Devin Jones and his #35 Super Late Model team headed to Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, South Carolina, to compete in the first PASS South Super Late Model event of the 2010 season this past Saturday. After qualifying seventh and starting third on the redraw, Jones flexed his muscle by working his way to second and setting his sights on the lead, but a valve issue with his motor cut his race short, relegating him to a 20th-place finish.
Prior to qualifying, the Devin Jones Racing team worked on getting the #35 Super Late Model up to speed. After a few adjustments, Jones felt his car was right where it needed to be.
“Practice went really good,” said Jones. “The car was fast on long runs, and we have not stickered up yet, so going into qualifying, we are hoping to pick up a little time and get a good, solid number on the board.”
Going early in the qualifying draw is a bit of a disadvantage, but Jones was still able to steer his machine around the track and time in seventh fastest during the qualifying session.
“We had a really good first lap,” explained Jones after his qualifying run. “It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was a good effort and we will take it. Our goal was to at least get in the top 10 for the redraw, and we accomplished that. Now we will focus on the race.”
After the redraw, Jones started from the third position in the 150-lap feature. Early on, he dropped back to fourth and was logging laps, taking care of his tires, but the car seemed destined to go to the front. Jones drove his car to the second position and was reeling in the leader when disaster struck.
“On one of the restarts I got up to second. We were running down Justin Wakefield for the lead, but we started smoking and ended up having a valve problem that ended our race with a broken head.
“It was unfortunate since we had high expectations for this race. I know we can run up front; we just have to get the finishes to prove it. We did set the fastest lap of the race and Chase (Pistone) and the team did a great job today, so we have nothing to hang our heads low on. We will regroup and prepare for our next event.”
See the ShortTrackAction.com video story of Devin Jones' PASS South Dillon race
The PASS South Super Late Model Series will be back in action at Hickory Motor Speedway (NC) on April 3rd, 2010, for the Easter Bunny 150. Before that event takes place, Devin Jones will be strapping in to a Super Truck to race at the season-opening event at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 20th.
Links:
Devin Jones suits up for qualifying at Dillon. (Team DJR Photo)
Despite Motor Issues, Devin Jones Optimistic on
Season after Dillon PASS South Event
Jones Set Fastest Lap during South Carolina Super Late Model 150-Lap Race
Devin Jones started his #35 in 3rd and was quickly running down the leader in 2nd at the PASS season opener at Dillon.
(Team DJR Photo)
