The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Brandon Jones learned that during a two-year stint with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where seemingly nothing could turn in his favor.
In the fall of 2022, Jones announced he would join JRM, ending a five-year run with Joe Gibbs Racing. The breakup ended ugly when Ty Gibbs, who had enough points to transfer to the Championship 4 the following week, dumped teammate Jones from the lead in overtime at Martinsville Speedway. If Jones won, he would have qualified for the Championship 4 alongside Gibbs.
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Jones thought he would have more fun by switching teams. But across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he tallied four top fives and 18 top-10 finishes. In his final season with JGR, he had six top fives and 19 top 10s in each of the two seasons prior. From 2019-22, Jones found Victory Lane five times.
“I thought going over there to JR Motorsports that we were going to win races,” Jones told NASCAR.com. “I believed in the company, and I felt like they believed in myself and that we were going to have a couple of good years, and we could never put it together.
“As I look back on it, we had good runs. Look at how many poles I got out of that car. A lot of places we’d run from top five to second and had good chances to possibly win if people had mistakes. It’s easy to look at all the downfalls and be like, ‘We didn’t have a good year.’ But if you go back and remember, we had some good runs and some good races.”
The frustration was evident. Jones failed to make the playoffs both seasons, ranking 14th in the championship standings each year. JRM swapped Jones’ crew chiefs and spotters multiple times, trying to get the wheels spinning. Nothing worked.
Throughout the week, Jones visited a sports psychologist to work on his mentality behind the wheel. He also returned to using Blake Koch as a driver coach as the bulk of his Xfinity Series success has come with Koch’s guidance.
“I learned a lot about myself,” Jones added. “I had to become more of a leader and had to take charge of certain situations. That to me is not very natural. I’m a peacekeeper: I want everyone to be happy and firing on all eight cylinders together. Sometimes, you have to be that guy to step up and get all of that stuff in line, too. It still doesn’t come naturally, but I had to figure out how to do that at times.”
Originally, Jones returned to the Chevrolet pipeline after competing with Richard Childress Racing, believing that trajectory could lead him to the Cup Series, something he still hopes to pursue in the future. But with Toyota bringing on a third 23XI Racing entry and Legacy Motor Club swapping manufacturers in 2024, Jones sees a potential opportunity within the Toyota camp.
Regardless, he knows he needs to win, which is something he’s done just once in the last 146 races.
“I think I lost sight of what was really important, and that’s you just need wins, and that’s what progresses you to the next step,” Jones added. “I’m betting on myself. I believe in this company to produce the best, most consistent product. There were times last year when I felt [JRM] were better than these cars. But on a consistent basis, I feel like JGR has really good stuff. We felt like this organization was going to be the most consistent to try and achieve the goals that we want.”
Despite how the conclusion of 2022 played out, Jones didn’t believe he burned any bridges at JGR. He and Gibbs speak regularly, and they have put the past behind them.
“I’ve learned to forgive and forget, and we’re going to go on with our ways,” Jones said. “Ty is a really good racer. To just say he did me dirty, I’m never going to talk to him — there’s a lot to learn from Ty on road racing and certain things. I want to keep that relationship as best as I can.”
Jones is paired with second-year crew chief Sam McAulay, who guided Sheldon Creed to a series-high 23 top 10s last year. Jones believes his No. 20 group is the next bunch being developed to transition to the Cup Series.
Last weekend at Phoenix Raceway, Jones was a constant threat toward the front of the field, which preceded three finishes outside the top 10 — two finishes of 30th or worse. He ended the race in third and was in the frame of the photo finish between Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman. By scoring 44 points at Phoenix last weekend, Jones leaped nine spots in the regular season standings to 20th.
MORE: Xfinity Series standings | Xfinity Series schedule
The goal is simple for 2025: compete for wins.
“If you contend for the win every week, chances are you’re going to get a couple,” Jones said. “It’s positioning yourself to be in the top two or three every single week. That’s what I was doing when I was on a high of winning some of these races before.”
Jones and the No. 20 team will next compete at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).