{"id":22033,"date":"2019-08-29T12:23:14","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T16:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/?p=22033"},"modified":"2019-08-29T12:23:16","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T16:23:16","slug":"brandon-jones-driving-grey-ghost-throwback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/2019\/08\/29\/brandon-jones-driving-grey-ghost-throwback\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandon Jones driving Grey Ghost throwback"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Brandon Jones and Xtreme Concepts Racing will be driving in style at Darlington Raceway this weekend, as the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 iK9 Toyota Supra sports a Buddy Baker-inspired throwback scheme. XCR and iK9 are teaming up with MOJO Outdoors to pay tribute to the late racing legend and his iconic \u201cGray Ghost\u201d paint scheme.<\/p>\n

Baker made the \u201cGray Ghost\u201d famous by winning the pole in the 1979 Daytona 500, the first NASCAR race to be televised from flag-to-flag. The car immediately became a fan-favorite for many as it made NASCAR\u2019s \u201cGentle Giant\u201d into somewhat of a boogeyman to fellow racers. The paint job made Baker\u2019s ride into a ghost on the track, sneaking up on competitors as it often blended in with the pavement. The racecar became such a pain for opponents that some made their complaints heard until David Munari, the original \u201cGray Ghost\u201d fabricator, was forced to add pink day-glo numbers to the car to make it more visible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe independents complained that the car came up on them so fast they didn\u2019t have time to react,\u201d Munari told Motorsport.com. \u201cThe car was a rocket ship. And Buddy Baker was, in my opinion, the best to ever drive at Talladega or Daytona. With Buddy, it was magical.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Over a 33-year career, Baker won 19 races in 700 starts, including the 1980 Daytona 500. After retiring, Baker became a television commentator and personality, where he talked racing from 1991-2015 before resigning due to his battle with inoperable lung cancer. Baker passed away on August 10, 2015, and the sports world lost one of its most iconic names.<\/p>\n

In honor of Baker, the \u201cGray Ghost\u201d will return to the racing world on August 31 in XCR and iK9\u2019s loving homage. Jones will get behind the wheel of the No. 19 Supra in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200. The Labor Day weekend race at the \u201cLady in Black\u201d will serve as Jones\u2019 24th entry in the 2019 Xfinity Series season. So far, Jones has racked up nine top-10 finishes, with his season\u2019s best coming in third earlier this year at Daytona. Last weekend, Jones finished 16th at Road America.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am honored to have the privilege to drive the historic \u2018Gray Ghost\u2019 paint scheme this Labor Day weekend at Darlington Raceway,\u201d Jones said. \u201cVery few cars get a nickname that becomes iconic, but this one has and Xtreme Concepts made this one happen for our 19 team.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This weekend will be Jones\u2019 first time back at Darlington since finishing 12th in the same event last year. Now driving with the legendary Baker scheme, Jones hopes to find a win at the \u201cTrack Too Tough to Tame\u201d this time around.<\/p>\n

Terry Denmon, President & CEO of MOJO Outdoors, also has high hopes for the weekend\u2019s race and is eager for fans to see the car in action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re excited to be teaming up with Xtreme Concepts and JGR on the MOJO IK9 \u2018DUCKDOG\u2019 car for Brandon Jones,\u201d Denmon said. \u201cWe are proud to be one of the few hunting brands to help support NASCAR and its fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n

XCI Racing MOJO – 19 – top<\/p>\n

As the sport continues to evolve with each passing year, it is more important than ever to remember those who helped make racing into the exciting experience it is today. Baker was a truly beloved driver and commentator who will always remain a hallmark of NASCAR\u2019s storied past.<\/p>\n

Although the void left by losing one of racing\u2019s most loved icons will always remain, some comfort can be found in one of Baker\u2019s final wishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo not shed a tear. Give a smile when you say my name,\u201d Baker told the world less than a month before his passing.<\/p>\n

By featuring the iconic \u201cGray Ghost\u201d scheme this weekend, Jones and the XCR team hopes to remind the world of Baker\u2019s lasting legacy and inspire new generations of drivers to follow in the large footsteps of NASCAR\u2019s \u201cGentle Giant.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 will air on NBC at 3:00 PM CT on August 31.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brandon Jones and Xtreme Concepts Racing will be driving in style at Darlington Raceway this weekend, as the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 iK9 Toyota Supra sports a Buddy Baker-inspired throwback scheme. XCR and iK9 are teaming up with MOJO Outdoors to pay tribute to the late racing legend and his iconic \u201cGray Ghost\u201d paint […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,788],"tags":[91,180],"coauthors":[675],"class_list":{"0":"post-22033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-xfinity","8":"category-news","9":"tag-brandon-jones","10":"tag-darlington-raceway"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22033"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tireball.com\/nascar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=22033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}