Jones' playoff hopes take hit after Loudon crash

The tall task Erik Jones faced to make the playoffs is now a bit steeper.

The Furniture Row Racing driver made an early exit in the Overton's 301, crashing in Turn 3 on Lap 41 after cutting down a tire. The accident occurred off a restart and after Jones had made contact on pit road, getting hit on the both the left and right side of his No. 77 after exiting his pit stall.

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"I guess we cut a left front or a right front – I'm not sure," Jones said after being released from the infield care center. "Just made a little contact on pit road, but didn't have any marks on the tires, so we thought it'd be fine and obviously not – we didn't even make it a lap, so no indication really. It's just unfortunate.

"The 5-hour ENERGY Camry was pretty fast. I thought we had probably an easy top-10 car if not a few adjustments away from being a top-five car, so just really didn't need a day like this trying to make the playoffs here.

"Feel like we're going to work hard to try to get a win at this point. We'll keep after it. Just need some good luck coming our way, and hopefully, we get it soon."

Jones will finish 39th and pick up his fifth DNF of the season – and he might be at the point where he needs a win if he wants to compete for the championship. In 19 races, Jones has just five top-10 finishes, and his point deficit to a spot on the playoff grid will also grow from the 52 he was behind starting the day.

Jones said the accident was especially frustrating because of how early it occurred.

"It's just been kind of our year, you know? Just had these bad instances happen and nothing our doing.

"Just a bad situation and it's unfortunate. The 5-hour ENERGY Camry was good. It's getting better. We'll just have to keep after it and hopefully be better next week."

Seven races remain in the regular season. Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Jones competed in the Xfinity Series last season, is next on the schedule.