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Kim Jones will lead the Brad Jones Racing squad at the Truck Assist Winton SuperSprint this weekend instead of brother Brad.
Team co-owner Brad Jones will miss the Albury’s squad’s home round courtesy of a holiday in Europe and US, leaving his brother to take charge of the team.
It is understood this weekend is the first Supercars event which Jones has missed out of choice, although the series commission member is set to return to the paddock at the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown from June 14-16.
As a result, Kim Jones will take the helm of the squad a role where he can draw from plenty of experience.
“It’s not that different a role for me because when he used to race I was in charge and we were quite successful; it will be fine,” he told Speedcafe.com.
“It is not new but the thing I don’t have is that I’m not up to speed in the strategy understanding because that hasn’t been my role recently.
“It is something that you do instinctively and you think on your feet.
“Over the years, we have made some really good calls. The weather is probably going to throw us a curveball and really that just comes down to being smart and flexible.”
While Winton is the team’s home round, the threat of rain over the weekend is likely to undo any local knowledge advantage according to Jones.
The squad heads to the Victorian circuit after a strong start to the season, sitting third in the teams’ standings with Nick Percat eighth and Tim Slade ninth in the drivers’ championship. A third Holden ZB Commodore for Macauley Jones is in 24th spot.
“We have had wins, good finishes and poor results there but at the end of the day it is our home round but we very rarely practice there when it is wet,” added Jones.
“That variable will be hard for everybody.
“We are third in the teams’ championship and leading the Pirtek Pit Stop Challenge and we have got two cars in the top 10 in the standings; that shows we are having a good year.”
The cars will roll out for the first time on Saturday morning for the Additional Driver session at 0920 local time/AEST, with Tim Blanchard (#8 Percat), Ash Walsh (#14 Slade) and Dean Canto (#21 Jones) set to hit the track.
