NASCAR Cup Series: Erik Jones not worried about contract extension

Erik Jones is not currently worried about a potential contract extension to continue driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Over the last few months, particularly since the start of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, there have been rumors that Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell may replace one of the team’s four Cup Series drivers ahead of the 2020 season.

Most recently, the driver who the 24-year-old Norman, Oklahoma native has been rumored to replace is Erik Jones, who is in his second season driving the #20 Toyota for the team after replacing Matt Kenseth ahead of the 2018 season.

Through the first 10 races of the 36-race 2019 season, Jones sits in 18th place in the championship standings while the other three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers all sit in the top six, and they have all won at least one race so far this season.

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Kyle Busch currently leads the championship standings having earned three victories so far this season while Denny Hamlin sits in third place having earned two and Martin Truex Jr. sits in sixth having earned one.

However, Jones made clear a few weeks ago that he and Joe Gibbs Racing were working toward a contract extension, and while a new contract extension has not yet been announced, he has proceeded to back up his claims by claiming that he expects the two sides to agree on a contract extension in the future but that this contract extension is not currently on the “forefront” of his plate with the 2019 season still being fairly young.

Here is what Jones had to say this past weekend when asked about whether or not he expects to return to Joe Gibbs Racing next season for what would be his third season as the driver of the #20 Toyota, according to Motorsport.

"“Yes, I expect to. We’re working through it still right now. It’s just early. It’s early in the season to get everything really ironed out. It’s not in the forefront of my plate, for sure. I’ve got good people working on it from my group and good people from JGR as well. We’ve had good talks with them and I think we’re moving in a good direction. Hopefully in the future here soon, we’ll have something to announce.”"

Jones also commented about the speculation regarding Bell potentially replacing him as the driver of the #20 Toyota ahead of next season. Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to Motorsport.

"“It’s racing. It’s happened in the past with different drivers and it’s going to happen more in the future. It’s easy to speculate. As long as you know on the inside where you’re heading and you’re comfortable with it, there’s no reason why it should make you uncomfortable.”"

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Will Erik Jones return to Joe Gibbs Racing as the driver of the #20 Toyota for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, or will Christopher Bell, who currently drives the #20 Toyota for the team in the Xfinity Series, replace him? If Jones returns, for which team and in which series will Bell end up driving next season? It is still April, so these questions may not be answered for another several months.

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