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| Nigel Kinrade Photography |
It was announced this afternoon (8/22/21) that 25 year old Erik Jones, from Byron, Michigan, will return to Richard Petty Motorsports next season to drive the iconic No. 43 car.
The former Joe Gibbs Racing driver who has had an up and down career to this point can now confirm that he will have an opportunity to further prove his driving ability as the NASCAR Cup Series heads into a milestone season. With the introduction of Next Gen (Generation 7) Cup car in 2022, smaller teams like Richard Petty Motorsports may have a chance to see significant improvements overall. In Erik Jones’ situation funding has been an issue for his current team, and while Jones himself has the ability to race fairly well speed is often neglected because of this. With any luck the young driver, who has a decent amount of “Next Gen” testing under his belt will be able to ride the wave of Generation 7, and bring the No. 43 back to it’s former glory. Erik Jones has currently scored 3 Top-10 finishes this season, he is now on his way to match Bubba Wallace’s previous season driving with RPM.
Jones, who previously drove No. 20 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, certainly is enjoying his time at Richard Petty Motorsports. At his former race team, Erik Jones was not the organization’s main focus. Joe Gibbs Racing had championship caliber drivers like Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin to pay attention to, and like many others to call the No. 20 team home, Jones was not nearly as appreciated. Last season when Levine Family Racing closed and Joe Gibbs Racing parted ways with Erik Jones to sign Christopher Bell, Jones’ situation looked unpromising. While signing with Richard Petty Motorsports was obviously a step down for Jones, he is now the only driver and a main focus of the race team. Jones has said it himself, he enjoys the appreciation. That appreciation Erik Jones will remain for at-least one more season.
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