Driver, promoter
Veteran reporter Robin Miller called Norman “Bubby” Jones “one of the greatest Sprint Car drivers of all time.” The Danville, IL native won countless outlaw events, 22 USAC National Sprint Car races, and consecutive California Racing Association Sprint Car titles (1983, 1984). In 1984 he held off Steve Kinser to capture the coveted Pacific Coast National Open at Ascot. Jones also won four USAC National Midget events and the 1976 Turkey Night Grand Prix. He started on motorcycles before switching to cars. The barber’s big break came when boss Larry Cannon got a USAC ride and Jones took over his outlaw car. “I got into that thing and broke all of Cannon’s records,” Jones told SCRAFAN.COM. “We had years where we won 40 or 50 features.” Jones went from 33rd to 10th in the 1977 Indy 500 before his engine blew. In retirement, he was named “National Sprint Car Promoter of the Year” (1996) for his work at California’s Perris Auto Speedway. Jones was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1998.