ROSEVILLE, Calif. — There’s nothing like your first.
Jagger Jones has been oh-so-close to Victory Lane this season, but he finally broke through on Saturday at All American Speedway in Roseville, California, holding off a hard-charging Hailie Deegan to win his first career K&N Pro Series West race.
It feels awesome,” he said. “Just how close we’ve gotten, I’ve been close multiple times from the first race we did to this last one, to finally get the first one just feels so special, so awesome. This is what racer’s live for.”
With two runner-up finishes and five top fives coming into the 12th event of the season, confidence was still high for the Scottsdale, Arizona native. He knew his victory was on the way.
“I never really doubted,” he said. “It was more when the first win is going to come, not if.”
Jagger’s grandfather, Parnelli Jones, had six consecutive wins between 1958-59, when the series was known as the Pacific Coast Late Model Series. Parnelli scored his first win at the old Huntington Beach Speedway in California in 1956, and had 15 total wins in the series, including West/Cup combination races.
Parnelli is also 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner and member of International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Jagger’s father, P.J., competed in nine K&N West races and scored three top fives.
The aforementioned Deegan rebounded from an early-race spin in the first 30 laps to come home second for the first time this season and third time in her career.
The spin did not cause a caution flag to fly, dropping her to last in the running order as she then worked her way through the field.
Jones’ Sunrise Ford teammate Trevor Huddleston came home third for the second race in a row.
Championship points leader Derek Kraus rebounded from a flat tire while leading and falling off the lead lap to finish fourth, his ninth top five of the season.
Coming off his season-best second-place run at Meridian, Todd Souza completed the top five.
Brittney Zamora, Buddy Shepherd, Travis Milburn, Derrick Doering and Keith McGee rounded out the top 10.
With his fourth-place finish, Kraus’s lead atop the championship standings remains at 40 over Huddleston. Jones, Deegan and Souza complete the top five.
The next K&N Pro Series West event will take place at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California on Saturday, October 26.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
All American Speedway – Roseville, CA
NAPA Auto Parts / ENEOS 150 – October 12, 2019
1. Jagger Jones
2. Hailie Deegan
3. Trevor Huddleston
4. Derek Kraus
5. Todd Souza
6. Brittney Zamora
7. Buddy Shepherd
8. Travis Milburn
9. Derrick Doering
10. Keith McGee
11. Bridget Burgess
12. Dylan Garner
13. Takuma Koga
14. John Wood
15. Josh Fanopoulos
16. Jack Wood
