Brandon Jones returning to RCR’s No. 33 Xfinity car in 2017

The driver roster for Richard Childress Racing’s Xfinity Series operation in 2017 continues to fill out with the announcement that Brandon Jones will return to the No. 33 car next season.

The news comes with Jones set to begin the inaugural Xfinity Chase as one of its 12 members.

It also joins the announcement from last weekend that Camping World Truck Series driver Daniel Hemric has signed with RCR to drive in the Xfinity Series next year.

Jones enters the Chase with 11 top-10 finishes in 26 starts, but no top fives. The only time he’s led a race was 36 laps at Talladega Superspeedway in April. His average finish is 12.9. His only top five in Xfinity competition came at Kentucky in 2015, when he made five starts.

“Brandon has shown he has the talent behind the wheel to run up front and compete for championships in the Xfinity Series, and we are pleased he will continue to do so in an RCR Chevrolet,” said Richard Childress in a press release. “We are proud of everything he has accomplished this season, including leading laps, making the inaugural Xfinity Series Chase and contending for the Rookie of the Year title. Brandon has also been an excellent spokesman for our sponsors and does an exceptional job representing our brand.”

Jones, 19, is a native of Atlanta. He’s made 30 starts in the Camping World Truck Series since 2013, recording five top fives and no wins. His only win in NASCAR competition came in the K&N Pro Series East at Iowa Speedway in 2014.

“I am honored to return to Richard Childress Racing for the 2017 season,” said Jones in a press release. “RCR is such a storied NASCAR organization and it’s a great opportunity to be a part of the team. Racing full-time in the Xfinity Series this season has been a valuable learning experience. I believe we have what it takes to compete for the championship throughout the Chase this season and make another run at the title in 2017.”

During the Hemric announcement on Saturday, Childress said his grandson Ty Dillon would run “almost a full” Xfinity season next year. Dillon is expected to run full-time in the Sprint Cup Series as well.

Truck series points standings after Kentucky Speedway

SPARTA, Ky. — William Byron maintained his grip atop the Camping World Truck Series points standings with his fourth victory of the season Thursday.

Byron, who clinched a spot in the inaugural truck series Chase spot with the win, leads Matt Crafton by 13 points in the rankings.

Daniel Hemric moved up a spot into third in the points standings

The series’ next race is July 20 at Eldora Speedway.

The truck points after Kentucky:

Truck series rookie William Byron’s fourth win sets record for Kyle Busch Motorsports

SPARTA, Ky. – William Byron scored his fourth Camping World Truck Series victory through 10 starts this season, capturing the Buckle Up in Your Truck 225 at Kentucky Speedway.

Byron’s No. 9 Toyota held off a charge by John Hunter Nemechek, who finished 0.190 seconds behind in the first NASCAR race on the 1.5-mile oval’s repaved and reconfigured surface. Byron, 18, moved onto the truck circuit this year after winning the 2015 K&N East championship last year as a rookie.

“It just keeps going, man,” Byron told FS1. “I’ve got a great team behind me.”

The win marked a truck series-record 51st for Kyle Busch Motorsports, whose team owner also was racing Thursday. The defending Sprint Cup champion finished 30th after crashing but still reveled in Byron’s win.

“I’ve tried to assemble a great group of guys,” said Busch, who started the team in 2010. “I feel like we have a great group of guys now.

“It’s been a lot of fun, it’s been a lot trying times, it’s been a lot of blood, sweat and tears by both my wife and myself and all these guys that are on this team now and all the people that have been a part of Kyle Busch Motorsports in the years past. We wouldn’t be here without all them. This is a special moment.”

Daniel Hemric finished third, followed by Christopher Bell and Johnny Sauter.

HOW BYRON WON: He took first from Timothy Peters on the 82nd of 150 laps and didn’t relinquish the lead over the final 69 laps.

WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: Nemechek’s runner-up finish was his first top five since a second at Martinsville Speedway three months ago. … Daniel Suarez started from the pole and led 59 laps in an 11th-place finish … Hemric tied his season-best finish with his second consecutive third.

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Brett Moffitt completed only 26 laps before being finishing 31st with an engine failure. … Rookie Austin Wayne Self suffered a transmission failure just past the halfway mark.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was self-inflicted, I guess. Got back in traffic, and I don’t know. Going down the backstretch I thought I had enough room on the inside, but I know who I crashed with. That doesn’t surprise me. Now I know how John Wes Townley feels. It’s just a shame. Brand new truck and really good piece. Destroyed..” – Busch after his crash with Spencer Gallagher (who was involved in a memorable wreck and fight with Townley two weeks ago).

WHAT’S NEXT: The series will return Wednesday, July 20 at Eldora Speedway (green flag is 9:16 p.m. ET).

Dover win gives Matt Crafton lead in Truck point standings

Winning the Camping World Truck Series’ race at Dover International Speedway launched Matt Crafton five spots to the top of the point standings.

Crafton leads Timothy Peters by two points after five races this season.

Filling out the top five is Daniel Hemric, Ryan Truex and Spencer Gallagher.

Timothy Peters assumes Truck series points lead after Kansas

After finishing eighth in the Toyota Tundra 250, Timothy Peters leaves Kansas Speedway holding the points lead in the Camping World Truck Series.

Peters gained two spots after earning his third top-10 finish of the season. Peters’ move into the points lead comes when his No. 17 truck for Red Horse Racing hasn’t had primary sponsorship for three of the season’s first four races.

Filling out the top five is Daniel Hemric (-8), Ryan Truex (-10), Tyler Young (-14) and John Hunter Nemechek (-15). Nemecheck had entered the weekend leading the standings.

Hemric, Crafton and race winner William Byron all gained five spots in the standings. Byron is now seventh behind Crafton.

The biggest gain in the standings was eight spots to 14th by Christopher Bell. Bell earned his best finish in four starts this season and his first top-five finish.

Brad Keselowski Racing taps Austin Cindric, Theriault for pair of Truck races

Brad Keselowski Racing has announced two different three-driver lineups for upcoming races in the Camping World Truck Series.

In addition to regular drivers Daniel Hemric (No. 19) and Tyler Reddick (No. 29), BKR will field a third truck, the No. 2, at Dover International Speedway on May 13 and Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 20.

At Dover, the truck will be piloted by Austin Cindric and at Charlotte by Austin Theriault. Both have a history with BKR.

Cindric, 17, drove two races for the team in 2015, at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway. Theriault, 22, has competed in 10 races, the most recent being the season opener at Daytona where he finished 27th following a crash.

In 2015, Theriault drove in eight of the first 18 races before a back injury in a hard crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway sidelined him until the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The May 13 race will be Cindric’s first time to visit Dover in any series.

“A track called the ‘Monster Mile’ shouldn’t be taken lightly,” Cindric said in a press release. “They tell me that the two truck races that I was able to do last year at Martinsville and Phoenix were difficult tracks to figure out, and I believe Dover will be the same. As I haven’t been able to test, I’ve been watching as much video as possible while reaching out to as many people as I can to pick their brain about what it takes to be fast at Dover. I’m just going in with no expectations, trying to absorb as much information as possible and have fun with it.”

Theriault, who has two top fives in his career, will go into Charlotte with a completely different mindset.

“I was really proud of the effort at Daytona and how strong our performance was, and I feel like Charlotte won’t be any different,” Theriault said in the press release. “I’m going there with the expectation to win. I know we will have a strong Ford F-150 race truck at Charlotte and we plan to perform well, just like we did earlier this year at Daytona. At the end of the day, we want to win, and we have all the resources here at BKR to do just that at Charlotte.”

The Camping World Truck Series returns to action next weekend at Kansas Speedway.