Is Kansas Erik Jones’ only race in the No. 18?
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Saturday night’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 will be Erik Jones’ official Cup Series debut, though it’ll be the second time he’s raced in the series.
In April, Jones was a late sub for Denny Hamlin in the rain-delayed Food City 500 at Bristol when Hamlin had a neck spasm during the first portion of the race. Since Hamlin started the race, he got the points Jones earned by finishing 26th.
Now, as Kyle Busch’s replacement driver this weekend, Jones is going to have his name in the box score at the end of the race.
“Bristol, really and honestly I didn’t have time to think about it so it wasn’t much different,” Jones said about his scrambling to fill in for Hamlin. “I think it’s just the comfort level of everything. I feel like in the Truck Series I’m super comfortable walking into the garage, walking around and knowing where things are. Even the XFINITY Series now, I feel 100 percent comfortable there and any time you go into a new garage with a new team and a new series there’s kind of that level of uncomfortable where you kind of walk in and you’re like, ‘Okay, where’s my place and where do I go, what do I do, where am I supposed to be?’ That kind of fades with time and experience and that’s been my case at least with the other two NASCAR series.”
“There is a little bit more nerves going into the race weekend. I’m not feeling them right now … and I’m sure as the race comes around and as we get closer to the start time I’ll be a little bit nervous about getting the green flag and going out and making laps. Right now, feel pretty calm, but there’s definitely more time to think about it.”
Jones, 18, is driving a full schedule for Busch’s Camping World Truck Series team as well as a partial Xfinity Series schedule. He’s Busch’s replacement this week after David Ragan moved from the team to become Brian Vickers’ substitute driver in the No. 55. Busch has been out since the beginning of the season with a broken leg and broken foot suffered in the season-opening Xfinity Series race at Daytona.
As of now, it’s a one-race arrangment for Jones in Busch’s car. Busch is reportedly close to returning. The next points series race after Kansas is the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24.
“Honestly, we haven’t really thought much past this weekend,” Jones said. “We’re all hoping Kyle (Busch) can come back, I know he’s ready to come back. Right now, it’s just Kansas and going out and seeing what we can do this weekend.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
