NASCAR: Looking To The Future
By Cole Mentzel
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Erik Jones
- Age: 18
- Xfinity Series wins: 1
- Best Sprint Cup Series Standings Finish: No full seasons yet
At the young age of 15, Erik Jones began his NASCAR career in the ARCA Series. For the next two years after that, he would compete in the Camping World Truck Series while occasionally racing in the Nationwide Series. In April 2015, he picked up his first Xfinity Series win at Texas Motor Speedway.
Soon after, he made his Sprint Cup Series debut in Denny Hamlin’s #11 car. After a long rain delay, it was determined that Hamlin’s neck spasms could not be taken care of before the race started back up so Jones was flown in and raced in Bristol that night. He ended up finishing the race in the 26th spot.
Recently, it was announced that he will finish the rest of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series in Kyle Busch’s #18 car as Busch continues to rehab from a broken leg. Erik Jones has moved through his NASCAR career at a very fast pace and it appears as though he will get an early start on racing with the best of the best. The future is bright for this young man.