Erik Jones, 28, was in the pits Saturday at Dover and will be trackside for Sunday’s Wurth 400, assisting the team as needed while NASCAR Truck Series championship contender Heim drives Jones’ No. 43 Toyota.
Jones – a three-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner- conceded the hard racing on the unforgiving one-mile Dover oval did not present the best situation to be back in the car and testing his injury.
“To be honest right now, I’m feeling pretty good,” Jones said. “As a driver, probably any driver, they want to just hop back in. I would love to say that I could get back in and do it right now. Is that possible? I don’t know. I don’t know how I would truly feel in the car, especially a place like Dover.
“I get pretty sore at night and when I’m not moving around. My range of motion is a bit limited right now, but the soreness has faded away. It was pretty bad earlier in the week and I was just resting. By yesterday and today, I’m feeling better and better.”
This is the first race Jones has missed since becoming a fulltime NASCAR Cup Series driver and described it as “a unique perspective for me.”
“It is definitely more challenging I thought, waking up this morning to be honest, and getting ready for today and realizing that you are not getting in the car,” he said.
Team co-owner Johnson would not predict how long Jones may be out of the car, but did confirm Saturday, should Jones be unable to race at Kansas Speedway next week, Heim would indeed be back in the No. 43 for that race too.
Jones received a medical waiver from NASCAR this week that would allow him to still participate in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs should he qualify. Heim qualified 32nd for Sunday.
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