Kelly Jones gets a congratulatory kiss from husband Dustin after she drove to fourth-place finish in Thunder Trucks at Tucson Speedway on Oct. 17. Kelly, who met Dustin at a track many years ago, was making her return to racing for the first time in 16 years.

 Photos by Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

Kelly Jones slipped her feet into weathered, black-suede Alpinestars racing shoes last Saturday for the first time in 16 years, taking a rare moment to herself during what she knew would be a long and busy day.

She last wore the shoes as an 18-year-old, racing cars on the very same track on Tucson’s southeast side. Her mother, Denise Germain, had found them in her closet earlier Saturday.

They still fit, the soot-colored suede emblazoned with red accents clinging to the curves of Kelly’s feet.

She put the shoes on and just like the fairy tale, magic happened. Kelly had already found her Prince Charming more than two decades ago, racing go-karts as kids and, later, competing against one another as teenagers at the Tucson Speedway.

For the first time in Tucson Speedway history, the top three Outlaw Bandolero point leaders β€” Anika O’Brien , Keirstin Jones and Quinn Davis, who finished in first, second and third place, respectively β€” are girls.

Kelly, 34, has spent the past decade raising her two children. She’s also been helping her husband, Dustin, run their landscaping business during the week. On the weekends, she worked the pits as he or the kids raced.

On Saturday, the roles were reversed as Dustin and a crew of friends and family doted on Kelly and her truck, making sure everything was perfect for her long-awaited return to the track.

The family business

Kelly and Dustin own a landscaping service, sure. But racing is their family business.

Kelly said her father, Colin Germain, β€œpretty much raced anything and everything his whole life, from snow mobiles to drag cars to stock cars.”

Kelly started going to the racetrack as a kid, watching her dad race. When she was 10, she raced her first go-kart. At 16, she moved up to Factory Stocks at the old Tucson Raceway Park. At the time, there were no kids’ divisions. She raced against adults.

Kelly Jones brings her truck, center in yellow, blue and black, into turn No. 1 during the preliminary heat. Jones, known in her early racing days as Kelly Germain, is a mother of two. Both of her children also race.

β€œThe first time she went out on the track, she’d never driven a stick before, so she stalled it about five or six times,” her father said. β€œAnd then, the fifth race in, she won.”

Later that year, she became the youngest driver to win a feature race at the track.

Dustin began his racing career at 6, riding dirt bikes, before moving into go-karts when he was 13. Dustin and Kelly met the go-kart track, but didn’t start dating until high school.

She went to high school at Sahuaro and he attended Sahuarita, but they spent Saturday nights at the track and watched film together on Sunday. They missed their senior prom after getting held up at the track.

During the 2003 season, her second at TRP, Kelly became the first woman to win a points championship racing Factory Stocks. By the time she turned 18, she had moved out of that division and into Late Models, racing alongside her boyfriend.

The two made news when, in 2004, they raced against one another in the Late Models division, with Kelly snapping Dustin’s four-race win streak with her first victory of the season. Dustin went on to win his first championship later that year. Kelly came in second and took home Rookie of the Year honors.

Local Tucson Speedway driver Kelly Jones made her return to racing after a long hiatus. Her performance led her to say after, "I still got it."

By 2005, Kelly had graduated from high school and the Late Model division, moving over Super Late Models.

β€œWe didn’t do too good. We were both rookies,” Colin Germain said. β€œWe went one year and then the next year, the track closed, so we lost all our sponsors.”

Dustin Jones, left, and his girlfriend (now wife) Kelly, with their cars at Tucson Raceway Park in 2004. They were two of the best in the Late Model series.

Then life happened.

Dustin moved to North Carolina to attend the Richard Petty Driving School, returning to Tucson when he was done. He and Kelly married in 2008 and focused their efforts on raising their two kids, Keirstin and Devin. With the racetrack still closed, the Joneses gave dirt track racing a try. Kelly won one race and Dustin won two or three, but it wasn’t the same.

They spent much of their time growing their business, opening Rincon Vista Landscaping four years ago. Between raising her kids, owning a business, Kelly found herself out of the driver’s seat.

β€œWe have created a good little life for ourselves and our kids,” Kelly said.

In 2013, Tucson Raceway Park reopened as Tucson Speedway, following a handful of ownership changes over the past eight years. Dustin returned to the track in 2019 to compete in both Pro Stocks and Thunder Trucks. He ended up winning the points championship for Thunder Trucks, and came in third in points for Pro Stocks.

Back on track

Neither Dustin nor Kelly regret the time away from driving. In fact, they take almost as much pleasure in watching their kids thrive in the sport as they did racing.

Keirstin, 13, got her start in go-karts and has been at the speedway for three years. She just took second in points in the Outlaw Bandolero season for drivers ages 11 and up. The Joneses youngest child, 10-year-old Devin, competes in the Bandits Bandolero division for drivers ages 8 through 11. Last year, Devin was points leader in his division.

β€œI like, obviously, the adrenaline rush you get out of the racing, but I like how it’s a very family-oriented sport. It’s all of us in it together, we all like it,” Kelly said. β€œIt’s just something we’ve always done. All of our friends that we’ve always hung out with love racing, too.”

In late September, Kelly made the decision to enter the final Thunder Trucks race of the season. She drove a truck that Dustin had raced a few times.

β€œDustin’s been pushing me. I said, β€˜You need to race it first.’ We just built this truck, so the first couple times he went out in it, we had some engine issues and struggled a bit,” Kelly said. β€œSo I was like, β€˜You get it fast first and then I’ll race it.’”

Kelly’s last-minute decision meant little preparation, and track time was hot in demand. Kelly rented the track once.

Before open practice the night before the race, Kelly admitted to being a little on edge.

β€œExtremely nervous. I did practice the other day and it went good,” she said. β€œThey say it’s like riding a bike. You kind of get back in and everything comes back to you, even though it’s nerve-racking because you haven’t done it for so long.”

The energy was high, with Kelly and her crew readying the truck, taking measurements and writing down specs.

Racer Kelly Jones talks with her family and friends about the handling of her truck after finishing in fourth place during her first race in six years. β€œI’ve still got it,” she said.

Shortly before the few trucks on site lined up to take their places on the track, Kelly slipped into the front of the family’s 30-foot toy hauler to change into her racing suit.

As soon as she stepped away from the vehicle, her father and husband descended on the truck, making sure everything was just right.

Kelly emerged, pulled on her helmet β€” matte black with red adornments β€” and slid her tall frame through the window of the truck and into the driver’s seat. She took her place in line and the trucks were off, flying around the track. Thunder Trucks typically reach speeds of 90 mph on straightaways and 75 mph around the corners, but at times during practice and the next day’s race, Kelly’s car looked faster than the others.

After it was over, Kelly stood next to her truck and watched video of her practice laps on her dad’s phone.

β€œThat was more practice than I got the other day,” she said.

Jones talks with her dad, Colin Germain, about her upcoming qualification laps as her husband Dustin dives into the truck cab for some last-minute adjustments.

β€˜It’s her turn’

The Jones family was back at the track at noon on race day, their excitement palpable even from a distance.

Dustin put his nervous energy to work, going over the truck with a dust mop, making sure every square inch shined in the afternoon sun.

β€œI was pushing Kelly to get back in it, and get back in it, and here she is,” Dustin said. β€œHer being a mom and doing her deal finally got her back in it. It’s her turn.”

Kelly’s spot in the pits was nestled in between those belonging to her brother-in-law, Dylan Jones, and family friend, Richard Dorman, both of whom were competing in the Pro Stock season finale.

Dorman credits the Jones family for getting him into racing. They brought him to the track one day, and, like many before him, he was hooked.

Even though Dorman had his own race to prepare for, he checked in with the Joneses throughout the day.

Keirstin also helped out, ferrying her dad and others around the pits in the family’s golf cart and keeping the handful of younger children attached to the group occupied.

Keirstin Jones holds the brake pedal down so her dad Dustin can get the lug nuts off a rear wheel as he readies the truck for his wife Kelly Jones to run during practice at Tucson Speedway, Tucson, Ariz., October 16, 2020.

A few hours before the race, Kelly pulled her car out of the pits and into position to line up for qualifying. She paused her black and blue truck with neon-colored yellow and pink accents before she got into line.

The men in her life approached the vehicle. Kelly’s father and husband flanked the truck on either side while Devin rode circles around the car on his bicycle. Kelly’s brother Colin wore a custom β€œKelly Germain” T-shirt from her high school racing days.

β€œI’ll have to get a new one, since she’s a Jones now,” Germain said.

β€˜I’ve still got it’

Kelly qualified for the main event, saying, β€œThat felt good,” as she came off the track.

A few hours later, as the other divisions ran through their main events, her nerves had kicked in. As the race neared, she sat down for what seemed like the first time all day, lowering herself in a folding camping chair next to some friends.

β€œThe waiting is the worst part,” she said later.

After what felt like an eternity, it was race time. Dylan Jones raced up the bleachers in the spotters’ section, moments after claiming his victory as Pro Stock season champ and eager to watch his sister-in-law’s return.

Dustin at the top of the bleachers amongst the other spotters, sporting the same hot-pink headset that his wife used for years while spotting for her husband and kids.

β€œI like, obviously, the adrenaline rush you get out of the racing, but I like how it’s a very family-oriented sport,” Kelly Jones said. β€œIt’s all of us in it together, we all like it. It’s just something we’ve always done. All of our friends that we’ve always hung out with love racing, too.”

The rest of the Jones camp quietly watched in anticipation as the race began.

By lap 14 of the 30-lap race, Kelly was in sixth place. She moved up to fifth on lap 24.

And then, in the final lap of the race, Kelly’s truck β€” with its neon pink 77 splashed across the side β€” overtook the 88 truck and cruised across the finish line in fourth place.

It was hard to tell who was happiest about Kelly’s finish. Dustin’s elation was impossible to contain, and he jumped up and down outside the windows of her truck.

β€œThat was so awesome!” he told his beaming wife. β€œYou did so good!”

When the Jones family eventually returned to their spot in the pits, a champagne toast ensued. Cans of White Claw were passed around to those old enough to indulge.

β€œThat was so much fun,” Kelly told the mob of friends and family who gathered to congratulate her on her performance.

Colin Germain watched his daughter proudly from a few feet away. A woman leaned over and told him, β€œThat brought back all the feels from the old days.”

As the weekend of racing drew to a close, Kelly and Dustin stepped away from the group and toasted what felt like a victory, with so many firsts and after so much time away.

β€œI’ve still got it!”

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Contact reporter Caitlin Schmidt at cschmidt@tucson.com or 573-4191.