SONOMA, Calif. – Erik Jones had a tire deflating during Friday’s opening practice at Sonoma Raceway. That turned out to be the least of his worries.
In the first two minutes of the second session, Jones missed a downshift and wheel-hopped into Turn 11, the hairpin. His No. 77 Furniture Row Racing Toyota slid across the corner and slammed into the tire barrier near the apex.
“I just got some wheel hop and then got loose and hit the fence,” Jones said of the accident. “I’ve been frustrated all day, and this just compounds that. We have to get the backup out and try to learn more and try to get some speed out of the 5-hour ENERGY Camry.”
As a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender who is racing at Sonoma for the first time, Jones said he would have liked an opportunity to test at the track, other than on a simulator.
“I don’t have a lot of road course experience anyways, and then to get thrown into the fire, I wish we could do any kind of testing anywhere,” he said. “It’s hard to show up and get out there to do it. Just one of those things trying to learn, and you make a mistake.”
After his team prepared the backup car, Jones got back on track with roughly 25 minutes left in final practice.
Jones, however, wasn’t the only driver who had issues in practice. In the first session, road course ace Billy Johnson spun early in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Ty Dillon spun heading up the hill into Turn 2. The engine in Matt Kenseth’s No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota expired, and the car came to rest in Turn 10.
Practice was winding down when Chase Elliott spun near the entrance to Turn 10, he spun all the way through the corner and nosed into the barrier beyond the exit.
The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team rolled out a backup car after the incident, and Elliott will have to qualify on Saturday with no laps on the car.
Kyle Larson topped the speed chart in final practice at 94.389 mph, followed by Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and AJ Allmendinger.
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
