What a whirlwind of emotion for Erik Jones over the past 12 hours.
This was already the seven-year anniversary of the passing of his father, Dave, and he commemorated that legacy by returning to a place they frequently raced together in Berlin Raceway. But upon waking up, Jones was then treated to the news that NASCAR had hammered his Legacy Motor Club No. 43 team with a massive penalty that dealt a severe blow to his already slim playoff chances.
That was easier to process given that he had a full day of practice, qualifying and racing in the Money in the Bank 150, a race he went on to win, sharing a podium with Kyle Crump and Bubba Pollard. It was even more significant of a victory given this was the first track he won at after his dad passed.
And now, winning on this date seven years later, the emotion was palpable.
“It’s been a long time since I won a race here, and the last one was an emotional one,” Jones said. “I lost my dad that week, and this was the day in 2016 when he actually passed away. It’s a tough day like always, but it felt good to be at the track racing.
“I bet he’s got to be smiling right now.”
In addition to feeling as though his dad was with him on Wednesday night, Jones enjoyed a retro victory in every sense of the concept, winning in his familiar black Paragon Racing No. 4 colors with spotter Branden Lines and crew chief Mike Bursley.
“A lot of guys working on the car that were working on a black No. 4 just like this one 10 years ago,” Jones said. “So, another Port City No. 4 in Victory Lane, thanks to Chris Gabehart and Gary Crooks having a big hand in this one, good people.
“Bursley, Branden in the spotter stand, guys I have known forever. We’ve won a lot of races together but to get down the road and win one where we’re all at different phases of our career, that was really special.”
Jones was seventh fastest in time trials but inherited the front row via an inversion. He led the first 30 laps before conceding the position to Kyle Crump and Chase Burda. At the time of the first competition caution on Lap 50, Jones told his crew that he was just riding, 50 percent, and letting the race come to him.
He nailed the final restart with 30 laps to go, overtook Crump, and set sail towards his second Super Late Model victory in as many years driving his own car following a victory at IRP last summer.
Crump says the difference was not having a Super engine compared to the crate his team ran instead. But ultimately, he just got beat by one of the best to be doing this right now.
“I kept waiting for [Jones] to make a mistake, but he doesn’t make mistakes,” Crump said. ” I guess that’s why he races on Sundays. But damn that was cool to race with Erik Jones for the win. That doesn’t happen often, and if you’re going to lose to a guy, he’s not a bad guy to lose to.”
Bubba Pollard drove from 18th to third but ultimately said he wasn’t very good.
“We couldn’t do a lot of what I wanted all week,” Pollard said. “So, I don’t know. We changed a bunch of stuff and thought we could make it better. That was really the worst car we had all year. This is a tough place, but I love racing here, and enjoy coming here.”
Money in the Bank VII
Berlin Raceway
June 7 2023
- Erik Jones
- Kyle Crump
- Bubba Pollard
- Andrew Scheid
- Gio Ruggiero
- Blake Rowe
- Sean Hingorani
- Scott Thomas
- Trevor Sanborn
- Austin Hull
- Dylan Stovall
- Ken Wobma
- Brian Campbell
- Boris Jurkovic
- Derek Kneeland
- Nate Walton
- Derek Griffith
- Chase Burda
- Brian Tillema
- Tony Elrod
- Andrew Gresel
- Trever McCoy
- Carson Hocevar
- Mike Garvey
- Evan Shotko
- Tyler Roahrig
- Lee VanDyk
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