CONCORD, N.C. - While stock car racing’s epicenter is set mostly in and around North Carolina, those within the industry come from many different locations around the country. For Tyler Jones, car chief of the No. 24 team, that home happens to be the state of Vermont, a short drive away from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to The Granite State this weekend, Jones returns to the place where he learned the ins and outs of racing from family members. He hails from South Royalton, Vermont, less than 100 miles from the Loudon, New Hampshire, venue. It was there that family members played a key role in Jones' passion for racing.
"Growing up there, we went every year. My uncle was working for Penske, so we'd go see him and go in the infield," Jones said. "Ultimately that was kind of how I decided that this was something I was interested in doing."
After working on late models throughout his early years, Jones came down to North Carolina in 2004. He started with Chip Ganassi Racing and served as a tire changer from 2005 to 2010. Seeking a different challenge, he opted for a different path - one that saw him transition from working on the car on pit road to working under the hood.
Jones joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 and has worked several different positions within the 14-time Cup Series champions as well as with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He has served as a mechanic on the No. 88 Cup Series team for driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and was also the car chief for Elliott Sadler's No. 1 entry at JR Motorsports.
Prior to the 2019 Cup Series campaign, he was introduced as the car chief for the No. 24 team as Byron heading into his sophomore season. His experience continues to help the Charlotte, North Carolina, native in winning races at the Cup Series level.
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Currently, Jones’ role as the car chief centers around getting the car prepared for the track. With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way that a race weekend takes place, teams had to figure out the best way to prepare a race car with little to no practice at the track. Although practice and qualifying have made a return this year, the format is different that year's past. For Jones and his team, they were forced into a new mindset when approaching a race weekend.
"We have to put a lot more prep work in here at the shop," Jones said. "Ultimately, the cars have to leave here pretty much race-ready. You have to show up raced-prepped, 100 percent, to where you have to have everything complete."
Despite the new weekend format, Jones' work at the shop has given Byron the tools he needs to contend at the front of the field. This season, Byron already has two victories and he has led the second-most laps of anyone in the Cup Series.
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"Winning is super rewarding," Jones said. "It's a huge team effort and I get a lot of reward from seeing other people's happiness from those who haven't won before. Some of the mechanics on our team, being able to get them their first win is one of the most important things for me."
Tune in this Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to catch William Byron and the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team contend for their third victory of the season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
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