Erik Jones races to an eighth place finish in the Ally 400. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)
LEBANON, Tenn. – Erik Jones brought home an admirable eighth place finish in Sunday night’s race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Jones had a slower start to his weekend, qualifying 23rd on Saturday for the Ally 400. However, once the green flag was unfurled, it did not take long for the Byron, Michigan native to work his way into the top 10 for a 10th place Stage 2 finish before his finial eighth place finish.
Notably, Jones secured his top 10 finish Sunday evening without his crew chief, Dave Elenz, after NASCAR issued an L1 penalty to the No. 43 team for a modified greenhouse (top portion of the Cup Series car) that was found during post-race inspection at WWT Raceway.
The 27-year-old has had a less than ideal first half of the NASCAR season, with just two other top ten finishes, including the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro and Talladega, so Jones was obviously relieved to secure a respectable top 10 finish.
“It was a good day,” Jones said. “We had a good No. 43 Allegiant Chevy. We were able to run up towards the top-10 all day, so just need to build on that. If you can be. up there and running competitively, it gives you something to work on.”
Jones also referenced his results to this point in the season, saying “Today was the first day in a while that I felt like we were in the ballpark and where we need to be, so that’s a good step. I’m proud of the effort, for sure. We’re getting the cars better and where we want them to be, and hopefully just get them a little bit more moving forward.”
As Jones alluded to, Legacy Motor Club as a whole, the No. 43 team alongside Cup Series rookie teammate Noah Gragson’s No. 42 team have struggled to find consistent speed they are pleased with throughout this season.
In an effort to regroup, and find the consistent results that the Legacy Motor Club teams are happier with, they will be switching manufactures from Chevrolet to Toyota for the 2024 season.
Jones is well aquatinted with the Toyota manufacturing after spending the 2017 season in the No. 77 car, and 2018-2020 with Joe Gibbs Racing in the No. 20 before Christopher Bell took over the car in 2021.
Given the history Erik Jones and Toyota have together, this move for Legacy Motor Club may be just what he needs to find the success he has had throughout his career both in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and during his time in the Cup Series.
In the mean time, though, it will be interesting to see if Jones can fulfill his hopes, and build on his efforts in Nashville for the second half of the Season. His next opportunity to show his speed and adaptability will be at the brand new Chicago Street Course on Sunday, July 2 at 4:30 p.m. CT on NBC.
