by Bill W
Sometimes beginning your sprint career weekly amongst the fierce competition of the Knoxville 360 class can be similar to being thrown in a beehive covered with honey. Michael Jones is ready for the challenge. The resident of Des Moines is just looking to get as many laps as he can as he pilots his #12 weekly at Knoxville in his inaugural season of sprint car competition. His goals of seat time and possibly getting into a few A mains is no small task, considering the competition surrounding him. The class is as competitive as ever this season. With 40 to 45 cars being the norm on Saturday nights, it can be a daunting task for an eighteen year old rookie to see the A main. Add to that, the experience of many of the veterans in the class, who have circled the famous half-mile hundreds of times.
Jones is not in this fight alone, however. In his corner is his father, Jeff Jones. Veteran Knoxville fans will remember Jeff piloting his 9J in the eighties and early nineties in the 360 class. Jeff owns two career feature wins, and numerous top five finishes at Knoxville. Now he is not only the father, but the owner and crew chief for his son. "I'd like to thank my family for fully supporting me," says Michael. John DeMoss, Steve Walden and Mike DeMoss also provide help for the team pit side. Sponsorship is provided by Jocko's Auto Parts, Kneiss Signs, Coburn's Car Center, Mid-American Mortgage, Brown's Phillips 66 and Steve O'Brien.
Michael's career began in the go-kart ranks where he spent eleven seasons. He competed at Jamaica and Newton often, but also did a lot of traveling around the country. Success came in the form of seventeen national top five finishes, with the biggest victory coming in the 1998 Holiday Classic in Phoenix, AZ. Jones admits, "A lot of times we were runner-up to (Jamie) Ferrell (fellow 360 competitor)." Early returns have been good this season. In only his fourth competition with the sprints, Michael transferred from the D to the C in the 360 Nationals. The result was a great run in the Gaerte powered Maxim from 24th to 16th in that event.
To prepare for the season, Michael spent some time with the Dave Blaney Driving School at the dirt speedway in Charlotte, NC. "I learned more from that 50 laps, than I could in a bunch of races here. It was well worth the time we spent," says Jones. Why North Carolina? Well, Jones is a full time student at Clemson University in South Carolina. There, he has completed his first year in a five year program in motor sports engineering. His plans are to pursue a career in driving, preferably open wheel racing of some type. If those plans don't pan out, he has a backup plan. "I'd like to be the engineer for and Indy team, or possibly Formula One," says Michael.
Much like successful sprint pilot, Greg Hodnett, Jones is getting his college degree. Ironically, Hodnett's degree from Memphis State was also in engineering. If Jones's driving success approaches that of Hodnett, we will see him circling Knoxville for a long time to come. Keep an eye on this ambitious youngster, he is one to watch.