Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones, 30, is coming off his first top-five finish of the season – a strong runner-up showing Sunday at Michigan International Speedway – a close drive from his Michigan hometown.
It’s not just the sentimental aspect of the effort that’s encouraging, however. It’s part of the best three-race swing his No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota has put together in 2026. He finished 13th at Charlotte three weeks ago, answered with an 11th-place run at Nashville and then earned this strong second place. His 16 laps led through the opening 15 races is modest – but it’s greater than his totals in both the previous two years.
He’s optimistic it’s a good sign for him and for the greater team in general. And Pocono has been a legitimately positive venue on his resume. He has eight top-10 finishes in 14 starts – five of those are top-five showings. His best day at the track was a runner-up in 2019. He has a pair of third-place finishes (2019 and 2020) and was 13th here last year. He was third fastest in 10-lap averages during practice Saturday.
“With the 43 group, I mean, obviously we’re feeling really good,” Jones said Saturday. “The 42 group [teammate John Hunter Nemechek], I think, is on the up and up too. I know the results haven’t shown for them, but their speed’s been there.
“So yeah, everybody’s really confident,” he continued. “I think at the end of the day, the message for me is that there’s still a lot of work to do. I think as well as we’re running is awesome, but there’s so many little things I think we can still do better and optimize and improve on. There’s still room for growth. We want to make sure that we’re continuing down this path.
This isn’t just a quick flash in the pan here, this last month, or going forward as long as this lasts, that the speed is continued and we can keep this rolling for a long period.”
Jones rolls off 7th Sunday.
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