In the racing world, it’s not always about the speed but the way one races. And for young drivers who are just making their way in the NASCAR Truck series, having that clean balance between skill and aggression is key. But it seems Conner Jones is tipping the scale in the wrong direction. 

At the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series garage, it’s a common accord that he is an “aggressive, hot-headed driver.” And time and again he has proved tall to this tag. However, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, his tactics forced Daniel Dye to limp home to a 20th-place finish while he finished 11th, but his move came at a price—losing his respect at the garage!

Daniel Dye calls Conner Jones a “hot head”

Things heated up when Jones made contact with Daniel Dye while fighting for the 19th position in the race at Charlotte. This move cut down a tire, leaving Due frustrated. But Dye didn’t let Jones muscle his way out of this and decided to talk it out with him right at the pit stop. After the conversation, Dye talked to the media about what really went down, the conversation with Jones, and even revealed the reason he thinks Jones behaves the way he does. 

Dye said, “He just swiped at me down the backstretch. Fed me a pretty hard door. With these not being the bodies that are on the Xfinity and Cup cars, when they bend, they just sit on the tire. And I had a right front go flat just because he’s being aggressive for 19th.” This isn’t the first time that Jones has shown his muscle on tracks. Dye said he has been racing Jones for a couple of years in Late Model races, ARCA races, and Truck races and said “It’s clear you know who you’re racing. I really shouldn’t be surprised.”

On the other hand, Dye thinks Dale Earnhardt Sr. is the reason behind Jones racing this way. “That’s a guy that thinks it’s cool to make contact with other cars. He’s just watched too many Dale Sr. YouTube videos, and that’s okay. I would say I get it, [but] I don’t. It’s not worth it. Whatever man, we’re racing. That’s not even like no respect, that’s just disrespect. And I feel like I try to race pretty respectfully in the Truck Series,” Dye said.

According to Dye, Jones is a “hot-head” and probably has paid no regard to the conversation he had with him. He said, “I don’t think he was very receptive. I just told him he can’t make contact with me anymore. It’s not even that he’s ran into me a lot, he has a couple of times, but it’s how much he does it to other people. I’m not going to take it.”

This aggression is a growing trend in the NASCAR Truck Series and some, like Deegan, have highlighted the growing aggression in the sport.

Rising aggression at the NASCAR Truck Series 

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Conner Jones is not a newbie to the “aggressive driver” tag. And just last week at North Wilkesboro he was called to the NASCAR hauler after the race because of his aggression. When Dye referred to Jones taking cues from Dale Earnhardt Sr–he wasn’t wrong. In fact, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was not someone who would race clean. He was a 7-time champion but was known for aggressive driving all through his career. ​​

Keith Mcgee who was at the Bristol race, had a near-miss incident with Jones, which could have ended badly for McGee if not for his fast response time. He said, “I don’t know what his intentions were. Definitely should probably be a penalty. And as such there are several other incidents where Jones has shown too much aggression.

All these incidents highlight the concern Hailie Deegan brought forth about the series sometimes lacking discipline. This often leads to chaos and aggression from inexperienced drivers trying to prove themselves. She said, “There’s just a lot of chaos in the Truck series, and I think it’s almost a discipline issue. It’s like if you’re building a building and it has no structure — it’s going to fall apart. If you’re raising a kid with no discipline, they’re not going to behave the best way possible, and I feel like in the Truck series, kind of what’s lacking right now is that discipline.” 

“You’ve got a lot of young kids in there trying to prove themselves, and then you have some of the older talent that has a lot of experience and it’s not meshing well. I feel like there needs to be some structure to it in order to get it under control, she added.

Well, Jones right now has a long way to go, and making enemies right off the bat doesn’t seem conducive for him. What do you think? Should he tone it down a little?