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Erik Jones dominates to win Xfinity race at Texas again, Sadler now No. 1 in points

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Erik Jones gets back to victory lane at Texas after winning every stage and leading 142 laps in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300.

NASCAR Cup regular Erik Jones showed the eight remaining NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contenders how it’s done, winning Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Jones won his second consecutive Xfinity race (and third in his career) at TMS, dominating throughout the night, starting from the pole and leading 142 of the race’s 200 laps, including winning Stage 1 and Stage 2. Jones, who also won April’s Xfinity race at TMS, has made six career Xfinity starts there. Including his three wins, he has an average finish there of 2.2.

“It’s sure been a good place for me, just been a place I’ve enjoyed coming to,” Jones told NBCSN. “First time I came here in a Truck, I never thought I’d like the place. But since then, it’s just kind of clicked for me.”

Jones led most of the race, but gave up the lead when he and most of the other drivers pitted for fuel on Lap 185, 15 laps from the finish.

Jones then worked his way back up to the front, regaining the advantage on Lap 192 when Ty Dillon was forced to pit for fuel. From that point on, it was a drag race to the finish between Jones and Ryan Blaney, with Jones reaching the start-finish line first. It was Jones’ third Xfinity win in 17 starts this season.

Blaney finished second, followed by Kyle Larson, Elliott Sadler and Cole Custer. Sadler moves into first place in the Xfinity standings.

This was the second of three races in the Round of 8 semifinal round. With Jones’ win tonight and Christopher Bell’s win at Kansas, that means at least three of the four finalists for the championship race at Miami in two weeks will qualify on points.

MORE: Results from Saturday night’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 Xfinity race at Texas

MORE: Xfinity standings: Elliott Sadler now No. 1, takes big step closer to first title

STAGE WINNERS: Erik Jones (Stage 1), Erik Jones (Stage 2)

WHO ELSE HAD A GOOD RACE: With a fourth-place finish, Elliott Sadler moves into first place in the standings. Sadler leads William Byron by five points, Justin Allgaier by nine and Brennan Poole by 24. … Cole Custer bounced back from a cut tire early and also rallied from one lap down to finish fifth and helped improve himself in the standings. He was eighth coming into tonight’s race. He leaves Texas in sixth, 13 points shy of the cutoff line heading to Phoenix. … Matt Tifft is five points below the cutoff line, followed by Custer, Daniel Hemric (-18) and Ryan Reed (-33).

WHO HAD A BAD RACE: Ryan Reed had a disappointing 23rd-place finish. Given that he’s 33 points below the cutoff line and 62 points behind Sadler, Reed is in a must-win situation at Phoenix if he hopes to make the championship race in Miami. … Brandon Jones suffered a hard hit on the restart on Lap 61.

NOTABLE: NASCAR met with Ross Chastain and Brendan Gaughan because of a post-race scuffle that involved them.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We came to Texas with a plan and tried to do some stuff for Homestead. … I’m just living the dream. I had so much fun tonight. All in all, it was a great night for us.” – Elliott Sadler, who takes over the Xfinity points lead.

WHAT’S NEXT: Ticket Galaxy 200; Saturday, Nov. 11, 3:30 p.m. ET; Phoenix Raceway.