TRUCKS: Overheating engine sends Conner Jones behind the wall at Bristol
by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
PHOTO: Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images
Conner Jones picked up the 1st last-place finish of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career in Thursday’s UNOH 200 Presented by Ohio Logistics at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #66 FarmPaint.com / Quarter Horse Congress Ford overheated after 126 of 200 laps.
The finish came in Jones’ 20th series start. In the Truck Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 6th for the #66, the 26th from overheating issues, and the 127th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 93rd for the #66, the 183rd from overheating, and the 1,051st for Ford.
Jones is another of NASCAR’s young stars to climb the ranks with remarkable speed. He turned 18 this past February, and is already in his second part-time season in the Truck Series with ThorSport. With the support of his father’s business, Jones Utilities Construction Inc., Jones has raced in go-karts, late models, and ARCA. He finished 18th in his Truck Series debut at Martinsville, 15th in this same Bristol race last summer, and this year earned a new career-bet 11th in Charlotte.
But there’s also been controversy. A one-race suspension in the CARS Tour, a confrontation with Luke Fenhaus in ARCA, and Keith McGee speaking out about his driving in Trucks. Earlier this season, his aggression at both Bristol and North Wilkesboro also raised concerns. He’d failed to finish six of his 19 series starts, but had never finished in last place.
Jones started the Bristol weekend strong with the 9th-fastest lap of 38 entrants in opening practice, then slipped to 23rd in qualifying with a lap of 15.789 seconds (121.528mph). Failing to qualify was Marco Andretti, whose #04 Group 1001 / CarQuest Chevrolet clocked in a lap of 16.143 seconds (118.863mph), which tied to the thousandth of a second the lap by Tyler Tomassi, who swapped in for Thad Moffitt in the #46 Randco Industries Chevrolet. Andretti lost the tiebreaker, sending him home with Justin S. Carroll in the #90 Carroll’s Automotive / Duratain Toyota.
Securing the 36th and final starting spot was Kaden Honeycutt, who only turned two laps in practice before a truck arm failed on his #45 Moore’s Venture Foods Chevrolet. As the Niece Motorsports team pulled a replacement arm off the backup truck, Honeycutt became the only driver to not turn a lap in qualifying, leaving him last on the grid. He was joined by Playoff contender Ty Majeski, who surrendered 19th on the grid due to unapproved adjustments on his #98 Road Ranger / Grinds Coffee Pouches Ford.
By the end of Lap 1, Majeski climbed to 34th, dropping to last place Super Late Model driver Justin Mondeik, making his NASCAR debut in another Randy Young entry, the #02 El Bandito Yankee Tequila Chevrolet. Mondeik crossed the stripe 5.225 seconds back of the lead, already nearly four-tenths back of 35th-place Keith McGee in the #22 Nugget Trap Ford. Mondeik dropped McGee to last by Lap 4, when he was 6.626 seconds back of the lead, nearly seven-tenths back of Mondeik. That gap increased to a full second on Lap 8, then fell by three-tenths when Mondeik dropped Tomassi back to 35th on Lap 10. The leaders closed in fast, and McGee was first to be lapped on the 16th circuit. McGee remained in last place until Lap 32, when he dropped Tomassi to 36th. By then, each were two laps down. Tomassi was three down by Lap 48, then four down by Lap 63, and five down by Lap 92.
Jones first entered the last-place battle around Lap 97, when he slowed and came down pit road with smoke off the left-front wheel, dropping off the lead lap. He was soon in the garage, where the team was reportedly addressing a vibration. By Lap 105, he’d fallen seven laps down, taking last from Tomassi, who continued to lose laps on the track. Around Lap 111, during the extended caution that ended Stage 2, Jones’ team prepared to return to the track, the crew advising him to “not fuck up the race for anyone else” and “not get into any drama.” As Jones returned to the track, he expressed frustration that he still had to serve a penalty on pit road, remarking “What’s the pit penalty for? We’re already dead fucking last!” He also asked how many laps down he was, but the crew’s laptop was updating, so they couldn’t tell he was 16 laps behind. Moments later, Jones reported his engine temperature reached 300 degrees. The crew prepared the cool-down machine and brought him back in, where they lost additional laps as the engine slowly cooled. It took at least two laps to get down to 260 degrees, then even more to 220. By Lap 120, the team sent him back out, saying the engine would stabilize once he returned to race pace. They also advised him to continue to learn on the track for the last 80 laps, as he had during the opening run.
On Lap 157, contact between Kaden Honeycutt and the #43 Champion Container Chevrolet of Daniel Dye brought out only the third caution of the race. Dye managed to climb to 32nd after at least one extended pit stop, resulting in his first bottom-five finish of the season. But the wreck ended the night for Honeycutt, who ended up the only other DNF of the race. Around this time, Jones also pulled behind the wall, keeping him from climbing past Honeycutt in the final order. The pair finished the race 31 laps apart. Tomassi in 34th and McGee in 33rd completed the Bottom Five.
LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Jones is the third-straight first-time Truck Series last-place finisher, following Jerry Bohlman at Richmond and Jayson Alexander at Milwaukee. There have now been 11 first-time last-place finishers in these first 18 races of the season.
*This was the first last-place finish for the #66 in a Truck Series race since July 20, 2016, when Jordan Anderson’s damaged #66 FK Rod Ends / Columbia, SC Chevrolet lost the engine after 5 laps around Eldora. The number had never finished last in a Truck Series race at Bristol.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
36) #66-Conner Jones / 126 laps / overheating
35) #45-Kaden Honeycutt / 157 laps / crash
34) #46-Tyler Tomassi / 192 laps / running
33) #22-Keith McGee / 194 laps / running
32) #43-Daniel Dye / 194 laps / running
2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Young’s Motorsports (4)
2nd) ThorSport Racing, TRICON Garage (2)
3rd) Bret Holmes Racing, Faction 46, Floridian Motorsports, Freedom Racing Enterprises, Front Row Motorsports, Hill Motorsports, McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, Spire Motorsports, Terry Carroll Motorsports, Trey Hutchens Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Chevrolet (10)
2nd) Ford, Toyota (4)
2024 LASTCAR TRUCK SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
