Former Azle teen pursuing NASCAR dream

By ANTHONY ANDRO

John Jones Jr. is ready for what he hopes is the biggest weekend of his life.

Jones, 17, grew up in Azle before moving to North Carolina after his freshman year of high school to pursue his NASCAR dream.

That dream could become a reality this weekend.

Jones is one of 30 drivers selected by NASCAR to compete in its Drive for Diversity program, which is for minorities and females. Jones, who is black, is bidding to be one of the 10 drivers selected for rides that will be owned and operated by the 909 Group, which handles the operational responsibilities for the program. At stake is a ride in either the NASCAR Camping World Series or the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance," said Jones, who is a senior at South Rowan High School in China Grove, N.C. "Hopefully I can get a ride and my career takes off from there. Hopefully this will lead to me driving in the Sprint Cup in a couple of years. This could open some big doors for me."

First Jones has to make the final 10.

The 30-driver combine begins Friday and ends Tuesday.

The drivers will run test laps, work with teams and race against each other.

Not only are the drivers under the watchful eye of the Drive for Diversity team, but they will also get coaching from Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series drivers. Cameras will be on them every step of the way, as BET is taping Changing Lanes, a 10-part series on the program. The first two episodes of the show, which will debut in 2010, focus on the combine.

Jones sent in an application for Drive for Diversity, which began in 2004, and was selected, in part, because of an impressive résumé.

His racing career began in go-carts in 1998 and he moved to the dirt tracks, running at 281 Speedway, Boyd Raceway and Cowtown Speedway.

After testing late models in North Carolina, his family made the move to the racing Mecca.

"It’s a little bit tougher," Jones said. "It’s kind of like a fish going and swimming in the sea. There’s so much competition, but it’s awesome."

It’s also hard to catch a break. He raced Bandoleros last year and hoped to race Late Models this year. But he couldn’t find any funding, which put his racing career in neutral until he got word last month that he nabbed one of the 30 spots.

He’s hoping the opportunity can kick his career into high gear.

"I know there are going to be a lot of good drivers out there," said Jones, who has 52 victories, 75 top fives and 104 top-10 finishes in his career. "They’re basically giving you a full ride and they give you a car and they help you on the track. This is important, but if I don’t get this, I’m going to keep myself moving and get ready for next season."

Who’s hot

Dario Franchitti: The man has the dream life. Things didn’t work out for him in NASCAR last year, so he went back to the IndyCar Series. In his first full season, he wins the championship for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Greeting him after his second IndyCar Series title was his superstar wife Ashley Judd. It doesn’t get any better than that.

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