It is not the best time to be Conner Jones. He has worked in NASCAR on a part-time basis for ThorSport Racing, with his best result of 15th coming in a 2023 Bristol race. However, he has also clashed with officials. Last year in October, NASCAR suspended Jones for one race after he hit Matt Mills at Homestead-Miami. This brush-up with rules followed Jones into his sprint car racing pursuits as well.

The 59th Annual World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing kicked off recently at New Smyrna Speedway. Conner Jones was one of the most touted racers at this event, owning five wins in the Pro Late Model division. However, things went south – as Jones incurred the wrath of the authorities twice.

The NASCAR driver had to bottle up his fury

Well, things started to get awry for Conner Jones from the very first night. Jones grabbed the checkered flag at the 59-lap Pro Late Model race on Friday. However, a post-race technical inspection failed and officials disqualified his victory – thus handing the trophy to Hunter Wright. This setback was soon followed by another heartbreak on the second night – although Jones got snubbed by a rival instead. Spencer Davis finished 0.121 seconds ahead of Jones to clinch the victory. That was easier to digest, as Davis hailed Jones for his clean racing and rising maturity.

But the 18-year-old NASCAR racer was not prepared to accept another crippling setback on the third night. Towards the finishing laps, a chaotic late-race restart shuffled the field. Jones was already leading the way until Jimmy Renfrew Jr. bumped slightly into him, and then Hunter Wright jumped from 4th to 1st place. This debacle left Conner Jones in splits, and his flaring temper was visible when he got out of his race car. However, he received a warning from officials. Short Track Scene tweeted: “Conner Jones briefly had his conversation with Jimmy Renfrew Jr. about what happened at the end of the race between them before officials and security told them to go their separate ways.”

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver’s emotions are justifiable. This marked Connor Jones’ third back-to-back debacle and second brush-up with the authorities. Yet fans on the internet were not so kind as they commented on Jones’ anger: “Don’t let the Super Bowl distract you from the fact that Conner Jones is a loser.” Even BrakeHard’s official X account tweeted, “Conner Jones has opps on his own team now.” Nevertheless, Jones is going to go home from New Smyrna with a heart that was broken several times over the past weekend.

However, he was not the only NASCAR driver who apprehended the officials.

Another racer on New Smyrna officials’ radar

As it turned out, New Smyrna authorities snubbed not just Conner Jones, but also William Sawalich. The latter is also a NASCAR driver. He has been booked for a full-time Xfinity Series ride in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota this season. Also an 18-year-old, Sawalich was seasoning his wheeling skills at the World of Asphalt Series. He won a battle with Cole Butcher on the race track during the 59-lap Super Late Model main event. But like Jones, he also failed a post-race technical inspection. The No. 62 Super Late Model was deemed too wide in terms of tread width.

Thus the officials stripped Sawalich of his newfound win. Chief Technical Inspector Rick Turner lamented about his duties but said that he had no choice. “We ran it back through like a pre-tech deal like it was pre-qualifying tech and it was still too wide. We gave him the opportunity to make it right by going through a pre-tech session and he failed it both times. As a racer for 45 years, this is one thing I don’t like about what I’m doing. I know what kind of money it takes to do this deal, I know the time it takes and I really feel for them. But I have to uphold the rule too, and that’s why they hired me.”

Evidently, two NASCAR racers ran up against trouble at New Smyrna Speedway. Hopefully, this fate will not recur in their upcoming NASCAR schedules.