Jones Wins Rookie Title on Tough Day for KMR

ROCKINGHAM,N.C.– Kirk May Racing is bringing a championship and a wrecked race car back to Athens on Saturday.

Blake Jones clinched the CARS Pro Cup rookie title at the beginning of the American 200 at Rockingham Speedway and led several laps in the middle stages of the event.

But the 14-year-old Tennessee native’s day came to an end when he and Brad Rogers slammed the turn 1 wall, both victims of contact from Ryan Heavner. Jones retired from the race and finished 16th.

“We wrapped up the rookie title and the day kind of went downhill from there,” Jones said. “I only thought we were two-wide, and Heavner stuck his nose in there where he didn’t belong. He took out two cars that could’ve won this race.”

Jones’ teammate Cale Gale was forced to start from the rear of the field because he had to race a backup car. After a slow start, Gale started his climb toward the top of the leaderboard. He moved up as far as second and then settled into what appeared to be a top-five run.

“We were a little too tight, but we made some changes during the race and the car wasn’t too bad,” Gale said. “We just ran out of tires at the end. Once I got up there running the leaders’ speeds, we burned the right tire off of it.”

Gale’s No. 4 Chevrolet ran out of fuel on the final lap, dropping him from fifth to an eighth place finish. Not a bad effort for a backup car, Gale said.

“All the guys worked really hard on the car,” Gale said. “I owe a big thanks to Kirk May for letting me drive it. Hopefully, we could do it again sometime.”

After the race, Jones was honored as the rookie champion. It was quite an honor to be the youngest Pro Cup Rookie of the Year ever, Jones said, especially considering the other racing stars that have won the honor.

More than anything, Jones gained a lot of experience that will serve him in the years to come, he said.

“We learned quite a bit about the heavy cars and lots of power,” Jones said. “I think we’ll be able to take a lot with us going forward.”