Brandon Jones criticizes teammate over dumb ‘rookie move’ that ruined his Texas race

Brandon Jones' run in the SpeedyCash 250 at Texas Motor Speedway was cut short after he was collected in a crash triggered by a rookie mistake from his own teammate. The incident ended his night prematurely, and after the race, the NASCAR driver didn’t hold back, voicing his frustration over the costly misjudgment.

Jones, who drives the #20 Toyota full-time in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing and runs part-time in the Truck Series with Tricon Garage, saw his promising run at Texas end early. While running inside the top ten on Lap 31, Jones was caught in a wreck involving teammate Gio Ruggiero and Niece Motorsports' Kaden Honeycutt after Ruggiero clipped the grass and lost control.

The mistake by Ruggiero ended the day for all three drivers before the end of Stage 1. Brandon Jones was later interviewed by FOX Sports Journalist Bob Pockrass, where he did not hold back from criticizing Ruggiero for his race-ending move.

"We used to go win these races, and this is a really important one for me this weekend because now we've rained everything out and I wanted laps for tomorrow, before the Xfinity race," Jones said.

"It's just you know, time and time again I keep seeing just dumb moves, right? That was a pretty rookie movie I think, to drive it through the grass like that," he added.

Brandon Jones, the 28-year-old Georgia native, sits P7 in the Xfinity Series driver standings. Through 11 races this season, he has claimed a win at Darlington Raceway and recorded five top-five finishes. His consistent presence at the front of the field has made him a strong contender week in and week out.

The next Xfinity Series race is scheduled for May 3 at 2 PM Eastern at Texas Motor Speedway.

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Brandon Jones ends years-long drought with first win since Ty Gibbs wreck incident

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Brandon Jones broke a 65-race winless streak with a hard-fought victory in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway this season. His last win came at Martinsville in 2022—the same year he was controversially spun out by JGR teammate Ty Gibbs in a heated finish.

After the win at Darlington, Jones reflected on the long-awaited redemption in his post-race interview.

"This is just one I wanted to make a statement in. Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, some extremely talented Cup drivers in this field today. Sam McAulay, these Joe Gibbs Racing guys, this pit crew, unbelievable. That's what it takes to win these races. Everyone needs to be bought in, everybody's got to be at their highest level. " the JGR driver expressed, via Speedway Digest.

Former Cup Series champion Chase Elliott finished the race in P2, and reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier secured P3, completing the podium.