Erik Jones began the 2025 NASCAR season with promising speed at Daytona, but his No. 43 Toyota team soon encountered a series of difficulties, culminating in a disappointing P38 finish at Martinsville. This rocky start led Legacy Motor Club to question their prospects for the remainder of the year. Despite these setbacks, Jones, a native of Byron, Michigan, has steadily improved his position, climbing to 17th in the overall points standings.
Progressing Through Persistence Rather Than Quick Fixes
Jones attributes his recent upswing not to any singular innovation, but to persistent effort and incremental improvements. He explained,
“It would be fair to say we struggled to start the season,”
highlighting that success came from meticulous attention to detail rather than a sudden breakthrough.
He elaborated on the process:
“We worked on this car long enough. There’s no magic bullet. It’s not like you find some new part or piece that makes anything better. It’s kind of a game of quality control, and getting the best car you can from the pieces you got.”
This steady approach has allowed his team to configure their cars effectively for specific track conditions, focusing particularly on mile-and-a-half speedways, which have been their strong suit this season.
Jones also noted technical obstacles, especially with the simplified diffuser used on road courses and short tracks, identifying it as a persistent weakness over the past few years:
“The road course stuff, short-track — really this simplified diffuser has been kind of our Achilles heel for the last couple of years. I don’t know that it’s any one thing. … A lot of just good work from a lot of people.”
Momentum Building Despite Road Course Limitations
Though Jones faces challenges on road courses, including the upcoming Chicago Street Race and Sonoma events which are not his specialties, his recent successes have boosted both his momentum and confidence. Reflecting on this, he remarked, “I think it’s both,” referring to how momentum and confidence have fueled his season improvement.
“The confidence is one, for sure. Not even the confidence, but just the mentality of it.”
Jones described the psychological battle of a difficult season stretch:
“You kind of get in that rut of, week-to-week, where you’re not running well and the cars aren’t doing what you want. You’re getting to like Wednesday, Thursday, getting ready to go to the track and you’re like, ‘Oh man, is it going to be another week of fighting the car?’ It’s not good in practice. We don’t qualify well. You don’t qualify well, then your whole weekend’s kind of not going to be great, probably from there.”
However, his recent improvement in qualifying has corresponded to stronger performance during race weekends. Jones explained,
“We’ve got to a roll where we’re qualifying good. … That kind of started getting better and climbing week to week.”
Settling Into a Rhythm Aiding Consistency and Performance
Jones emphasized how maintaining a groove on the track reduces mistakes and promotes consistency:
“Then, as a driver, I think you just get settled in that groove once you’re kind of rolling. It gets harder to make a mistake, I feel like almost, because you’re not pushing as hard. You’re just taking what you’ve got, because your car is good and you’re able to run up front. That’s kind of where we’ve been.”
He regards the positive trajectory since the Coca-Cola 600 as a sign of solid improvement and team cohesiveness during the season:
“Everything up to this point, since really probably the Coca-Cola 600, has been pretty good for us.”
Looking Ahead: Potential for Victory and Playoff Contention
Erik Jones’s career in the NASCAR Cup Series has seen its ups and downs, but his current performance indicates he may be entering a new phase with Legacy Motor Club. With multiple top-five and top-ten finishes recently, his hopes of earning a win this season appear more realistic. A victory would not only confirm the team’s progress but might also secure his spot in the playoffs, marking a significant milestone in his 2025 campaign.
