
As far back as the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Media Tour, Erik Jones had suggested that he hoped he was successful enough at the highest level to at least justify having his own Super Late Model program.
Sure, a career that has spanned two victories in the Southern 500, Daytona Clash and Firecracker 400 is pretty awesome too, but simply having the security to do what he is this week with Money in the Bank at Berlin Raceway was the bare minimum barometer of success.
So, it means a lot that Jones could return to one of his home tracks for the second year in a row and at a track that has given him several wins over the years.
“This is the car that I built, and up until last year, I hadn’t raced here since 2017,” Jones told Short Track Scene on Tuesday. “Last year, it was just learning things again, trying to figure out everything that had changed with Supers, so this is still a new car and we’re still learning and hopefully can get it going.”
This is not the car he ran at the Derby, the one owned by Jeff Jefferson that looked capable of winning that race before it was involved in a crash but is a very similar Port City Phase II chassis out of the Gary Crooks and Chris Gabehart operation.
“It’s just different,” Jones said. “I’m re-learning these cars in general, ran one at the Derby, thought it was a good car, and took this one to North Wilkesboro and just struggled there. So, we’re trying some stuff here at Berlin.
“It’s been good working with Gary Crooks and Gabehart has been helping us out, getting some stuff rolling so, you know, good people working on it and confident that we can get it rolling. I have no doubt in that. I’m excited to see what we have with it.”
Jones finished 10th in Money in the Bank last year and learned something about appropriate race pace.
“You know, it was interesting,” Jones said. “The race is just so short. I mean 150 laps. It seems longer than it is, than I got going in the race and I was saving and kind of riding and it got time to go and I’m like, ‘Man, I’m not really going anywhere.’
“So, you can’t save a whole lot here in this one. It’s only two tire race, so you’re kind of going the whole time. Whereas the (Battle at Berlin) 250 is a lot more riding and saving, running a normal longer, almost NASCAR style race.
“Whereas this is a true Late Model sprint, you know, going hard race. So, I probably had the wrong mentality and that’s a bit of me being out of it, you know, too much and not doing it enough, but feel like I’ve got a lot better idea of how to manage that tomorrow.”
Ultimately, this is just something Jones has always wanted to do. There was a time where he thought his lot in life would be just a Late Model racer under the best-case scenario. Then he started running Trucks with Toyota and Kyle Busch Motorsports, winning two Battle at Berlins in the process, and started to ponder what it would be like to have a program like that.
Regardless of whether it’s a good Cup season, or like this year, a bit of a grind, Jones has something he can tinker with and put some competitive energy towards.
“I mean, I enjoy this stuff,” Jones said. “It’s something that is a passion project for me, right. It’s not something that we’re making money on. It’s something I love to do and it’s something I have a lot of fun with. I’ve wanted to have my own car for long time and finally had the right pieces in place to do it and get one together.
“I take a lot of pride in having my own stuff and taking it to a race track that is something of a home track, one that is only a couple of hours from where I grew up. I have a ton of laps here. It’s a reprieve for sure. You know, when the Cup stuff is tough, you want to find an escape. Although it’s also racing, this is definitely a bit of an escape.”
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Matt Weaver is the owner and founder of Short Track Scene. Weaver grew up in the sport, having raced himself before becoming a reporter in college at the University of South Alabama. He also has extensive experience covering NASCAR, IndyCar and Dirt Sprint Cars.


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