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Brandon Jones blows his engine, car catches on fire during Stage 1 at Richmond

JHby: Jonathan Howard03/30/24Jondean25
Brandon Jones fire Richmond
Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Fighting for a top-5 spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Richmond, Brandon Jones found himself spinning out after a blown engine. Smoke flew out from under his Chevy Camaro and the No. 9 was throwing oil on the track soon enough.

After rolling down onto the apron, Brandon Jones tried to fire his car again, and it caught on fire. With the oil, possibly fuel, and a busted engine, it wasn’t long before the car was spitting flames and catching on fire for a short time.

Jones tried to make a pass on Parker Retzlaff, the pole-sitter for today’s race. That’s when things went sideways.

The fire eventually went out, but Brandon Jones didn’t panic. He would have to leave the car and despite a front-row start, will be a DNF today. This is the second engine to blow in this race, Ryan Vargas had an issue prior to Jones.

Jones did spill oil on the track. It led to an extended caution in Stage 1. It also resulted in Ryan Sieg spinning out after catching his tires on that slick stuff. This race is starting to unfold into a battle though.

Brandon Jones car catches fire, race action heats up

The caution from the Brandon Jones incident created a very interesting situation. A few cars decided to pit, the Kaulig duo of AJ Allmendinger and Shane van Gisbergen came down for adjustments and fuel.

However, Brennan Poole decided to take tires while no one else did. They are limited on tires in this race and it was risky. Poole restarted P32 and by the end of the stage he flew past the field and finished P2. It was an impressive drive and one that paid off as far as earning stage points is concerned.

Of course, Poole is going to suffer at the start of Stage 2 without those fresh tires. Everyone else is going to pick up tires and likely leave him struggling in the field.

There are all kinds of adjustments and stops to be made in this race. Richmond provides a ton of action and the Xfinity Series puts on a great show at this track. There is a ton of racing left and if you aren’t already, make sure you tune into this race this afternoon.