Beyond the Flag
Fansided

Erik Jones To Replace Matt Kenseth at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2018

By Asher Fair

SPARTA, KENTUCKY - JULY 07: Erik Jones, driver of the #77 SiriusXM Toyota, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on July 7, 2017 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
SPARTA, KENTUCKY - JULY 07: Erik Jones, driver of the #77 SiriusXM Toyota, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway on July 7, 2017 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Matt Kenseth recently announced that he would likely not be returning to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2018. The team just found their replacement for him.

Erik Jones was the NASCAR driver with the best chance to take over the driving duties of the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from Matt Kenseth, and he will get that chance, as the team announced that he will be replacing Kenseth in the 2018 season. After all, Jones currently drives the #20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series part-time, so the move makes sense.

The full-time Cup Series rookie currently drives the #77 Toyota for Furniture Row Racing, but even before the season started, there was speculation that he would no longer be driving for that team beyond 2017. Furniture Row Racing has an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, so again, the move to the #20 car makes a lot of sense.

More from NASCAR

Halfway through the 2017 season, Jones is the top rookie in the championship standings by four positions over the next highest rookie, Daniel Suarez, who currently drives the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Jones is driving for a strong team in Furniture Row Racing, which is tied for the series lead with three victories, but they are still just a two-car operation, whereas Joe Gibbs Racing has four cars. Given his success as a rookie, he deserved to move to a stronger team, and that is just what is going to happen in the 2018 season.

Jones is currently 52 points out of the playoffs despite sitting in 14th place in the standings simply because he has not yet won a race. However, he has been close. The 21-year-old recorded a career-high finish of 3rd place at Pocono, which is one of his five top 10 finishes this season, and four of the five have come over the course of the past seven races, including his current and first career streak of two consecutive top 9 finishes.

Next: Why Matt Kenseth Still Deserves a Top Ride in NASCAR

Do you think Erik Jones will have success in the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the 2018 season and beyond? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to follow me on Instagram as well as Beyond the Flag on both Instagram and Twitter. Finally, don’t forget to follow along with Beyond the Flag for the latest news, opinions and analysis stemming from a number of different motorsports series. You don’t want to miss any of it.

Home/NASCAR