BRISTOL, Tenn. – After nearly an eight-week break in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) competition, Spencer Davis (@SpencerDavis_29) and his Rette Jones Racing (@RetteJones30) team are ready to return to competition in Saturday afternoon’s Zombie Auto Parts 150 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
Starting the year off with a solid top-10 finish at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway in February was a positive introduction for Davis and Rette Jones Racing – but with a group of winners and docked as one of the pre-season championship hopefuls, the team heads to “Thunder Valley” hungry for more.
To help build the chemistry between Davis and Rette Jones Racing crew chief and co-owner Mark Rette, the team recently participated in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway – where the duo came and conquered the historic Virginia short track with a solid top-20 finish.
With confidence, comfort and trust between them, Davis and Rette Jones Racing revert back to their championship run in K&N and Davis readies his fourth start at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” aboard the No. 30 Ford Fusion.
The Mooresville, N.C.-based team welcomes JRI Shocks as the primary partner for the K&N East at Bristol for the second consecutive season.
JRi Shocks recently acquired by NASCAR Hall of Famer Ray Evernham was founded in 2007 by some of the most legendary innovators in motorsports to produce the world’s most technologically advance, highest performance suspension systems.
“I’ve been anxiously waiting to get to Bristol for about a month now,” said Davis who sits sixth in the championship standings entering the second race of the year. “Mark (Rette), the guys and I have been methodically working on our Bristol car because we’re determined to go win the race on Saturday afternoon with JRI Shocks.
“We know that in order to show everyone that we are championship material, we need to be running inside the top-five and contending for wins. With my prior experience there and Mark’s strong setups, I think we put ourselves in a good position to get Rette Jones Racing their first K&N victory Saturday afternoon.”
Davis, a native of Dawsonville, Ga. has three prior starts at the 0.533-mile concrete oval. The NASCAR Next driver has finished inside the top-10 in his last two outings, including a track best of third in 2017. Last April, Davis finished seventh after starting fifth.
“Bristol is a tough place, mentally and physically,” offered 20-year-old Davis. “With the ever-changing track characteristics, you really have to make sure your car is able to run both the low line and the top line. Negotiating traffic has also been a huge factor throughout the race.
“For us, we just need to make sure we get our No. 30 JRI Shocks Ford Fusion qualified near the front and use the first half of the race to our advantage to make sure we can hit it our hard during the second half and be a factor when it counts most. I think it’s going to be a competitive race on Saturday, and we want to be apart of it.”
After being apart of the K&N East Series since 2016, Jones is ready for the checkered flag to be theirs.
“Even though we haven’t always had the results to show it, Bristol has been one of our better tracks,” said Rette, the 2009 ARCA Menards Series championship crew chief. “We’ve had some success there in the past with Dominque (Van Wieringen) and Grant (Quinlan) – but I think Bristol is really a track that fits Spencer’s driving style and I’m hoping that will play into our hands-on Saturday.
“150 laps go quick at Bristol and I hope we can come out of there with our first win or a strong finish to propel us into the double-header at South Boston in May.”
In addition to JRI Shocks serving as the title marketing partners for the second race of the season, Rette Jones Racing also welcomes ALLPRO, Tower Sealants, Horton Ave. Materials, Jones Group Demolition and Abatement, Ford Performance, Huntilar Corp. and Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems as associate marketing partners for the second short track race of 2019.
RJR is co-owned by Canadian entrepreneur and former race car driver Terry Jones.
In 33 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts, Davis has earned one victory (Dominion (Va.) Raceway 2016), two poles, achieved 14 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes. He has also 224 laps led in event competition.
Davis also has six NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) starts to his credit – four in 2018 driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) and one in 2019 for Rette Jones Racing. He earned two top-10 finishes including a career-best of seventh in his series’ debut at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Additionally, Sam Hunt Racing will utilize Rette Jones Racing in a technical alliance role for this weekend at Bristol. Rette has worked closely with SHR and 18-year-old driver Colin Garrett.
“Colin Garrett and Sam Hunt Racing are quickly becoming players in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Rette Jones Racing is proud to be a part of their rapid growth,” Rette added. “Colin is a talented race car driver and with the two teams working together, I think everyone will be impressed with the results.”
The Zombie Auto 150 (150 laps | 79.95 miles) is the second of 13 races on the 2019 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule. Practice begins for the two-day show on Fri., Apr. 5 from 4:05 p.m. – 4:50 p.m. Group qualifying is set for later in the day at 7:30 p.m. The race will take the green flag just after 4:00 p.m. on Sat., Apr. 14 following the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300. The event will be televised live on FansChoice.TV, as well on a tape-delayed basis on NBC Sports Network on Thurs., Apr. 11 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
For more information on Spencer Davis, please check out his Facebook page (Spencer Davis Racing) or on Instagram @spencerdavis_29.
Davis tweets too. Follow him @SpencerDavis_29.
The latest on Rette Jones Racing is available at RetteJonesRacing.com, the team’s Facebook page or Twitter @RetteJones30.
About Rette Jones Racing:
Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, Rette Jones Racing (RJR) was founded in 2015 with the intent of building a successful racing operation built around the fundamentals of hard work and a never give up attitude.
Owned by racers Terry Jones and Mark Rette, RJR will field a full-time entry in 2019 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, while also fielding a partial entry in the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS).
The team also offers technical and setup intel as part of a technical alliance partnership to Sam Hunt Racing and driver Colin Garrett.
CONTACT: Mark Rette | [email protected]