Chris Jones Locked In On Another Sprint Car Season

Column By: JIM CLARKE / FIRST DRAFT MEDIA – DEMORESTVILLE, ONT – The powerful open-wheeled machines of sprint car racing are a feast for the senses. The sights, sounds and even the smell of the fire-breathing, methanol burning, ground-pounding beasts are crowd pleasers wherever they run. Drivers who strap-in at the control panel are as passionate about their chosen vocation as a gourmet would be while sitting at the table, waiting for a fine meal.

With a background that includes experience in a variety of different racing divisions, including time in a DIRTcar Sportsman Modified and a circuit-wide rookie of the year award in 1995 while wheeling a Small Block Mod, Chris Jones has found his dream ride in a 360-cubic inch winged warrior. The 45 year-old father of 2 was the champion of the Southern Ontario Sprint Car Series in 2013 and that taste of success has left the Demorestville, Ontario native hungry for a second helping.

“There’s no better feeling than meeting the crew at the hauler after a great night on the track,” Jones said. “We’ve proven that we have the ability to run at the front of the pack and find our way to victory lane. We just need to find a way to get there more often and at this level, than can often be the biggest challenge.”

Chris Jones says he’s happy to have backing in place from the Picton, Belleville and Trenton locations of Carquest Auto Parts, Eskerod Signs, 7 & 25 Tire, Hotch’s & Sons Auto Parts and Clarke Motorsports Communications; but with the start of the 2017 campaign about a month away, he knows he’ll need to find some additional sponsorship support for his #11J team to make it through the entire season.

“There are about a handful of SOS races on the schedule at Brighton Brighton, but anywhere else we’d like to race this year is at least a couple of hours drive away,” the owner/operator of Jones Automotive admitted. “Brockville Speedway has a pair of Patriot Group shows on the program this year and Empire Super Sprint tour is back there again for the first time in a while. We’re working on a tentative agenda right now, but the team will need to have at least a couple of months worth of planning set in place before taking the first green flag.”