Alton Jones and his family escaped injury on Sunday when the right-front tire on their 45-foot motor coach blew out while on the way back to Texas from the Douglas Lake Elite Series, where Jones had finished 28th.
Jones was driving 65 mph heading West on Interstate 40 in Tennessee, about 60 miles west of Nashville when the blowout occurred. He’s unsure if he struck something or if the tire had been previously damaged.
“Everybody’s good. We were pretty fortunate,” he said. “I was going around a curve and down a hill and the right front just blew. It was like trying to wrestle a gorilla. I don’t know how I kept it from going off the road. I managed to stay on the shoulder because if we’d have gone off, it was a like a 45-degree grassy slope down into some trees about 100 feet away.”
His daughter, Jamie, was the only passenger in the motor coach. His wife, Jimmye Sue, was driving the Chevy Suburban tow rig. The blowout caused some minor damage to the coach, but once the tire was replaced he was able to drive it the rest of the way home.
“It was a heart-pounding moment to say the least,” he said. “I feel really fortunate because we could’ve been hurt really bad. It ended up being a 5-hour inconvenience.”
As for his result at Douglas, he was happy to rebound from a disappointing day 1 when he weighed 11-09. He has three Top-30 finishes in four Elite Series events this season and is 14th in the Toyota Tundra Angler of the Year standings.
“Finishing 28th doesn’t sound good, but after you’ve been in 48th, it feels good,” he added. “It’s a nice comeback and gives me the points I need to move up in the Angler of the Year race and keep my post-season hopes alive.”
