Q&A with Erik Jones: ‘Really confident’ in being a title contender

The scratch-and-dent Daytona 500 is done and dusted, and now it’s time to go racing at the white-knuckle 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Erik Jones is ready. Coming off a remarkable third-place finish at NASCAR’s biggest race last week, Jones, who displayed plenty of grit and determination in the battered and bruised Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota Camry, will look to the remarkable rough and abrasive Georgia circuit as an opportunity to reach for a higher gear.

Cool, calm and quietly confident about both the race and season ahead, we caught up with the driver.

From the hype and madness of Daytona all the way over to round two at Atlanta. What a change, huh? Something of an emotional hangover for you?

(Laughter) “It’s a big change for sure. You know, we go from by far our biggest race of the year there at the 500 and then we go to Atlanta. It’s a big swing of things, but it’s kind of a signal, at least that’s how I look at it, of being in the new season. For some reason, and I don’t know if everybody feels this way, but when I’m at Daytona I don’t really feel like we’re in the season yet. It’s kind of its own race even though it’s a points-paying race. Even though it’s the first race of the season, it sort of feels like its own deal. Getting to Atlanta, at least for me, I finally feel like we’re getting the season rolling.”

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The Daytona 500 was calamitous for both you and the entire No. 20 team. Nonetheless, and after all was said and done, you slotted-in at a remarkable third overall. It worked out pretty well for you, huh?

“Yeah, it worked out great at the end. We had a really fast car all through Speedweeks. Our Clash car was really good and our 500 car was fast by itself and drove really well, but it’s always tough to stay out of trouble there. Unfortunately, we had a fuel pressure issue while we were up front with 35 to go and that kind of put us behind. Ultimately, we ended up getting back on the lead lap and eventually got our damaged repaired from the first big crash and I avoided the others and ended up with a third-place finish. It was a great way to start the season.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway? What do you make of it? Old, fast, rough … and the place hasn’t been paved in 20-plus years.

“I like Atlanta. It’s tough. I think it’s close to being the oldest surface we go to on the schedule. That makes it tough, you know? It’s trying to find the balance of being fast at the front side of a run and the car being there 20 to 25 laps in when you really need to make time with the tires worn out. It’s hard to find that balance. … It’s been a learning experience each time we’ve been there, but it’s going to be changed up pretty good here with this new rules package. I think you’re going to see a pretty different Atlanta than what we’ve seen from the last five or 10 years now. We’ll see how it goes. I was fortunate to get to test there with the new rules package a few months back and see how everything played out.”

Perhaps compared to some of the other NASCAR circuits, do you get a real sensation of speed at Atlanta?

“I do. I don’t know what it is about it, but it is really fast. Even with as old as the surface is, it’s amazing the speed we can still carry around that track on fresh tires. It’s fun as a driver. You want to feel like you’re out there really getting all you can and Atlanta is definitely a place where it feels like you’re moving pretty good. It’s fun and it’s neat to see how fast that place still is.”

Erik, you’re now into your third year of the Monster Energy Series. You’re in a top car with a top team and the results have really been there. Your house really is in order. Can you make a genuine run at the championship in 2019?

“I really think we can. We’ve made some good changes on our team from the personnel standpoint and the pit crew standpoint and have gotten things pretty much where we want them to be. I feel really confident coming into this year. I feel like I know what I need to do at each track. I’ve been everywhere on the Cup schedule at least a couple of times and feel comfortable racing with the Cup guys, you know? It takes a while to learn how to race those guys and how these races play out and how to kind of manage a much longer race. I feel really good about the year.”

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