Time for Brandon Jones to capitalize on a championship opportunity

When the opportunity to win a championship in sports comes about, it's wise to take that opportunity in stride. 

That's exactly what NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brandon Jones will be doing over the next four weeks as he attempts to win his first Xfinity Series title. 

The 28-year-old native of Atlanta, Ga., is no stranger to the Xfinity Series playoffs, having made the postseason six times going into 2025. He's no stranger to the Round of 8, having found himself competing in the penultimate round of the postseason thrice during his first tenure with Joe Gibbs Racing. 

This has been a special season for Brandon Jones

2025 has been a storybook season for Jones, who went through two winless, playoff-less seasons with an Xfinity Series powerhouse in JR Motorsports in 2023 and 2024. In his return to Joe Gibbs Racing, Jones has two wins — including a playoff win at Kansas Speedway — and is above the cut line going into Saturday's Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

This is one of those rare championship opportunities that athletes so often dream about, yet never get to see come to fruition. 

The first reason for optimism for Jones is the site of Saturday's race. In 17 starts at Las Vegas, Jones has 12 top-10 finishes, including a sixth-place finish in March. At Talladega, the site of the second race of the Round of 8, Jones has only four top 10s in 14 starts, but he led eight laps in April. 

The Round of 8 finale at Martinsville is where Jones really has the chance to shine, however. Jones won at Martinsville in the spring of 2022 and nearly had a walk-off win at the track that fall that would've sent him to the Championship 4 — until an incident with his JGR teammate in Ty Gibbs derailed that possibility. 

In what will be his playoff return to Martinsville, Jones, who led 22 laps at the "Paperclip" in March, will have the opportunity to grab that opportunity back and win his way into the Championship 4. 

If Jones gets to Phoenix, the 2020 spring Phoenix winner could be the title favorite. But first, Jones must exorcise his past playoff demons and find a way to make the Championship 4 for the first time in his career.