NASCAR Xfinity Series: Brandon Hightower, JD Motorsports’ newest driver

By Mark Kristl | Jul 31, 2018

ROSSBURG, OH - JULY 19: Brandon Hightower, driver of the #1 Chevrolet, gets into his truck during qualifying for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 5th Annual Dirt Derby 150 at Eldora Speedway on July 19, 2017 in Rossburg, Ohio. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

JD Motorsports’ newest NASCAR Xfinity Series driver is Brandon Hightower. How did he fare in first race, the U.S. Cellular 250, in his new ride?

In NASCAR, teams feature sponsors on the hood, quarter panels, etc. Most fully-funded teams race the whole season with one driver in each of their cars.

For example, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. JR Motorsports field four full-time teams with four drivers for the whole season. However, teams operating on lower budgets often seek drivers who bring sponsorship to fund an entry.

Entering the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway, Brandon Hightower had competed in seven races driving the #55 JP Motorsports Toyota this season. Because of the fact that he only competed in seven races, he sat in 41st place in the championship standings. He finished in a season-high 26th at Chicagoland Speedway in the Overton’s 300.

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At that race, I conducted an interview with Hightower. We talked about his goals for the remainder of the 2018 Xfinity Series season and his life as a NASCAR driver. Since then, he tied his season-high finish of 26th place at Kentucky Speedway.

JD Motorsports are not affiliated with any Cup Series team, yet they work hard to field four competitive entries. One race in particular this season during which their hard work was evident was the Alsco 300 at Charlotte. There, JD Motorsports battled adversity, and their hard work paid off with two of their drivers finishing on the lead lap and inside the top 20.

On Thursday, July 19, Brandon Hightower joined JD Motorsports as the new driver of the #15 Chevrolet.

Although Hightower made the announcement on July 19, he did not compete in the Xfinity Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two days later. Instead, his first race as the new driver of the #15 JD Motorsports Chevrolet was the U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. Excited for the Iowa race, he tweeted a photo of his #15 Chevrolet paint scheme.

The U.S. Cellular 250 was Hightower’s second career race at Iowa Speedway. Earlier this season, he raced in the Iowa 250. At that race, he qualified in 28th place and finished in 30th due to a crash that ended his race 30 laps early.

In the first two practices for the U.S. Cellular 250, Hightower recorded the 30th and 31st fastest times, respectively. Racing for JD Motorsports boosted his confidence. After practice, he tweeted his expectations for race day.

Hightower qualified in 28th place for the race, which was the same starting spot that he had for the previous Iowa race. This time, he completed the whole race despite losing a cylinder. After seven laps of overtime extended the race to 257 laps, he finished his debut with JD Motorsports in 27th, eight laps down.

As a reminder, Hightower has only competed in eight of the 19 Xfinity Series races that have been held so far this season. He now sits in 40th place in the championship standings.

According to some of his Facebook posts, Hightower will only compete in the oval track races as the driver of the #15 JD Motorsport Chevrolet. As a result, he will likely not compete in the Xfinity Series races at Watkins Glen International, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road America or the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval throughout the rest of this season.

Instead, this upcoming weekend, Hightower will be racing his dirt car at HOT Speedway in Elm Mott, Texas. His next scheduled Xfinity Series race is the Food City 300, which is scheduled to take place at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, August 16.

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JD Motorsports and the rest of the Xfinity Series teams travel to Watkins Glen International for their next race this Saturday. This race, the Zippo 200 at The Glen, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 4. The live broadcast of this race is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

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