Ed Jones will be joining Sam Hunt Racing to compete in his first three career starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series throughout the 2024 season.
The 29-year-old Jones from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, who has competed under both Emirati and British licenses, will make his first Xfinity start of the season and of his career at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on March 23, where he will pilot a Toyota GR Supra entry for Sam Hunt Racing. He will then return for back-to-back series’ starts at Portland International Raceway and at Sonoma Raceway in early June.
The news comes as Jones spent this past season competing for High Class Racing in the Le Mans Prototype 2 class in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, where he ended up in sixth place in the final standings after finishing in the top 10 in all seven class starts. He also made his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career start with Young’s Motorsports at Circuit of the Americas last March, where he ended up in 36th place.
“I’m really excited to be joining Sam Hunt Racing and Toyota Racing Development for my Xfinity Series debut and to compete in multiple races this season,” Jones said. “After spending time with Sam’s crew and the Toyota team, I have a lot of confidence in the program. I feel confident that we will be able to achieve some strong results.”
Jones, who grew up competing in karting and achieved the 2005 United Arab Emirates karting title before advancing to InterSteps and Formula Renault, achieved the European F3 Open title in 2013. Three years later, he claimed the Indy Lights championship on the strength of two victories and eight podiums throughout the 18-race schedule while driving for Carlin.
Beginning in 2017, Jones graduated to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, where he first competed with Dale Coyne Racing and achieved his maiden podium result by finishing third during the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A year later, he joined Chip Ganassi Racing, where he recorded two third-place results and eight top-10 results before ending up in a career-best 13th place in the final standings. He would then join Ed Carpenter Racing for the following season, where he competed on all streets and road course events along with making his third career start in the Indianapolis 500. In 13 starts, he recorded a season-best sixth-place finish at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in May.
Jones, who was initially set to compete in the DTM series for the 2020 season before the COVID-19 pandemic restricted his traveling plans, returned to IndyCar competition in 2021, where he joined forces with Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser-Sullivan. After recording three top-10 results and ending up in 19th place in the final standings, he then spent the 2022 season competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship region and in the 24 Hours of Daytona for G-Drive Racing by APR in the Le Mans Prototype 2 class. He also competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he achieved a podium result in the form of third place in the Le Mans Prototype 2 class with Jota Sport.
“I’m looking forward to implementing Ed into our program at [Sam Hunt Racing], beginning at [Circuit of the Americas],” Sam Hunt, owner of Sam Hunt Racing, added. “He’s a super smart, mature guy who is hungry to build a career in NASCAR over the next couple of years, and to build it the right way. He’s professional and has raced at very high levels in INDYCAR and Sports cars. We’re excited to tackle the learning curve of competing in stock cars with him, and we know he will only get stronger and stronger with experience.”
Jones is set to become the fourth competitor to compete for Sam Hunt Racing throughout the 2024 Xfinity Series season, a list that includes Jeffrey Earnhardt, Corey Heim and Sage Karam. The remainder of Sam Hunt Racing’s driver lineup throughout this season remains to be determined.
Ed Jones’ first start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to occur at Circuit of the Americas for the Focused Health 250. The event is scheduled to occur on March 23 and air at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.
