TALLADEGA, Ala.: Erik Jones did all he could to put himself in position to win Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, but when it came down to the last lap of the race, all bets were off.
Early in the race, Jones aboard his No. 43 U.S. Air Force Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was able to showcase the speed in his Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet and inherited the lead for the first time on Lap 65.
Throughout Stage 1, the constant shuffle saw Jones move in and outside the top-five and even the top-10, but at the Stage 1 completion, Jones has muscled himself back to eighth – picking up valuable stage points and good track position for the second stage.
Stage 2 was much like Stage 1 for Jones; except he lost his Petty GMS teammate Ty Dillon who was involved in a restart accident on Lap 90 which eliminated Dillon from competition and left Jones battling solo against the other hungry hounds from the Chevrolet camp.
By the end of Stage 2, Jones was able to continue his momentum inside the top-10 and took eighth again in Stage 2.
Forget the top-10 in Stage 2, Jones knew if he wanted to have any shot at winning his third career NASCAR Cup Series race, he needed to keep his car tucked as close to the lead as possible.
With 50 laps to go, Jones sat inside the top-five in fourth.
10 laps later, the Byron, Michigan native marched into the race lead.
On Lap 159, Jones joined the other Chevrolet teams on pit road for their final green flag stop of the race. The Dave Elenz-led team gave their driver two right side tires and fuel to battle for the finish.
11 laps later upon the competition of pit stops, Jones cycled to second place and found himself battling his other Chevrolet comrades for control of the race.
Over the final 10 laps of the race, Jones led six of them, including the last lap but as the field screamed out of Turn 4, Jones attempted to throw a block on challenger Kyle Larson and drifted high which stalled Larson’s momentum but allowed Ross Chastain in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet to slip by on the inside lane and sail to his second Cup Series win of 2022.
Jones slipped to sixth at the checkered flag after losing his drafting help and most of the front-runners scattering to avoid colliding into each other after Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch crashed.
After the race, Jones explained what went wrong.
“I mean, just the last lap, right? It’s typical here,” he described. “Been close here so many times, in this race and the fall race. U.S. Air Force Chevy had good speed, felt good to be up front.
“Coming there that last lap, we were single file. I felt pretty good about it. They kind of doubled up behind us. That top lane was getting some momentum. Looking back, I wish I would have stayed at the bottom and let the 1 push me. I didn’t realize they were coming with that much speed.
“But try to defend on the 5, you’re too far ahead already right here. Obviously a defense on the 5 kind of gives the door to the 1 (Chastain).”
Hindsight is 20-20 and while Jones wishes he could have a redo on the final lap at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, Jones said he was trying to make the best decision that he thought would propel his team into Victory Lane.
“It is what it is,” added Jones. “You’re trying to just win the race. You can only see how much is going on from the seat. You’re trying to make the best decision you can the last 1500 feet.
With his third top-10 finish of the season, Jones said his car was fast and had speed and he had a shot at winning his first race at Talladega, but just couldn’t seal it at the finish.
“Happy to run up front, lead laps,” explained Jones. “Would really love to get the 43 in Victory Lane. I thought today might be the day.
“All day long we were fast and had speed. Especially being up front there at the end, the last 10, I knew we had a shot, but just couldn’t quite close it out.”
Heading to Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway next weekend, Jones is 17th in Cup points and within 12 points of holding a spot in the Playoffs.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
