LEBANON, Tenn: In a struggling season for Erik Jones and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, the team capitalized on a well-balanced No. 43 Allegiant Airlines Chevrolet Camaro to propel them to a top-10 finish in Sunday night’s Ally 400 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
After showcasing speed in his race car during an extended practice on Friday afternoon, Jones qualified his L.M.C. car 23rd on Saturday morning and utilized the first two stages of the race to work through traffic and track position to move inside the top-10 at the end of Stage 2.
Jones collected one crucial stage point – during the night – finishing 10th and setting the tone for the rest of the night.
As the track transitioned from day to night, Jones’ car adapted well and became faster – and his presence in the field stood out specifically when the track was in complete darkness.
The third and final stage of the night went caution free which saw Jones capitalized on a green flag pit stop to maintain his tack position inside the top-10 and was able to fend off a hard-charging Kyle Busch in the closing laps of the race to earn his third top-10 finish of the season.
“It was a good day,” said Jones after the race. “We had a good No. 43 Allegiant Chevy. We were able to run up towards the top-10 all day, so just need to build on that. If you can be up there and running competitively, it gives you something to work on.”
Jones felt like his Nashville performance was a step in the right direction and believes their LMC cars are getting better and hopes to continue this trend in the weeks and months to come.
“Today was the first day in a while that I felt like we were in the ballpark and where we need to be, so that’s a good step,” added Jones. “I’m proud of the effort, for sure. We’re getting the cars better and where we want them to be, and hopefully just get them a little bit more moving forward.”
The Nashville result was Jones’ best effort since finishing sixth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April. Sunday’s finish rewards his Statesville, N.C.-based team with some much welcomed momentum heading into a brutal summer stretch where the organization has been transparent about lacking speed and results for not only Jones but for teammate Noah Gragson.
Gragson in his first race back since suffering from concussion-like symptoms after a wreck at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway raced inside the top-20 throughout the night but settled for a 26th place finish, one lap in the arrears to winner Ross Chastain.
Jones heads to the inaugural Chicago Street Course event next Sunday, July 2 – 30th in the championship standings and will boast a new marketing partner in Draiver for the much anticipated 100-lap race.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01 or email [email protected].
