Erik Jones’ 2015 season has included many firsts. His first full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ride, his first visit to many tracks and, most notably, his first start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
This weekend, Jones is back in familiar territory competing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series 3M 250 at Iowa Speedway in Newton. While Sunday’s race marks his first XFINITY start at the 7/8-mile tri-oval, he has never finished outside the top-10 in three Truck Series races, highlighted by a win last season and runner-up finish in 2013.
During Jones’ last visit to Iowa Speedway, he piloted the No. 51 ToyotaCare Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), the team he’s competing full-time with in the Truck Series this season.
Jones had the best truck for the majority of the race, but fellow competitor Ryan Blaney caught up with him near the end. The pair raced side by side throughout the last 16 laps until Jones edged Blaney to earn his second career Truck Series win.
When Jones returns to Iowa this weekend for his 13th career XFINITY Series race, he brings an impressive resume in the series with one win, three pole awards and five top-five finishes in all. He’ll also have longtime Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) sponsor Interstate Batteries on his No. 20 Toyota Camry. With Jones’ impressive racing resume, the Texas-based company’s tagline “Outrageously Dependable” is a perfect fit for the 18-year-old driver.
Prior to Jones’ last XFINITY race, which was cut short due to an accident and later engine failure at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, he posted his five top-fives in the series in consecutive fashion, including his first career win at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
Jones led six times for a total of 79 laps during the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas and was able to hold off Sprint Cup regulars Brad Keselowski and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the win. Jones’ most challenging test came when the race restarted with 26 laps to go. Choosing the inside line on the restart, the rookie had a very fervent Keselowski and Earnhardt Jr. trailing on the high line.
Holding strong on the bottom, Jones was able to clear Keselowski and Earnhardt off turn two with 25 laps to go and never looked back. At 18 years, 10 months and 11 days, Jones became the second-youngest winner at Texas behind Chase Elliott.
Jones is hopeful that his experience, paired with JGR’s winning history at Iowa with a 2014 victory there by Sam Hornish Jr. and a 2010 win by Kyle Busch, will produce another successful result this weekend.
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