[h=2]Jones aims for stability with Furniture Row[/h] Tuesday, 24 January 2017


Kelly Crandall / Images by LAT

Erik Jones has been successful in every vehicle he's sat in, but it hasn't come easy.
At least not in NASCAR, where Jones has played musical chairs since he arrived on the scene in late 2013. From his tenure at Kyle Busch Motorsports to filling in for a few of his Toyota teammates in the Cup Series, then moving to the Xfinity Series, Jones has spent about as much time learning the sport as he has the names of those he's working with.
That will continue in 2017.
In his graduation to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Jones will make a home at Furniture Row Racing in a newly formed second team. Martin Truex Jr. will be his teammate, and while a familiar face, Chris Gayle, will be Jones' crew chief, everything else will again be new.


"I don't know if it's hindered me, but it's definitely made it more challenging," Jones said Tuesday at the NASCAR Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway. "I hope I can build a group here at Furniture Row, a group of guys, that I'm with for a long time. I've never had that chance really anywhere throughout my career – in late models, in trucks, Xfinity, anything. I've never had the chance to work with a group of guys more than one year."
Of course, there's no telling how long Jones will be at Furniture Row considering he's deeply linked with Joe Gibbs Racing. However, Gibbs had no room at the inn for Jones, and Furniture Row was happy to expand its operation for the 2015 Truck Series champion.
Ironically, the closest Jones came to working with a group for an extended period was in the Truck Series. After debuting with Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013, Jones ran a partial schedule for the company in 2014 and then won three races on his way to the championship the following season.
"I worked with (the truck team) for two years, and we were able to win the championship there, but for the most part it's been a new group of guys, new crew chief, every year, which is challenging," Jones said. "Especially for a young driver just trying to get to know them for it seems like the first half of the year until you can really gel and get to work together well."
Since then, Jones has made starts in NASCAR's top two divisions while working with four different teams.
In 2015, Jones took over for Denny Hamlin at Bristol in April, finishing 26th. He replaced an injured Kyle Busch at Kansas Speedway and was running in the top five when he crashed. Then he drove Matt Kenseth's car during Kenseth's suspension for two races in the playoffs finishing 121th and 19th, respectively. All of that included working with the crew chiefs of those cars.
Last season, Jones made a lone Truck Series start while chasing the Xfinity Series championship (pictured). With Chris Gabehart on the pit box, Jones captured four wins and Rookie of the Year honors.
There's little time for reflecting as Jones again starts over in less than 35 days at Daytona.
"It's going to be busy weekends," Jones said of his rookie year. "I'm fortunate that I had three races in the Cup Series back in 2015 to at least get my feet wet. Unfortunately, those races were all double and triple duty (weekends), so I don't know what a normal Cup weekend brings, but I had a chance to get my feet wet, which is nice.
"It's going to be a big change. The competition is just so much higher. In the Xfinity Series, there were times when we'd go to the racetrack and we'd fire off in practice and be two-tenths faster than second place, and it's like, dang, that's crazy. You don't see that in the Cup Series. You don't see guys that are even a tenth better than second place, so that's a big change. But I'm fortunate to be with a team that was fast all year, and that's positive for me as a rookie. You need fast racecars to go fast, and we'll have that."

 

[h=2]Jones to drive No. 20 Joe Gibbs Camry in 2018[/h] Tuesday, 11 July 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Image by Russell LaBounty/LAT

Joe Gibbs Racing made it official Tuesday afternoon that Erik Jones will drive its No. 20 Toyota Camry in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series beginning next season.



Last weekend at Kentucky Speedway, Matt Kenseth revealed he would not be returning to the organization he's been a part of since 2013. In doing so, it brought immediate speculation that Jones, who has been driving the No. 77 for the JGR satellite team, Furniture Row Racing, would be headed in-house at Gibbs.

"Matt [Kenseth] has been a tremendous asset to our organization over the past five seasons both on and off the track," team owner Joe Gibbs in a statement. "He's been a great teammate and a great ambassador for our sponsors. We have a great deal of respect for him, and we are working hard to get the 20 team into the playoffs to make a run for the championship. We have a great deal of confidence in his abilities to do just that.
"At the same time, it's exciting to have Erik back to run full-time with us starting next season. When a number of circumstances made it clear over the past few weeks that a second year for the 77 car was probably not viable at this time for Erik, we all agreed that we wanted to keep him in the Toyota racing family and felt it was the right time to make this transition. He is an exciting driver that has already proven to have the ability to compete at the highest level of our sport. He is also shown to be a great representative to our partners, and we believe he is at the beginning of a long and successful career."
Kenseth has won 14 races with Gibbs. The 2003 Cup champion, Kenseth was the runner-up in the championship in 2013 and has finished in the top 10 in points in three of the past four seasons.
As for Jones, he burst onto the NASCAR national series scene with a debut win in late 2013 at Phoenix Raceway. By 2015 he was full-time in the series. Jones took 2015 Rookie of the Year honors in the Camping World Truck Series as well as the overall championship.
In 2016, Jones moved into the Xfinity Series where he again won Rookie of the Year honors. After making it to the championship round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Jones finished fourth in the standings on the strength of four wins and nine poles.
"This is a really exciting time in my career for me to make the move back to Joe Gibbs Racing full-time in the Cup Series and continue to have the success I've had with them over the last few years," Jones said. "I will always be grateful for the opportunity given to me by Barney Visser and everyone at Furniture Row Racing this year for my first full year in the Cup Series. I've learned a lot this year, and I've had a great group of guys around me each week to lean on as I figured out my rookie season and how to make my way in the Cup Series.
"The 77 team, from myself, crew chief Chris Gayle and every crew member, we've come a long way since February, and we still have a lot to accomplish this season. We've hit our stride the last few weeks with strong finishes, and while it's nice to have my plans for 2018 announced, I'm focused on continuing to improve and get this team a win before the season ends."
Visser released a statement saying "Furniture Row Racing's commitment to [Erik] Jones and the No. 77 team remains the same for the remainder of the season. Our goal is for Jones to qualify for the playoffs, make a run for the championship and capture Rookie of the Year hnor. We are working on our team plans for 2018 but don't have anything concrete to report at this time except that Martin Truex Jr. will continue to drive the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota."
Through 18 Cup Series races, Jones sits 14th in points with five top-10 finishes. He also leads the way in the Rookie of the Year standings.