Goldsboro driver has new crowning achievement in state championship

By Ryan Bisesi, WRAL multiplatform producer

Goldsboro, N.C. — Being around automobiles has been automatic for Clay Jones most of his life.

His father, John Jones, raced go karts and stock cars. His parents met at a go-kart track. His grandfather used to own and operate Wilson County Speedway in the 1970s.

"My dad raced, my grandad raced," he said. "Growing up, if we weren't racing, we were going to find a race to watch"

Ever since he drove a four-cylinder car in his first competitive race at age 15, the track has been his second home.

So when Jones, a Goldsboro native and graduate of Southern Wayne High School, was named a North Carolina state champion earlier this month, it was a culmination of what's been two decades in the making.

"A storybook ending to an awesome year," Jones said.

Jones said he entered the final race of the season at Wake County Speedway needing a top-three finish to have a shot at the state crown. Jones and his team had eight wins at Wake County in 2022 to carry him to the title.

For the final race on Sept. 16, Jones qualified fifth.

"We ran there for the majority of the race and eased our way up," he said. "In the back of my head, I know we've got to finish third or better, so if I could just ride third or better, I was good with that."

Two-thirds of the way through the race, Jones was content with finishing second with challenger Tyler Matthews several car lengths ahead of the field.

With 10 laps to go, he started picking up speed and moved his line, gaining on the lead position. Jones pulled ahead of the field in the final lap with a veteran maneuver.

"He slips coming up off [turn] two ,and I got up under him," Jones said. "We got to the line and I had him by a car length."

As they say, fortune favors the bold.

"I'm so much faster, I can't just sit here and we only got one lap to go, so I'm going to go for it," Jones said. "We just did beat him."

The win meant Jones won the final Late Model race of the season, the Late Model Track Championship and the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series State Championship. Jones' campaign included beating the eventual National and Southeast Points Champion, Layne Riggs. Jones won three of the eight races that Riggs competed in and Riggs won one race versus Jones.

Jones said his team bought his car, a full-tube chassis Chevrolet Camaro, in about 2004 and stripped it down to the bare frame before customizing it.

"I bet that car has over 60 wins on it," Jones said. "We don't buy new cars, new motors and new shocks, we do all our stuff. If it can be done, we try to do it. To outrun those guys that spend there's no telling how much with new cars, that's icing on the cake."

The 35-year-old Jones said he'll continue to race as long as he's able or until family obligations make it too hard. With two children, it could soon be time to pass the torch.

"Maybe we could all race together, that would be awesome," Jones said.