PJ Jones Wins Race #2 At The Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg

PJ Jones Wins Round 2 at St. Petersburg Grand Prix

SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas

 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (March 30, 2014) – PJ Jones captured Sunday’s thrilling second round of the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas race at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, beating Robby Gordon to the line by a truck length.

Jerett Brooks, 16, finished third, making it the high-school student’s second-consecutive podium finish after coming home second in Saturday’s first race.

Jones, a veteran of IndyCar, USAC Silver Crown and Sprint Cars, started sixth and drove a calculated yet aggressive race to hold off Gordon and a full field of strong trucks.

“We had a really fast truck and kept our mistakes to a minimum, but you do make mistakes in these trucks,” said Jones, the winner of two of the last three Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas races.  “Robby and Jerett got racing each other behind me which helped, and I had to hold Robby off when he made a couple of late dives on me on that last lap.

“Best thing is that the crowd was really into it and people have been coming up to me all weekend saying how much they love the trucks and love watching them jump.  A lot of them said we were the reason they came here this weekend and can’t wait to see us race again.  The fans that didn’t know about us already are fans now, I’m sure.”

Following Saturday’s first race of the season, which had Gordon holding off Brooks and third-place finisher Justin Lofton in a driving rain storm, Jones considered Sunday’s victory redemption for a costly mistake on Saturday.  Racing in some of the worst conditions possible, Sunday’s race was a complete opposite with brilliant blue Florida skies and warm temperatures.

More than 75,000 spectators lined the 1.8-mile 14-turn road circuit to watch Jones and the Traxxas-branded trucks launch off of man-made ramps on the same DOT-approved Toyo Tires that consumers can buy.  The loud raucous cheers of disbelief from the massive crowd could be heard over the trucks as fans of traditional road racing saw the truck literally fly through the air side by side.

Saturday and Sunday’s races at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg will be broadcast on NBCSN April 17 at 1 a.m. EST and 10 p.m. PST. (April 16).

Round 3 of the SPEED Energy Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas will be April 13 at the Long Beach Grand Prix in Southern California.  Tickets to the race are available through the Long Beach Grand Prix web site at www.gplb.com.

Race #2 Results:

1. PJ Jones
2. Robby Gordon
3. Jerett Brooks
4. Justin Lofton
5. Sheldon Creed
6. Scotty Steele
7. Gavin Harlien
8. Apdaly Lopez
9. Davey Hamilton


Formula Off-Road Presented by Traxxas

Fact Sheet

 

Track:                    Grand Prix of St. Petersburg circuit

Circuit Type:            Downtown temporary street circuit

Race Time:              Sunday, March 31, 2 p.m.

TV Schedule:           NBCSN, Thursday, April 18, 1 a.m. EDT

Track Layout:          1.8 mile, 14 turns

Defending Winner:    First event at St. Petersburg

Web Site:                www.stadiumsupertrucks.com

Twitter:                  @SSuperTrucks