(Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
LINCOLN, Ala. — Erik Jones hasn’t had the consistency he would have liked to start 2023, but he may have sparked something at Talladega Superspeedway. The 26-year-old from Byron, Michigan survived late-race chaos and finished sixth in Sunday’s GEICO 500, his best result of the season.
While Jones admitted that the race didn’t go to plan from his standpoint, he was pleased to finally scratch across a strong result
Jones stayed tucked toward the rear of the field for most of the race, finishing 30th in Stage 1 and 24th in Stage 2. Three late crashes, including the latter two on NASCAR Overtime attempts, allowed Jones to advance through the field and get in position. The final caution, caused by a late block from Bubba Wallace, ended the race with a crash in Turn 1 on the last lap.
“It was kind of an up and down day. We weren’t really running how we wanted to during the day,” Jones said. “But obviously, there at the end, some attrition got us toward the front. I felt like our car was good and that the Air Force Chevy had speed. We just weren’t up there to show it. We’ll take it, though. A (top-six) is obviously a strong run.
“We were a big proponent of most of them up there kind of pushing and leading. I felt like we could get the third lane rolling really well a couple of times. We got to the front and just couldn’t quite clear myself down. I think people are just getting more confident with their pushes and more aggressive with them. I think that’s leading to more three-wide racing.”
(Photo: Riley Thompson | The Podium Finish)
Jones’ result is his best of the 2023 second and just his second top 10. His other top 10 came at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the previous drafting track on the schedule, where he finished eighth.
Otherwise, it’s been a difficult season for the third-year driver at the newly rebranded LEGACY Motor Club. He’s finished 20th or worse in half of the 10 races, including three results outside the top 30. Jones’ average finish is 20.9, one spot better than his average start.
While Jones said he didn’t have a chance to win Sunday’s race, his teammate, Noah Gragson, did. Gragson sat on the front row of the first overtime attempt before crash triggered by an agressive move from Ross Chastain took Gragson out of contention.
Jones took note of the rookie’s performance.
“At that point, didn’t have much of a shot. I was hoping just to get up in the top-10. I saw [Gragson] was up there on the front row and was hoping he could grab one for us. It would have been pretty cool for him and the team. I hate to see how it worked out for him. I felt like we had good speed too, but just some stuff didn’t go our way to get track position. Some runs didn’t work out. I thought it was good. [Gragson’s] team definitely had more speed this weekend than what we’ve had. Hopefully we can translate it.”
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 30 for the Würth 400 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). In 10 starts, Jones has three top-10 finishes and a top five. He said he’s encouraged about what’s to come for his No. 43 team throughout the rest of the spring.
“I was hoping to come [to Talladega] and have a good day for us and get us rolling with some momentum to Dover and forward,” Jones said. “We’re on to some good tracks for us, so hopefully we can repeat the same next week – bring a good car and kind of keep this momentum rolling.”
