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Heading into 35 Lapper, Modifieds Try to Keep Up with Jones

Chuck Corder

Osman Jones might be only 11, but he knows how to work his way around Five Flags Speedway.

Not in a stock car, mind you — not yet anyway — but through talking.

“He oughta run for county commissioner,� Todd Jones, Osman’s father, said.

Osman’s daddy, too, knows how to navigate around the famed half-mile, asphalt oval. The elder Jones does it from behind his No. 54 Modified.

The 45-year-old Pace driver currently leads the division’s points race heading into Friday’s 35-lap showdown on a big night at Five Flags that will see the return of the Blizzard Series.

The Super Late Models beat and bang in the Rubber and Specialties 100, along with the Sportsmen (20 laps) and Bombers (20 laps) when the grandstand gates open at 5 p.m. Friday. Admission is as follows: $15 Adults; $14 Seniors/Military; $12 Students; $5 Child (6-11); Under 6 is Free.

The pits open at 1 p.m. with passes costing $25.

Jones is excited about the expanded feature for the Modifieds, which typically battle in 25 lappers.

“I really like the long races,� he said. “We’re as good as anybody on the extra distance. The longer races help me a little bit to sort of maintain and be there at the end.�

Jones has been near the front at the end through three races this season.

He has a pair of fourths and snagged a runner-up at the last feature, battling the southeast’s hottest hotshoe down the stretch before eventually losing to Bubba Pollard.

“Bubba was just better than us on the restart,� Jones admitted. “We’re pretty realistic. We know we can win when all the stars and the moon line up. We’d love to win the points, but we’ll play it how it falls.�

It all falls close these days. Jones has 145 points. That’s just 11 better than second-place Gerald Wilkerson. All the way down to Korey Ruble (115 points) in sixth, there’s little margin for error.

It’s one of the reason why Jones believes that while the Modified car counts might be down a touch, it also just might be the best, overall class in several years.

“There are six to eight cars that show up every week, maybe the whole field, that has a chance of winning,� said Jones, who has raced Modifieds off and on for 15 years. “It’s pretty tough knowing more than half the cars can win. It has been great that we’ve run in the top four. That’s as great as I could’ve ever imagine us being.�

He credits a great team behind me for his success this season.

Car owner Clay Mims and Gary Corr help Jones turn wrenches while Ann Jones, Todd’s wife of 20 years, and Osman help with the moral support side of things.

“Sometimes karma helps better than anything when everybody gets along,� said Jones, who has just one career Modified victory at Five Flags. “It’s hard to win, it really is. You can run anywhere in the country and not find this good of competition.�

Whether it’s late models on dirt at Southern Raceway in Milton or Modifieds at Five Flags, Todd Jones simply loves to race.

“There’s no time for any other hobbies,� he said.

He’ll leave that to young Osman.

 

Modifieds Series Points Standings — 1. Todd Jones, 145.00, Leader; 2. Gerald Wilkerson, 134.00, -11; 3. Nathan Davis, 128.00, -17; 4. Brandon Howell, 123.00, -22; 5. Nathan Ingersoll, 122.00, -23; 6. Korey Ruble, 115.00, -30; 7. Bubba Pollard, 111.00, -34; 8. Steve Buttrick, 103.00, -42; 9. Jake Moore, 96.00, -49; 10. Kevin Peel, 84.00, -61; 11. Chris Cotto, 53.00, -92; T12. Okie Mason, 44.00, -101; T12. Scott Lopez, 44.00, -101; 14. Brandon Sager, 32.00, -113; 15. Brian McArdle, 31.00, -114; T16. Scooter Grice, 30.00, -115; T16. Bryce Dulahban, 30.00, -115; T16. Josh Goodwin, 30.00, -115; 19. James Patrick , 29.00, -116; 20. Randy Herrick, 26.00, -119; 21. Jacob Permenter, 23.00, -122; 22. Darin Matthews, 22.00, -123; 23. Rusty Sanford, 21.00, -124; T23. Bruce Permenter, 21.00, -124

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