HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — After two years at JR Motorsports, Brandon Jones makes his way back to Joe Gibbs Racing. He remains hungrier than ever as he enters his 10th year as a full-time Xfinity driver.
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This is his opportunity to really show the entire industry what he can do.
"I'm betting on myself and believing in JGR," Jones told FanBuzz while taking a break from signing hero cards that fans had mailed to Joe Gibbs Racing.
"I feel like, okay, now at this point, I've got plenty of knowledge on these tracks. I've got plenty of racecraft. Let's just try to go win a lot of races and see if we can't build that resume to try to make the next leap."
Reaching the top level of NASCAR is something Jones thinks about as he prepares for another season at Joe Gibbs Racing, but it isn't a pressing issue.
He has a multi-year deal to drive the No. 20 Toyota GR Supra, so he has the luxury of patience. He has also seen how other drivers before him have fared when rushing through the ranks.
"I've seen so many guys come in — especially on the Xfinity side — they'll go win 9-10 races, even win the championship," Jones said. "Then it's five years down the road in Cup — six years down the road — and they're just starting to tap into that top five and being able to win races.
"This takes a long time and so if I'm not that eight race win a year kinda person and contending for the championship, then it's probably not going to be any better moving to the next level."
Rather than trying to leverage the power of sponsors into an opportunity at the next level, Jones is going to focus on stockpiling as many wins as possible. The Xfinity Series championship is his main priority, but he is also going to have some fun dabbling in the Craftsman Truck Series with Tricon Garage.
Why not? Adding more trophies to the collection will only help him build a foundation for the future.
"I looked at the schedule, I'm like, 'These are all tracks that are just super winnable,'" he said. "I've done in the past where I've done the Truck (races), but I've used it for development.
"Maybe I take some tracks that need some help and need some work at a little bit, and I would use that as a prelim to the Xfinity (race). But this year, it's about winning the Truck races and creating that momentum."
Jones's excitement about reuniting with Joe Gibbs Racing is palpable, and for good reason. Fresh off two seasons of struggles at JR Motorsports, he didn't know what his future held in racing.
Sure, he'd won in the past and had contended for a spot in the Championship 4, but he'd also missed the playoffs in two consecutive seasons. Would Menards still want to sponsor him? Would another team want him to drive for it?
"That was always a little bit in the back of my mind, like, 'Man, if I don't get a win, like, what's going to happen here?' You can spiral pretty quick."
Jones took significant steps to avoid falling into a dark place during two seasons of struggles. For example, he worked with a sports psychologist in London who has experience helping drivers get to Formula One.
This person has an in-depth understanding of motorsports and the mental toll it takes, so they know how to approach situations where bad luck or other factors lead to a frustrating weekend.
"I can go to my wife and talk to her about things too, but I can go to him and he understands the racing part of it, maybe even more than both of us combined," Jones said.
"Like he just has been in it his whole life, and he's in his mid-40s, so he really gets that part of it and I think he's helped a lot of these younger guys kind of figure that out too."
The focus on mental fortitude — which has been a multi-year process — has been crucial as Jones has prepared for another season at Joe Gibbs Racing. But he has also spent just as much time working on his skills behind the wheel.
Jones sees room for improvement, especially on certain styles of tracks. After all, he entered NASCAR before road courses took up so much real estate on the schedule, so he's had to actively work to address this part of his skill set.
"You can't be bad at those tracks, and so I feel like I'm playing catch up a little bit still on these road courses," Jones said.
"And I wish I would have started this journey a long time ago, whenever we first knew there was a road course on the schedule. I wish I would have worked harder at those."
Jones has taken steps to put himself into contention for better finishes at road courses despite the lack of practice time in NASCAR. Simulator work has been essential, as has his continued work with driving coach Blake Koch.
He's sought out opportunities in other series so he can try to compensate for the lack of practice time before Xfinity Series races. This way, he can potentially navigate through the field much earlier than in past seasons.
The 2025 Xfinity season is an opportunity to showcase his continued efforts as he reunites with familiar team members at Joe Gibbs Racing. It's an opportunity to win races again, enlarge the trophy collection, and build future opportunities using experience gained over a decade in the series.
The offseason work has been seemingly nonstop, but Jones isn't complaining. He's just ready to compete.
"I think we're ahead of the schedule," he said.
