Erik Jones: Phoenix one of those tracks where 'things click right away'
Erik Jones is off to a solid start so far in his rookie Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Following a 39th-place finish in the Daytona 500, Jones has rebounded nicely after earning a 14th-place result at Atlanta and 15th last Sunday at Las Vegas.
Jones is looking to continue the upward trend in Sunday’s Camping World 500 at Phoenix Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX), a place where he has experienced previous NASCAR success.
In the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series combined, Jones has scored three victories and three poles. In 2015, he also drove the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a 19th-place finish while subbing for a suspended Matt Kenseth.
There are tracks where good results just come naturally for some drivers. Phoenix is without a doubt the one for Jones.
“Sometimes you just go to tracks where things click right away and Phoenix is definitely one of those tracks for me,” said Jones. “I felt really comfortable right off the bat and I’ve always had great cars and trucks there. Some of the tendencies of the track relate back to what I was used to racing short tracks and Late Models. It has a short track feel to it even as fast as it is.”
Jones was also part of a 13-team organizational test session at the one-mile oval in mid-February. That valuable has, and will continue to be crucial for the rookie.
“Testing at PIR before the season started turned out to be a pretty big benefit,” Jones said. “It gave me a chance to get into the No. 77 5-hour ENERGY Toyota for the first time and work with Chris [Gayle, crew chief] and all of the guys before heading to Daytona.”
Between past success and a few laps under his belt in the No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota at Phoenix, don’t be surprised to see Jones toward the front.
“It’s definitely encouraging going there knowing we have good speed and we’ve had experience there together for the first time this year even though it was a test and not a race weekend,” Jones said. “I hope we can take a lot of things we learned from the test and apply them this weekend.”
