The 25-year-old native of Byron, Mich., already has more top-five finishes in two weeks (one) than he did in the entire 2021 season (none).
Many things have changed since last season for Jones. His Richard Petty Motorsports organization merged with GMS Racing to produce a two-car team in the Cup Series called Petty GMS Motorsports.
In addition, Jones got a new crew chief in Dave Elenz, who was very successful in the Xfinity Series and, of course, NASCAR debut its Next Generation car this year, which has set every team back to square one on development.
Jones’ No. 43 Chevrolet was fast at both Daytona and last weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., where he led 18 laps and finished third.
Erik Jones, Petty GMS Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro FOCUSfactor, Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camrynterstate Batteries, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry FedEx Ground
Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images
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