BY JASON KING
Leader sports writer
IN SHORT: In only his first full year of driving hobby stocks, 16-year-old McRae resident Blake Jones already has a feature win under his belt. The young driver races his F3 hobby-stock car weekly at Beebe Speedway.
In a short period of time, 16-year-old Blake Jones of McRae has made a name for himself on the local racing circuit. In his first full season in the hobby-stock class, Jones has already racked up a feature win, along with several top-five finishes.
Many youngsters in his situation would be on cloud nine, but Jones is an unusually free spirit for his age.
“I don’t get excited about too much of anything,” Jones says in a demeanor sounding twice his actual age. “I just try to take things as they come.”
As a member of one of local racing’s most successful families, Jones has been going to Beebe Speedway since his grade-school days. He got the call to race the F3 hobby car late last season from car owner and uncle Steve Fox, when his cousin Eric Denappoli could no longer drive the car due to work obligations.
“I said, ‘Yeah, I want to drive’,” Jones said. “We knew we would have to talk my mom into it first. It took a little time for her to make up her mind, but we finally talked her into it.”
Since that time, Jones’ mother Jackie has become his biggest fan. She can be seen in the pits at Beebe on any given weekend cheering her son on during the heats and hobby features.
Jones credits a lot of his early success to teammates Randy Weaver and Jason Young, the drivers of the F1 modified and F1 e-mod for the Fox team. Both drivers have track championships under their belts, and have given advice whenever needed.
“I’ve learned quite a bit about motors from them,” Jones said. “I always go to Randy and Jason before the races to ask them about setups and stagger and things like that. They have definitely helped me out a bunch.”
A lot of younger drivers have visions of becoming the next big NASCAR superstar, but not Jones. His future plans include attending college, and pursuing a degree in accounting.
“I just want to be one of those week-to-week racers,” Jones said. “I eventually would like to end up in the modified class. They are quite a bit faster, and they are not too expensive.
“With late models, you pretty much have to travel with a tour to make all the races. With a modified, you can race them every week at Beebe or I-30, or wherever.”
When asked about his first feature win earlier this year in which he outlasted notable veterans such as Eddie Hoyer and Tracy Clemons, Jones was his usual unexcitable self.
“I probably didn’t deserve to win that race,” Jones said. “I was happy that I won, but I realize there were guys out there who are a lot faster than me. I just don’t think I’m that good.”
For someone who lacks confidence in his own ability, Jones showed promise his first time out in a racecar. During a ‘B’ main transfer race late last season, Jones was leading during his first weekend behind the wheel with three laps to go when a rear-end failure took him out of contention.
Jones is the first to admit he still has some learning to do. Although he has come a long way in a short time, Jones says he still needs to develop more patience behind the wheel. He also says that he still has a steep learning curve in understanding setups and track conditions.
If Jones continues to race through his adult years after starting at such a young age, he could become one of the longest- running veterans in central Arkansas racing. Just don’t act like it’s a big deal in front of him if he does.
