With practically 300 begins, and having been a full-time Cup driver since 2017, it might be tough to discover a second the place Jones deliberately drove ‘soiled’ towards his fellow rivals. Sitting twenty seventh in factors, he finds himself in a must-win state of affairs, identical to Richmond winner Austin Dillon. But when he had been confronted with the same state of affairs on the finish of one of many subsequent three races, would he think about going wherever close to so far as the motive force of the No. 3 did?
“No. No, not an opportunity,” he asserted in a Saturday press convention. “I don’t race that manner. I wouldn’t have carried out it. I can most likely rely – I truthfully don’t know – lower than 5 occasions that I’ve wrecked anybody deliberately in my whole profession. Simply not the best way I race. Everybody’s received their very own code. All people has completely different ways in which they go about it. For me, that’s simply not the best way I raced.”
Erik Jones, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, Greenback Tree Toyota Camry
Picture by: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Photographs
After a yr of struggles for Legacy Motor Membership, a win would go very far in serving to them salvage one thing out of 2024, however even nonetheless, Jones is a agency ‘no’ on intentional wrecking. Lately, he signed a multi-year contract extension to proceed driving for LMC and in a hypothetical query, he was requested a few deal the place his staff tells him to wreck his option to Victory Lane.
“I don’t suppose I may do this,” reiterated Jones. “That’s to not say that issues don’t change within the second, and the way you had been raced earlier than that modifications issues. Clearly, that was not the state of affairs right here, however it depends upon what goes down, however it’s actually not in my playbook.”
The trickle-down impact
One other problem with the Richmond melee is the way it might have an effect on driving etiquette in decrease divisions all through the nation. The NASCAR Cup Sequence is meant to be the top — setting the instance for the remainder of the ranks — so if the celebrities are plowing via one another for race wins, up-and-comers might even see that as an excuse to do the identical.
Talking on the ‘trickle-down impact,’ Jones agreed that it has an affect on driving requirements throughout the board: “What we do on Sunday trickles down and never simply to Xfinity and Vans and ARCA; it trickles right down to late fashions, avenue shares, entrance wheel drives, quarter midgets, go-karts – all of those guys and youngsters watch what we do on Sunday, and suppose what we do is true.
“I feel racing has modified lots since 2009 — that was the primary time I raced a full dimension automotive, and I can vividly bear in mind my dad and I speaking about what this yr was about was incomes respect. Don’t be on the market operating into individuals. It isn’t what we’re doing. You need to give these guys respect — earn their respect after which after we get to that time, we’ll go race. That’s how we did issues. Issues have modified lots.”
However why have issues modified? Jones famous the present period of vehicles and the way tough it’s to cross in fashionable NASCAR. However may or not it’s that the attitudes have additionally shifted the place successful in any respect prices supersedes incomes respect?
“I used to be watching the CARS Tour race (Friday) night time at Ace, and people guys may barely go greater than 10 laps with out a yellow popping out — any person is spinning any person, any person is wrecking any person. It isn’t what I take pleasure in in racing. Some bumping and banging is okay. I don’t have an issue with that. I’ve for certain moved a man up out of the best way for a win … however I feel there’s a line there. Wrecking vehicles and wrecking stuff out has develop into increasingly acceptable. It simply wasn’t actually an choice once I was youthful. We simply couldn’t rebuild vehicles time and again.”
With practically 300 begins, and having been a full-time Cup driver since 2017, it might be tough to discover a second the place Jones deliberately drove ‘soiled’ towards his fellow rivals. Sitting twenty seventh in factors, he finds himself in a must-win state of affairs, identical to Richmond winner Austin Dillon. But when he had been confronted with the same state of affairs on the finish of one of many subsequent three races, would he think about going wherever close to so far as the motive force of the No. 3 did?
“No. No, not an opportunity,” he asserted in a Saturday press convention. “I don’t race that manner. I wouldn’t have carried out it. I can most likely rely – I truthfully don’t know – lower than 5 occasions that I’ve wrecked anybody deliberately in my whole profession. Simply not the best way I race. Everybody’s received their very own code. All people has completely different ways in which they go about it. For me, that’s simply not the best way I raced.”
Erik Jones, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, Greenback Tree Toyota Camry
Picture by: Rusty Jarrett / NKP / Motorsport Photographs
After a yr of struggles for Legacy Motor Membership, a win would go very far in serving to them salvage one thing out of 2024, however even nonetheless, Jones is a agency ‘no’ on intentional wrecking. Lately, he signed a multi-year contract extension to proceed driving for LMC and in a hypothetical query, he was requested a few deal the place his staff tells him to wreck his option to Victory Lane.
“I don’t suppose I may do this,” reiterated Jones. “That’s to not say that issues don’t change within the second, and the way you had been raced earlier than that modifications issues. Clearly, that was not the state of affairs right here, however it depends upon what goes down, however it’s actually not in my playbook.”
The trickle-down impact
One other problem with the Richmond melee is the way it might have an effect on driving etiquette in decrease divisions all through the nation. The NASCAR Cup Sequence is meant to be the top — setting the instance for the remainder of the ranks — so if the celebrities are plowing via one another for race wins, up-and-comers might even see that as an excuse to do the identical.
Talking on the ‘trickle-down impact,’ Jones agreed that it has an affect on driving requirements throughout the board: “What we do on Sunday trickles down and never simply to Xfinity and Vans and ARCA; it trickles right down to late fashions, avenue shares, entrance wheel drives, quarter midgets, go-karts – all of those guys and youngsters watch what we do on Sunday, and suppose what we do is true.
“I feel racing has modified lots since 2009 — that was the primary time I raced a full dimension automotive, and I can vividly bear in mind my dad and I speaking about what this yr was about was incomes respect. Don’t be on the market operating into individuals. It isn’t what we’re doing. You need to give these guys respect — earn their respect after which after we get to that time, we’ll go race. That’s how we did issues. Issues have modified lots.”
However why have issues modified? Jones famous the present period of vehicles and the way tough it’s to cross in fashionable NASCAR. However may or not it’s that the attitudes have additionally shifted the place successful in any respect prices supersedes incomes respect?
“I used to be watching the CARS Tour race (Friday) night time at Ace, and people guys may barely go greater than 10 laps with out a yellow popping out — any person is spinning any person, any person is wrecking any person. It isn’t what I take pleasure in in racing. Some bumping and banging is okay. I don’t have an issue with that. I’ve for certain moved a man up out of the best way for a win … however I feel there’s a line there. Wrecking vehicles and wrecking stuff out has develop into increasingly acceptable. It simply wasn’t actually an choice once I was youthful. We simply couldn’t rebuild vehicles time and again.”
