Erik Jones, one of the up-and-coming drivers in NASCAR, takes a big career step this weekend when he makes his Nationwide Series debut at Chicagoland Speedway. And he’ll drive one of the circuit’s best cars, the No. 20 Toyota from Joe Gibbs Racing.
Last year, Jones, an 18-year-old from Byron, Mich., became the youngest driver to win a major NASCAR race when he won a Camping World Truck Series event at Phoenix International Raceway at 17 years, five months and eight days old. Last week he got his second truck win at Iowa Speedway. And he has two wins in asphalt short-track racing’s showcase event, the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.
Jones said this week on a NASCAR teleconference that he’s taking a cautious approach to the race at Chicagoland.
“The main thing is for me, and we’ve talked about it, is just making laps honestly at this point,” he said. “It’s a really big step for me getting into a Nationwide car, and especially at a place like Chicagoland. At first I’m just going to be looking to make laps and get to the end of the race and hopefully running up in the top 10.
“At the end of the day we’re all race-car drivers, and we all want to go for the win. I think we’ll be challenging hard to do all we can to run up front and contend, and at the end of the day I hope we’ll be up there.
“I know we’ve got great equipment and a great team. I’m pretty excited to see what it’s all going to bring.”
Jones will race against at least two Sprint Cup drivers, Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne, who will drive this weekend while most of their Cup series peers enjoy a weekend off.
Jones is set to drive the No. 20 twice more this year, at Bristol Motor Speedway and at Phoenix.
Reaction to new alliance: Drivers such as Jeff Gordon, whose Hendrick Motorsports team is part of the Race Team Alliance, have had positive comments about the newly formed group, but it does have its critics.
“I think it’s a positive because our sport, in order for it to be strong, the teams need to be strong. They need to be profitable,” Gordon said on this week’s NASCAR teleconference. “They need to be able to do business, and it’s turned into a big business, and it’s constantly growing, and so I’m in support of it because if the teams are strong and more successful, then that’s good for us that are part of the team and it’s good for the sport; it’s good for the fans.
“I think that this is definitely going to be something that we’re all going to learn from and grow from.”
The Race Team Alliance includes NASCAR’s major multicar teams, is comprised of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Roush Fenway Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske. It’s stated purpose is to allow race teams work together to save money.
Track owner Bruton Smith, whose Speedway Motorsports Inc. owns eight Cup tracks took the opposite position, telling USA Today that he sees little to like about the RTA.
“What little bit I know about it right now, it seems it will damage the sport,” Smith told the paper. “If NASCAR needs us, we’re there with NASCAR on the deal. We’re there every day, every hour if they need us.”
Although the RTA said its main purpose is to save teams money, many in the sport suspect the group also wants to get race teams a bigger share of the revenue from TV networks, which is divided among NASCAR, its tracks and race teams.
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