BUSCH: Atlanta Buckshot Jones Preview

Buckshot Jones Wants To End Season With A Win In Hometown Of Atlanta

SPARTANBURG, S.C. --- Family, friends and all things familiar are what makes going home special. For Buckshot Jones, returning home to compete in the Stihl 300 NASCAR Busch Series race in Atlanta, Ga., on November 7, 1998 is something special . Jones was born in West Palm Beach, Fla., but raised in Tucker Ga., and is quick to tell anyone that his home state will always be Georgia.

"I love everything about Georgia," commented 28-year old Jones. "I live in Spartanburg, S.C., where our race shop is located for most of the year, but I travel back to Atlanta every chance I can. I really enjoyed growing up and starting my racing career there.

"I grew up in Tucker, Ga., which is right outside Atlanta," continued Jones. " I went to Tucker High School, where I played on the high school football team as a starting defensive back and I even boxed for a year. I started racing in 1991 in the All American Division at Lanier Raceway while I was going to college at the University of Georgia. I never really spent too much time away from Georgia until I started competing on the NASCAR Busch Series."

Jones has only competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway a handful of times, but he has been successful. He finished fourth in the NASCAR Busch Series race in 1997 and it was the site of his first career NASCAR Winston Cup race in November of last year.

"Everyone on the team was thrilled when we made our NASCAR Winston Cup debut in Atlanta last year," said Jones. "A lot of the guys on the team are from the Atlanta area and have been with me since the beginning of my career. We were all happy that we achieved our goal and it made it even better that we did it in Atlanta."

Jones knew when they returned to Atlanta Motor Speedway last March for the NASCAR Busch Series race that things would be different. Although he made his first Winston Cup race after the track's shape had changed, he still had not experienced the modifications in a Busch Series car.

"The biggest change at the track is our speed and that's due to the new surface," said Jones. "When we qualified here last November for the Winston Cup race, the track was new to everyone. Since all of our notes from last season's Busch Series race will be useless, we tested at the track and hope we can use some of what we learned from the Winston Cup race. I think our team has a firm grasp on what we will need to do in order to have a strong qualifying run and finish."

As the racing season comes to a close, Jones is looking forward to being able to spend more time in Atlanta. Hunting season always draws him to the family farm for days on end.

"When I am not traveling to races I like to come back to Georgia and go to our family farm in Monticello to relax. The farm is on about 550 acres of land that I use to hunt deer and turkey. We also have three lakes on the farm where I fish for bass and catfish during the spring and summer."

Buckshot Jones has competed on tracks all over the country, but every year he looks forward to being challenged on what he considers his hometown turf. He knows that the sweetest reward would be claiming a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway and sharing it with family and friends.