A 2015 rewind and a 2016 preview for the top five finishers last season in the NASCAR XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series. Today: Erik Jones, the 2015 champion in the Truck Series.
Team: Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota (2015); Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota in the XFINITY Series (2016)
Wins: 3 (Iowa, Mosport, Texas-2)
Strides: Besides the trio of victories and five pole positions, Jones finished outside the top 10 just three times. Once he prevailed on the twisty layout of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in late August, the talented rookie grabbed a lead in the points standings that he would hold the rest of the year.
Setbacks: An electrical issue and a related 23rd-place result at Gateway stood as Jones’ only finish in the back half of the truck field all year.
Quoteworthy: “I think there were definitely times in the year when I didn’t think we’d be able to do this and looking back and seeing the deficit we were in at some points and just being able to really pull together and make this all happen here at the end of the year, it was just so, so special for everybody here. I couldn’t think of a better way to thank them.”
What’s next: After a resoundingly successful season with starts in all three NASCAR national series, Jones moves up the ladder into the XFINITY ranks. He already has visited Victory Lane twice in that series. He’ll have a new crew chief in Chris Gabehart calling the shots, but will also likely gain more seasoning with a select part-time schedule in the Sprint Cup Series.