ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – Erik Jones remembers going to his local short tracks growing up in Michigan and watching a driver named Johnny Benson.
Like Jones, Benson is a Michigan native. Benson won a late championship at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich., in 1989. From there Benson won an ASA championship in 1993, the 1995 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, the 1996 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year Award and the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title.
Jones didn’t get a chance to connect with Benson, but does remember watching him race and watched as Benson went on to the next level. Making that connection, seeing a driver race locally and then watching him on national television at the sport’s highest level, is something Jones believes is important for the future of the sport.
“I think it’s really important for people to come back, do the local stuff and get back to their real close fan base,” Jones said. “Not everybody gets a chance to come to a NASCAR race.”
Maintaining the connection between the short-track community and NASCAR is something Jones values and is happy to maintain. His only wish is being able to do it more. Next Tuesday he’ll get to do that for the first time in several years.
After Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Road America, where Jones will drive the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, Jones will compete in Tuesday’s 42nd SupplyZone Slinger Nationals Presented by Miller Lite and WABAM, a 200-lap super late model event. He’ll be one of more than 30 drivers hoping to win the Larry Detjens Memorial Trophy that is awarded to the Slinger Nationals champion.
This year’s Slinger Nationals has an extra incentive outside of the $10,000 prize offered to the victor. The winner will also get the chance to compete in the Camping World SRX Series race at Slinger on July 10, which features Tony Stewart and four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves, among others.
“It’s always a prestigious race, but this year is going to be even cooler to get that ride in the SRX if you win,” said John DeAngelis, a local short-track racer among the 30-plus entries for the Slinger Nationals. “That’s going to put your name out there big by it being nationally televised.”
Among the anticipated entries for this year’s Slinger Nationals are former winners Ty Majeski, Rich Bickle Jr. and Dennis Prunty.
Majeski is the defending champion and is trying to become the sixth driver to win the Slinger Nationals at least three times. Lowell Bennett won it five times while Dick Trickle, Bickle and Joe Shear each won it four times. Matt Kenseth holds the all-time mark with eight.
“The atmosphere at the Slinger Nationals is always really neat,” Jones said. “Like Road America, I think they’re going to have a great crowd at Slinger as well. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
It’ll be Jones’ third attempt at the Slinger Nationals. In his first attempt in 2016, Jones was leading late before he was bumped by Kenseth, who then went on to win the race. Jones’ next attempt came in 2018. Fresh off his first NASCAR Cup victory at Daytona days earlier, Jones failed to qualify for the Slinger Nationals on time and had to race his way into the main event. His evening in the main event was cut short after 66 laps because of a mechanical problem.
Jones hasn’t been in a late model since, which is one reason why he’s excited to get back to Slinger and the Slinger Nationals.
“It really doesn’t feel like that long but I’m excited to get back in one and especially at Slinger,” Jones said. “It’s a neat race track. It’s going to be a fun trip.”
Jones will partner with DeAngelis, who has provided Jones with a car for the Slinger Nationals.
“I’m real excited to have someone like that in one of our cars,” DeAngelis said. “The whole team is excited. It’s going to be an overall good deal.”
Jones built an impressive resume during his short-track career that helped him ascend to stock car’s premier level. Jones has notable short-track victories at the Snowball Derby (2012-13), the Winchester 400 (2013-15), and the Howie Lettow Memorial (2014).
He’s kept that success going once past the late model portion of his career. He was the first driver to win the Rookie of the Year award in each of NASCAR’s top-three national touring series. He’s also the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion.
Jones admitted he misses racing late models.
“I just love racing the late model stuff,” he said. “I just haven’t done it in a long time. I’m excited to get back in it and do it again.”
The almost year-long commitments with NASCAR, Jones said, make it hard to get away and compete in late model events, even in the offseason.
“It’s not always easy to find an opportunity or a deal to find something,” Jones said. “There’s not as many mid-week late model shows anymore. So it’s kind of hard to work things out and get things right.
“I’d like to do more for sure.”
Jones isn’t the only driver in NASCAR that still competes, when he can, at the local short-tracks – asphalt or dirt. Drivers like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are among those that try to squeeze in short-track racing events whenever they can. Stewart, Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne are others who have done their best to compete in short-track events amidst the high-demand of the NASCAR schedule.
As part of the NASCAR weekend Plymouth Dirt Track, which is a short drive from Road America, will host a sprint car doubleheader. Cup driver Chase Briscoe is committed to competing in that event.
“I think you look at, obviously, the fan base,” Jones said. “It’s based on short-track racing. It’s where they start for their love for racing and that’s where people build their fan bases. People become fans of drivers at the short tracks before they get to NASCAR or the bigger series wherever that may be.”
Jones also admitted he wants to do a better job of keeping those connections between the fans and racing. Maybe there is a young fan will look up to Jones, just like he did with Benson. That often equals a race fan for life.
“Just being able to race in front of those local fans,” Jones said. “Then after the races it being a lot more intimate, being able to meet people, sign autographs, take pictures. I think that stuff is really important for building a fan base.
“Hopefully I can do more of it in the future.”