Jones back on form after testing couple of months

Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway was the first race in a while that Erik Jones felt his No. 43 team was in the ballpark, and he turned it into a top-10 finish.

Jones finished eighth in the Ally 400, his best finish on a non-superspeedway type track this season. It was also the first top-10 finish for Jones and his Legacy Motor Club team in two months.

It was “for sure” a needed run for the group.

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“When you’re struggling, you get kind of in a rut, and it seems like you’re never going to get out of it,” said Jones. “But we kept working, and I knew we were going to get our stuff better, it was just a matter of getting the pieces together.

“We’ve been trying some stuff the last month; felt like Gateway was going to be a good day for us and obviously, had the incident on pit road, and today I think we put everything together. Proud of that. Obviously, a huge step forward and hopefully more for the rest of the season.”

Jones started the race 23rd, which he feared would happen with an early qualifying draw. But knowing he had a top-10 car kept Jones focused on the climb toward the front.

“Just a good car; good car off the trailer on Friday, fast in practice,” Jones said of what went right at Nashville. “We didn’t qualify good, but I felt like we could race good and we did that. Just keep bringing good cars, that’s what it’s all about.

“I know we’re going to do that more. The second half of the year always seems better for me. I don’t know – the tracks or whatever. But hopefully, we can keep bringing good cars.”

It’s going to be an uphill climb for Jones and Legacy Motor Club. The organization has admittedly taken a step backward from last season, and that fight now includes an upcoming transition period to a new manufacturer next season, changing the dynamics when it comes to available resources.

“It’s tough, obviously, with the penalty we got, we’re pretty far back in points, so a lot out the window on the year,” Jones said, referring to the loss of 60 points for a greenhouse modification after St. Louis.

“But we want to run well. There’s nothing else we can do but try to go out and do this. A top 10 is really good for us right now with where we’re at, and it’s what we’ve got to do. Hopefully, we can continue that the rest of the year, build off this year, and keep moving forward.”

For Jones, the focus-forward attitude and determination to succeed despite adversity will, if nothing else, show how strong the organization is.

“The last two months have for sure done that, kind of tested everybody,” Jones said. “But I knew everybody was going to stick together and work at this deal, try to get it better. Got to keep pushing forward. Got to keep trying to get it better.

“We’re a bit on an island right here, but we’ve still got stuff to learn to try to apply for next year.”