Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Erik Jones, who enters the inaugural Xfinity Series Chase this week as the No. 1 seed after winning four times in the regular season. Jones, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, won Saturday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway. He has already announced plans to move to the Sprint Cup Series with Furniture Row Racing next season.
Q: What is an errand or chore in your daily life people might be surprised to learn you do yourself?
A: Probably that I hand-wash my cars. I don’t like to take them through the car wash. That was something me and my dad did when I was growing up — he always washed his cars by hand. I’ll wash them and wax them about every six months or so, and I’ll clean the inside myself and do a detail on them. I kind of enjoy it. I put some music on, and it’s nice.
Do you get the bucket out or use a hose or what?
I’ll do both. Actually, I just got this foam gun. You can put soap in this little thing that screws on to the hose, and then it just sprays soap on the car and gets the suds on it for you. But I’ve done the bucket thing, too.
Q: If you could do any race over again, which race would you choose?
A: Probably one I look back on a lot is Charlotte last year in the Trucks (when he was second to Kasey Kahne in a photo finish). There’s a lot of things I could have done differently coming through (Turns) 3 and 4 and coming to the line. I really think I could have beaten him to the line. It’s frustrating when you have such a good truck like we did that day and not be able to win.
Q: The longest race of the year is 600 miles. How long of a race could you physically handle without a driver change?
A: The longest race I’ve done is 500 miles, and that was at Texas. I was worn out mentally after that, but I also did three races that weekend, so that’s not really a fair shot. So 600 miles seems like a long time — I don’t know if I’d want to go any further than that — but we could probably go 700 or 800 miles. But I don’t know if there’d be anybody left watching the race at that point.
Q: Let’s say president of NASCAR was an elected position voted on by the drivers — and you decided to run. What would one of your campaign promises be?
A: Probably shorter races and shorter weekends. There are some tracks that have shortened their races, and I think it’s put on a better show. We’ve had some one-day shows in the Xfinity Series this year and it’s been hectic, but it’s been nice. I think the Cup Series can probably do races in two days. I think those things would help out a lot of areas in the sport.
Q: At the start of this year, exactly 1,160 drivers had ever raced in the Xfinity Series. Where do you rank among those 1,160?
A: That’s tough to say. You could look at it in terms of wins or championships, and I don’t have an Xfinity championship. I’d like to think I was in the top 100. We’ve got five wins and not a whole lot of starts to go along with them, but I think there’s a lot left to prove. If I could say I was in the top 100, I’d be pretty happy with that.
Q: What do you think your reputation is — and is that reputation accurate?
A: I think a lot of people see me as a hard charger and someone who is gunning for the win no matter what. I think that’s pretty accurate. I’m always out there going for the home run. I don’t know if that’s the right way to look at it because sometimes it gets me in trouble, but at the end of the day, we’re always out there charging and trying to grab a win.
Q: A famous chef wants you to invest in the new restaurant he’s opening, but he wants you to pick the cuisine. What type of food would your restaurant serve?
A: I like Mexican a lot. Well, Mexican or barbecue. You know, the Michigan barbecue, the Midwestern barbecue is way different than North Carolina barbecue. If I can get some Midwestern barbecue down to the North Carolina area, that would be really good.
What makes the Midwestern version better?
The sauces are a lot different and what they season it with. A lot of the North Carolina sauces are vinegar-based. I’m not a real big fan of that. I like the thick, sweet tangy sauces they use up north.
Q: What is the most daring thing you’ve done outside of racing?
A: Well, it was more daring for Stephanie (Bigelow, his business manager) than for me. She about fell onto some rocks one time in a lake in Tennessee.
(A group of friends) had rented a pontoon boat for the day, and we were driving around and then I was like, “Man, we need to find a rope swing.” We got rolling down all these little alleyways of the river, and I finally saw one. I’m like, “This is great.” Well, the river was really low, so a bunch of rocks were exposed up the side (near the shore).
I got up there and I was the first one, and I was kind of tugging on it. I was nervous, but I went and I didn’t have an issue. I was like, “Oh, it’s fine! It’s great.” So I tried to get everyone else up there. Well, Stephanie got u p there and sh e got barely out to where you shouldn’t let go yet, and she missed the rocks by about that far (holds hands up to show a narrow gap). It was pretty tense moments for me. I’ve got a video of it though, so it’s funny now.
Q: In a move to generate more excitement, NASCAR decides in an upcoming race they’re going to require every driver to have a passenger in the car. You get to pick the passenger. Who do you choose?
A: I’d take my mom or my grandma, probably. I think it would be interesting to see either one of them in the passenger seat, because they’ve always been race fans and neither has ever gotten to experience anything like that. I’m sure it would be pretty exciting. My grandfather would love it as well.
So your mom has never done the Richard Petty Driving Experience or anything?
None of them have. I’ve wanted to go over to Charlotte for a long time — and I know I can do it, I’ve just got to set it up —and take them out in one of the Petty cars and drive them around.
Q: How often do you talk inside the car without hitting the radio button?
A: A lot. I talk to myself quite a bit. There’s times where I still key up and say it anyway, but I try to pump myself up and coach myself through things a lot. I’ll say, “Hey, remember to do this” or something. It just helps when I’m saying it out loud.
So it’s more about a positive thing than getting mad at yourself?
I’ll think, “Well, that was stupid” sometimes, but I don’t say it out loud. When I talk to myself, I’m trying to get myself going or chase somebody down.
Q: Who will win the Sprint Cup in 2021?
A: I’d like to say me. I’d like to have a shot at it. But you can see the crop of guys who are going to be coming for years to come. And guys like Kyle (Busch) and Joey (Logano) and Brad (Keselowski) are going to be dominant for the next 10 years or so. Those are the guys who I feel like I’ll have to contend with if I’m still there in five years.
Q: I’ve been asking each driver to give me a question for the next interview. The last driver was Danica Patrick, and she wanted to know: “If it was your last day on Earth and you were racing, what would you have for dinner, what car would you be driving and what track would you be at?”
A: I don’t know if I’d be racing on my last day on Earth, but I know for sure where I’d be if I was. I’d be at Winchester (Speedway in Indiana) in a Super Late Model. And as for eating? Stephanie’s grandma makes these little things called hammie sammies and they’re like Hawaiian rolls with turkey and cheese on them. She melts them and then she puts this sauce on them. I’d definitely probably be eating that.
That sounds really good.
They are really good. They’re terrible for you, but really good. (Laughs)
And do you have a question for the next interview? It's scheduled to be Brad Keselowski.
What is your favorite track to run Late Models on in Michigan and why?
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
About the Author
