Erik Jones announced his return to Richard Petty Motorsports next season in a media availability at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday. He’ll enter his second season driving the famed No. 43 car for Richard Petty in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Jones, 25, is in his fifth full-time Cup Series season. He spent 2017, his first full-time season, driving for Furniture Row Racing. Jones picked up 14 top-10s and five top-5s while teammate Martin Truex Jr. won the series championship.
After Matt Kenseth’s first retirement, Jones transitioned to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2018 to drive the No. 20 car. He spent three years with the team, picking up two victories and 48 top-10s. Jones made the playoffs in both 2018 and 2019 but failed to advance out of the Round of 16 in both seasons.
After a winless 2020 season, Jones was out of a ride at Joe Gibbs Racing in place of young phenom Christopher Bell. Jones signed a deal with Richard Petty Motorsports for 2021, replacing the departing Bubba Wallace. In 24 starts this season, Jones has three top-10s, including a 7th place finish last weekend at the Indianapolis Road Course. He sits 24th in the points standings, meaning the only way he can make the playoffs is to win at either Michigan or Daytona.
Jones will look to bring Richard Petty Motorsports their first win since 2014 when Aric Almirola won for the team at Daytona. The organization has five victories, dating back to Kasey Kahne’s two wins in 2009. In addition to Almirola and Kahne, Marcus Ambrose has a pair of victories for the team at Watkins Glen in 2011 and 2012.