NASCAR: Erik Jones running out of options for 2021?

Erik Jones won’t be back with Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, and a number of other options have been ruled out as well.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s decision regarding who to put in their fourth car for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season was always going to come down to Erik Jones, who has driven the #20 Toyota since the 2018 season, or Christopher Bell, the rookie who competes for the Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated Leavine Family Racing behind the wheel of the #95 Toyota on a deal with Joe Gibbs’s team.

Gibbs opted to go with Bell for 2021, leaving Jones without a ride with free agency looming.

The 24-year-old Byron, Michigan native has been linked to a number of other seats at NASCAR’s highest level, including several with top-tier teams.

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Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson is set to retire after the 2020 season, leaving the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet without a confirmed driver for next year, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Clint Bowyer is in a contract year driving the #14 Ford.

Additionally, Matt Kenseth, whom Jones replaced upon his arrival at Joe Gibbs Racing, was never seen as a long-term option at Chip Ganassi Racing after replacing Kyle Larson behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet when Larson was fired due to numerous sponsorship losses resulting from his use of a racial slur.

But now one of those options is completely out, as Chip Ganassi Racing announced Ross Chastain as Kenseth’s replacement for next year, and the other two are beginning to seem like longshots.

Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Tony Stewart stated publicly that he would prefer Kyle Larson to Erik Jones. While Larson has recently been linked to Hendrick Motorsports, this still wouldn’t necessarily be Jones’s opening at Stewart-Haas Racing.

Bowyer could very well be back at Stewart-Haas Racing next year, as unlike Johnson, he hasn’t announced his impending retirement, and even if he doesn’t return, Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe is well-positioned for a promotion. Stewart noted Briscoe’s success as well when discussing Larson’s potential in terms of joining the team.

So is Jones running out of options?

Here is what he had to say about making progress on a 2021 deal following his recent third place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway.

"“Yeah, there’s stuff moving along. We’ve been in a lot of talks with multiple different teams and trying to find an opportunity. It’s a tough environment. There’s definitely teams that are struggling to find sponsorship and find money. There’s rides obviously open out there. I don’t bring anything but my butt, I guess, to put in the seat.“It’s challenging, but like I said, there are good rides out there, and hopefully I can get an opportunity with one of them and build a relationship with a sponsor there that we can go out and be a contender. We’re moving along, and hopefully within the next few weeks or month I hope we can announce something.”"

He added that he is a bit worried, however.

"“You know, how can you not worry a little bit? Anybody that says they weren’t in a situation like this I think is lying, if they want to still be in a race car. So there’s times where you worry about it, there’s times where you lay in bed at night and you think about what the opportunities are going to be and what you’re going to do next year and where you’re going to be and how you’re going to make it all work.“It’s a tough scenario. It’s a busy scenario. It’s hard to focus on the race team. It’s hard to focus on your current ride and opportunity. You want to go out and focus on that and you’re spending your whole week trying to focus on meetings and phone calls and meeting with new teams, prospective sponsors. So it’s crazy and it’s busy and it’s hard to do your day job, I guess you could say, so yeah, there’s definitely times I think you’d be lying if you said you didn’t worry about it.”"

Other notable teams that have seats without confirmed drivers for next year include JTG Daugherty Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports, Gaunt Brothers Racing and Go Fas Racing.

JTG Daugherty Racing have yet to confirm who will drive the #37 Chevrolet with Ryan Preece being a pending free agent while Richard Petty Motorsports’ #43 Chevrolet is open with Bubba Wallace set to join the Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin co-owned team.

Richard Petty Motorsports have also hinted at additional investors, and don’t forget that they own the charter that is used to field the #51 car for Rick Ware Racing on a full-time basis, so a two-car team isn’t completely out of the question.

Daniel Suarez has confirmed that he won’t be back at Gaunt Brothers Racing next year, leaving the #96 Toyota without a confirmed driver, and Corey LaJoie has confirmed that he won’t be back at Go Fas Racing next year, leaving the #32 Ford without a confirmed driver.

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While Jones’s shot at landing a ride as competitive as the one he has had for the last three seasons appears to be out the window, not all doors are closed for 2021.

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