KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Erik Jones and Legacy Motor Club announced the two have reached a multi-year contract extension for Jones to continue driving the No. 43 Toyota in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Jones and team president Michael Gutilla made the announcement Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
“We finalized a contract extension for myself for multiple years,” Jones said. “We got it done a little ways back, but we had to find the right time to get it announced to everybody. So, I don’t think it was a surprise to either side, something that came up a while back, and honestly, one of the probably easier negotiations I’ve had in my career just knowing kind of where I’m at and where the team’s at and everything came together really quickly. It was nice to get it done and focus forward from there. Happy to have it done.”
Jones will team with Josh Berry and Riley Herbst in a three-car team next season.
“I think we’ve talked a lot about what Legacy’s goals are going forward, and with Jimmie Johnson coming on board and the current ownership structure, the team that’s put in place, we are on a five-year journey where one year into that,” Gutilla said. “Erik is the cornerstone of that and has been. He’s been continuously building our program and making it stronger, until we were just really happy to be able to put a multi-year deal together that would be consistent with that time frame.
“And for our families, for our fans, for our hardworking employees, and our partners, we just knew this was going to be the next step. There’s such mutual trust between Erik and LMC, and what we’re building, and LMC, and Erik, and his abilities to get us where we desire to be.”
Jones has been driving the No. 43 for six years.
“I’ve been there for a long time now. I don’t know if I’m the second longest tenured driver to Richard (Petty) at this point, but I got to be getting close,” Jones said “That’s something cool, and for me, I’m a loyal person, and I don’t like to make changes. I like to stick with the people that I trust and have been with and think that can do a good job. To be back at the same group of people that we’ve put together over the last couple of years, it’s just something that I wanted to do, and wanted to be a part of.
“I’ve kind of seen the trajectory of where we went the last couple of years, and where we can go in the next five, as Michael mentioned, and it was something that I want to be a part of,” Jones continued. “I feel like I’m at a point in my career where I definitely feel as good as I’ve ever been in racing and only trying to get better from here. It’s been fun. It’s been a long journey.
“This is year, I think, six for me in the 43, and so it’s went by super-fast, but it’s been fun to see the changes in the growth and kind of where we’re headed.”
