Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course Stats
-NCS Starts: 2; Best start: 28th; Best finish: 7th (2021); Top 10s: 1
2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats
Starts: 23; Best start: 8th; Best finish: 6th; Top 10s: 5; Laps led: 17; Points position: 28th
About Allegiant: Las Vegas-based Allegiant (NASDAQ: ALGT) is an integrated travel company with an airline at its heart, focused on connecting customers with the people, places and experiences that matter most. Since 1999, Allegiant Air has linked travelers in small-to-medium cities to world-class vacation destinations with all-nonstop flights and industry-low average fares. Today, Allegiant’s fleet serves communities across the nation, with base airfares less than half the cost of the average domestic roundtrip ticket. For more information, visit us at Allegiant.com.
Michigan in the Rearview: After a week filled with events, Erik Jones returned to his home track for the first time since getting married. Jones began the race in 25th and quickly moved into contention, earning a single stage point by finishing stage one in 10th. As rain set in and the race was moved to Monday, Jones picked up right where he left off, starting in third position when the race resumed. In the final stage, Jones was forced to pit as a wreck occurred in front of his No. 43 Chevrolet, leading the team to pit and check for damage. After everything was clear, Jones restarted back in 30th positioned and advanced all the way to 10th as the checkered flag was waved.
Getting in Rhythm: Jones has built momentum in his past seven races, boasting an average 12th place finish since achieving his third top-10 finish of the season at Nashville. He narrowly fell short of a top-10 placement by just one spot in consecutive races at both Atlanta and New Hampshire. At Chicago, however, the team’s strategy of an early pit stop aimed to run long was redirected after the race was shortened due to daylight, impacting the team’s potential for another top-10 result.
Jones at Indy: Jones has taken on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course twice in the Cup Series. Despite both qualifying efforts being outside the top-25, Jones has shown his success in Indianapolis earning finishes of seventh in 2021 and most recently, 15th in 2022. In his last attempt at the track, Jones had suffered a late spin just three laps before the checkered, but saved the car and continued to race without triggering a caution. Throughout his Cup career, Jones boasts three top-five and nine top-10 finishes on road courses.
Dave Elenz at Indy: In addition to Crew Chief Dave Elenz’s lone Cup Series attempt with Jones at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course which came last year, he has two NASCAR Xfinity Series starts with JR Motorsports to his credit. Starting from eighth place in 2020, driver Noah Gragson finished on the podium in third place. The following year, Gragson qualified in the seventh position and would end up finishing in fifth, capping off two years of top-five runs.
Late Model Recap: Tonight, Jones will compete in “The Battle at Berlin 250” Super Late Model race at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. The race, which will feature several NASCAR Cup Series stars, will be broadcasted on FloRacing at 6:30 PM ET. Earlier this year, in his return to Berlin, Jones won the coveted “Money In The Bank 150”, proving to be an emotional win for Erik and his fans.
Meet Erik: On race day, Jones will appear at the United States Air Force activation display in the Fan Zone on the Midway at 11:00 am local time, where he will sign autographs for approximately the first 100 fans in line to meet him.
Quoting Erik Jones: “Indy has been different the last couple of years since it’s now a road course, but still going to the track itself and having the chance to be there is always a lot of fun. Last year, we ended up being in a spin that cost us track position at the end of the day, and we didn’t come home with the finish we wanted. However, we still felt like it was an okay day with a decent car that got up there. Regardless of that outcome, I feel like our road course performance has been improving. In Chicago, I believe we didn’t get the finish we deserved, but our car had a lot more speed than our previous attempts at road courses. So, I am excited to get there and hopefully secure a top-10 finish at a road course.”
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
