I know it’s easy to hang our hat on something new and exciting that comes along in our sport. I just have to say that I am as excited about this young Erik Jones as I have been in quite a while. This kid has burst on the NASCAR scene in like the last year and a half.
For him to do what he did all weekend long in his first official NASCAR Sprint Cup start was incredibly impressive. He was fast in practice. He made it to the final round of qualifying and ended up starting 12th. He then went out and ran in the top five the majority of the race at Kansas on Saturday night.
At the rain delay, eventual race-winner Jimmie Johnson asked crew chief Chad Knaus who they were going to have to beat. Chad’s response was the best cars were Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Erik Jones. I swear for the longest time during that race you probably would have sworn that Kyle Busch was back behind that wheel of the No. 18 instead of Erik.
The way he handled himself was equally impressive. He didn’t get crazy on the restarts. Sure, he gave up spots on the restarts, but I understand that — the young man was just trying to be smart. I felt bad for him the way his night ended, with him spinning and hitting the wall, but, trust me, his future is extremely bright. He has no reason to hang his head after the way he performed at Kansas.
Like I mentioned earlier, a year and a half ago no one even knew who Erik Jones was. He won a Camping World Truck Series race there at the end of 2013. He won three more last season. Here we are in 2015, and he’s already won poles and an XFINITY Series race. He subbed for Denny Hamlin at Bristol after the rain delay.
I don’t know what Joe Gibbs Racing has in place for him for the future. One thing I can promise you is JGR and Toyota aren’t going to let him get away. I also don’t think they are going to shove him off somewhere. I know you can look at JGR and say, “There’s no room at the inn.” Maybe the plan is to run him another year in the XFINITY Series in 2016 for the championship, which may not be a bad plan.
I think it’s going to be an interesting storyline worth watching as to how JGR hangs onto him and finds a spot for him. I have my thoughts as to what might happen, but for now I’ll just keep them to myself.
The future of NASCAR is really bright with the likes of Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and, now, Erik Jones. Something just tells me that when it’s all said and done, this kid may be at the top of the chart. I truly see that kind of potential in young Erik Jones.
