Erik Jones driving the No. 43 Dollar Tree Ford during qualifying for the Quaker State 400 in Atlanta – Motorsport America Photo
BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 6, 2026) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver Erik Jones
was made available to the media on Saturday prior to the NASCAR Cup
Series race from Michigan International Speedway.
ERIK JONES, No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
How much have you drove into San Diego and what are your early impressions of it?
“Quite a bit since we’ve got the finalized track over the last
month, we’ve done a large amount of sim. The sim on the oval side is
valuable, but when you are going to a place like San Diego from a
driver’s standpoint, there is just so much more to gain. Our big focus
has been a quite a bit of time there, but as far as the track. I think
in a lot of ways, it is similar to Chicago. Obviously, it is way bigger
and way more turns, but there is a couple of good passing zones. It is
extremely rough. I don’t know what that is going to be like – it is
hard to guess on a grip level and how much grip it is really going to
have. We thought going into Chicago it would be really slick and
challenging, and Chicago had more grip than most any other road course
that we went to, so just a lot of unknowns, but as far as the track
layout. It took me a long time to memorize it. It took me a while to get
up to speed and all of the visuals, especially in the sim, are really
challenging. Everything just looks like a 90-degree turn and you can’t
really tell which way that you are trying to go half of the time, so it
takes a while to get up to speed on that, but as far as the track, I
think it is okay. It is just rough. We will just have to see where that
is.”
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Do you think anyone will end up in the Bay?
“I hope not (laughter). If I end up in the Bay, I may just have to
call it quits. I don’t think I would race again after that.”
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Where is your late model program at right now, and what does it mean
to race close to home?
“It is fun. I always look forward to this week and get some bonus
time up here next week, spending a couple of days over there at Berlin.
We’ve got the same group that we’ve had. We have our car, and we run
three or four races a year and it is always hard. It is never easy to
show up and try to compete against those guys, especially at Berlin.
They do it all of the time over there. The majority of the guys that
run, especially the 150, it is not easy to go and compete with them. I
felt like – I came up and tested up here about a month ago, and the
car was really good. Hopefully, it is as good as it was then. We just
– me and one other guy, Mike, we go over the setup and come up with
something and go have some fun with it. But it is definitely enjoyable
either way. Obviously, you want to run well, but just being there and
working with my group of friends is fun.”
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Can you talk about how LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has grown and how will grow
in the future with three full-time teams next season?
“We are on a great stretch with the 43, and we are making a lot of
points and running well. We are running right at the backside of the
top-10 which is a step up for us, which is good. I think going to three
cars, at the end of the day, it is a value. It is another data point,
but the caveat to that, the challenge of it – we need to hire 60
people, approximately, if not more. Finding 60 people in today’s
climate of NASCAR is not easy. I think that is the biggest thing we are
going to have to work through. Beyond that, just integrating with the
new team, new driver, new crew chief and figuring out what they need and
how they are going to bring value to the program. Obviously, when you
have three cars, you want them all to run well. You can’t have one car
or two cars excelling, and one guy lagging behind or vice versa. So, you
have to work towards having three strong teams, which is tough and you
see it in every organization. One or two guys might excel, and one guy
is trying to play catch up. So, a lot of challenges there, but I think
the biggest challenge is the hiring process. Just going through and
finding that many good people. It will be a long road for us.”
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With the announcement of celebrity ownership, what does that mean for
the team and help you secure sponsorship?
“Obviously, the world of partnerships has changed a lot. Not just in
the last 10 years, but the last five years. I would say it has changed a
lot, and the visibility that it brings is great, but beyond that, it is
just the vision that I think Jimmie (Johnson, owner, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB)
has for the team. Jimmie really dives in hard on the marketing,
sponsorship, the presence side of the race team, and really wants to
focus and grow that. I think that the ownership side, he sees a lot of
value in growing that partnership group, and what they can bring to the
table as far as that visibility for partners, and what that brings to
them. I have been really fortunate the last few years to have a couple
of great partners between AdventHealth and Dollar Tree, just stepping up
and doing a lot for me. We need to keep the program funded as far as
going to three cars, and long into the future. I think in today’s
world and in our sport – it’s not just our sport, but every sport.
It is not enough to say that we are a race team, and we just show up to
the track and race, and you can put your sticker on the car, and that is
value. There has to be more to it than that. There has to be experiences
and opportunities for them to come to the track and have something
unique. I think that is branching out farther down that road for them to
provide a great experience for a partner.”
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How would you evaluate LEGACY MOTOR CLUB from this point last year to
this year?
“I think we are in a better spot. It’s funny, I looked at the
points position at this point last year, and we aren’t a whole lot
different, but I think as a group we are running consistently better.
We’ve had a great stretch here for a month of showing up each week and
having good cars and running well. A couple of execution things have
kept us from a few better finishes, and some strange strategies have
kept us from some stage points, especially last week in Nashville. I
think overall, we are in a better spot. I think there are so many little
things that we can do better still, which is frustrating but good. To
have performance like we are currently having, and know there are little
things that we need to work on and improve, there is value in that. For
me, yeah, I’ve been happy with the direction, happy with my team, and
Justin (Alexander, crew chief), and the engineers and the pit crews have
been great. Everyone has been working really well together, but
historically too, this has been a good stretch for me, just the tracks
and how they line up. I think if we get through San Diego and Sonoma
after Pocono, and see where we sit, will be really more of a tell-tell
of our Chase hopes. I think we are in a better spot than last year, and
I’m definitely happy with the direction.”
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