Erik Jones, the 18 year old driver of the No. 51 ToyotaCare Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, put his two bad ARCA Racing experiences at Pocono Raceway behind him, redeeming himself with a top-10 finish in his first ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Race at the Tricky Triangle.
Jones finished sixth in his virgin Pocono Truck voyage, surviving ten extra laps and some wild and crazy restarts to do so.
“Yeah, the ARCA races, we were fast but we just didn’t have the finishes we wanted,” Jones said. “The Truck race was good. We definitely got the truck better as the run went on.”
“We had a fast Tundra from the start of practice; I just wish we could’ve been on that outside line on that last restart at the end of the day,” Jones continued. “We probably should’ve run third, but don’t know if we had anything for the win.”
“It was a good day overall,” Jones said. “Eric (Phillips, crew chief) did great calling the race and getting us good track position for the end.”
While the young driver praised his crew chief, he also gave major props to the man with whom he has shared his seat Kyle Busch.
“Having Kyle to talk to – he’s definitely a big resource that I have gone to and said ‘hey, how do you get around this place,’ Jones said. “He’s been a big help to me. Definitely just on the job learning with Kyle on the side and that’s been the way I’ve done it for the past year.”
“My mentor has definitely been Kyle, even throughout my whole career,” Jones continued. “I’ve never really had a mentor or driver coach up until last year when Kyle was helping me out. Especially this year, he has really been helping me out a lot. It’s pretty cool that I have Kyle to go to.”
While Jones gave total credit to Busch for his success at Pocono and throughout the 2014 season to date, he also acknowledged that it is sometimes difficult to pop in and out of the Truck seat with his owner and mentor.
“It’s tough,” Jones said. “You always want to race week in and week out. I’m grateful for every opportunity I get.”
“But it definitely makes it hard to stay in that rhythm when you’re not in the truck and doing it every week,” Jones continued. “We have great race trucks and that definitely makes it a lot easier to get back in when they are so good. It’s tough but we make it work along the way.”
Jones also credited his teammate Darrell Wallace Jr., who drives the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 Tundra, as well as his manufacturer for the success that he has had so far this season and especially at Pocono this weekend.
“Toyota has put a lot into the trucks this year,” Jones said. “I’m getting a strong truck and they put a lot of time building it and in the wind tunnel. It all worked out for this year.”
“My teammate in the No. 54 has been fast and we’ve been fast as well,” Jones continued. “That has been paying off throughout the season and I hope we can keep it going and ahead of the game so far. I think everyone is trying to catch up with us. So, we want to stay ahead of it and stay fast.”
While Jones is a bit unsure of what the future holds for the 2015 season, he has definitely got his goals for the remainder of the season after completing his Pocono run.
“Right now I’ve got the rest of the Truck season with seven more races. So, I’ll do that and two more Nationwide races with Gibbs at Bristol and Phoenix. I’m definitely looking forward to all of them honestly,” Jones said.
“Next year, if I could be back full-time in the truck, that’d be great,” Jones continued. “I’d love to run here for a driver’s championship; hopefully bring one home to Kyle and everybody.”
“Right now we’re focused one hundred percent on the owner’s championship for the second year in a row. I think that would be pretty good for us,” Jones said. “Obviously next year hopefully the focus can be the driver’s championship for me but right now we’re all looking forward to trying to go out and get that owner’s championship.”
Just as he experienced at the Tricky Triangle, Jones admitted that the Truck Series is definitely challenging for him as a young, up and coming driver.
“I’d say the thing I like most about the Truck Series is the competitiveness and running with the veterans,” Jones said. “And it’s always fun to go to the race track and feel like I have a chance to win this weekend. That’s what is so fun for me and everybody on this deal.”
“The challenge for me, last year more so than this year, has been really adjusting to the competition level,” Jones continued. “Some of these guys have been racing trucks for so long. They really know how to run these races and they know what they need their truck to do. It took me awhile last year to get adjusted to that competition level and I’m still really trying to figure it out fully this year. So, that’s’ been the biggest challenge.”
Jones is hoping that his continuing top-10 finishes will also help attract some additional fans to his burgeoning base.
“It’s not easy,” Jones said of his effort to garner new fans. “Obviously social media has been big for me to connect with people that don’t know who I am. That’s been a huge part for me.”
“Just going to all the autograph sessions and doing everything on Twitter to stay involved is how I interact with fans,” Jones continued. “The biggest thing for me is trying to meet people, be friendly with them and be open to them.”
So, what does Jones want fans to know about him, especially after finishing his maiden Truck voyage at Pocono?
“I guess the biggest thing is that I want to be competitive,” Jones said. “I want to be successful. And I want to move on and be fast.”
“That’s the biggest thing to me to be successful every weekend. Hopefully we can keep the top-ten finishing streak going and keep it alive for Toyota.”
