, Jones was tabbed to replace him.
His first laps in a Sprint Cup car were hardly tentative. Behind the
wheel of Busch's No. 18 Toyota, he ran consistently in the top 10
before crashing on lap 196 of 267 at Kansas.
Subbing for Kenseth at Texas and Phoenix, Jones qualified sixth and
seventh, respectively, and finished 12th and 19th against the top
stock car drivers in the world.
Despite the speed he has shown in the Sprint Cup series, Jones is
content to let his career take its course.
"Absolutely, I think the Xfinity Series is completely necessary,"
Jones said. "I have no problem running a year there ... as long as
need be there. I don't know what the exact career path is for me
down the road.
"At some point, yeah, I want to race in the Cup series every
weekend. I feel like there's a plan in place for that opportunity to
arise. And I'll just keep taking what's given to me every week and
go out and try to win races."
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