Jones Flies To Kansas Pole Ahead Of Xfinity Playoff Opener

Brandon Jones celebrates his NASCAR Xfinity Series pole at Kansas Speedway Saturday. (Rusty Jarrett/Nigel Kinrade Photography)

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Brandon Jones dodged several late challenges Saturday morning to capture the top starting spot for the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff opener at Kansas Speedway.

Though he’s not a part of the postseason this year, Jones’ lap of 30.760 seconds (175.553 mph) in the No. 9 Menards/Schultz Chevrolet Camaro was enough for his 11th career Xfinity Series pole and third of the season.

Jones will chase his third victory at the 1.5-mile Sunflower State oval in the Kansas Lottery 300. He’s the only driver in the field that has previously won at Kansas and hopes to keep it that way.

“We told everyone going in that even if we weren’t able to go after a championship, I wanted to leave this team the right way,” said Jones, who will depart JRM at the end of the season to head back to Joe Gibbs Racing.

“I’m still pushing and still determined to get a victory for this No. 9 team, and this is one of my favorite tracks to come to,” he added. “Good track position at the start means a lot for the race, but we have to go and finish it out now, and that’s something we’ve struggled a bit to do so far this year. Hopefully, today can be the day we change that, and we can grab our third win here at Kansas when it’s all over.”

After what appeared like it would be a top-three qualifying sweep for JR Motorsports, JGR’s Chandler Smith broke up the party as one of the final cars in the order to take time.

Smith will join Jones on the front row in the No. 81 QuickTie Toyota GR Supra after touring the Kansas pavement in 30.806 seconds (175.291 mph).

Defending series champion Cole Custer gave all three manufacturers representation among the top three spots with a best lap of 30.856 seconds (175.006 mph) in the No. 00 NXT on CW Ford Mustang, while rookie Connor Zilisch starts fourth (30.885/174.842) after leading practice earlier in the morning.

Sam Mayer rounded out the top five to give JR Motorsports three of the first five starting spots, followed by Aric Almirola, leading rookie-of-the-year contender Jesse Love, Parker Kligerman, Justin Allgaier, and Austin Hill.

Notables starting deeper in the field include Taylor Gray (11th), five playoff contenders in Sammy Smith (13th), A.J. Allmendinger (14th), Sheldon Creed (15th), Riley Herbst (16th), and Shane van Gisbergen (22nd), and Daniel Dye (30th).

Alpha Prime Racing’s Brad Perez spun on his qualifying attempt and will start 37th. He was one of two drivers – the other being Leland Honeyman Jr. – that did not post a time in qualifying.

With 38 cars on the property for 38 starting spots, all drivers entered made the starting field.

Broadcast coverage of the Kansas Lottery 300, the first race of the Xfinity Series playoffs, is slated for 4 p.m. ET, live on The CW, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.