#43 Legacy Motor Club All News Cup News Erik Jones

Erik Jones Returning to Petty GMS Racing

July 30, 2022 at 7:16 AM

UPDATE 4:  Petty GMS today announced the team and Erik Jones have agreed to a multi-year agreement for Jones to remain in the No. 43 Chevy Camaro starting with the 2023 season.

“I’m really excited to have this deal done and finally be able to talk about it,” said Jones. “I really like the group I have at Petty GMS and working with Dave (Elenz). Each week I feel like we get better and better and put ourselves in contention to win. Knowing where I’ll be driving allows us to really focus on building the team and making our cars better. I’m looking forward to finishing this season strong, hopefully with a win, and continuing to build on what we started this year with Petty GMS.”

Jones joined Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) in 2021 and continued in the No. 43 Chevy when GMS Racing and RPM merged at the start of the 2022 season.

“Erik (Jones) has been a great addition to Petty GMS this year and we’re thrilled to have him signed for the coming years,” said Petty GMS Owner Maury Gallagher. “We’re excited to continue building our Cup program with Erik, Dave (Elenz) and the No. 43 team. They’ve shown great growth and potential this season and we know it will only continue.”

Jones is currently in his seventh season in the Cup Series. With 204 starts in the series, Jones has two wins, 35 top-five finishes and 75 top-10 finishes. During the 2022 season, his first season with Petty GMS and crew chief Dave Elenz, Jones has 21 starts with two top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes with 72 laps led.

“We’ve had a great relationship with Erik (Jones) since he joined RPM and now Petty GMS,” said Petty GMS Chairman Richard Petty. “Erik’s done an outstanding job representing the No. 43 and all of the fans who love to see that car on track. It’s nice to have Erik locked in for the years to come and continue building on the legacy of the No. 43 as he continues his Cup career.

Jones and the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will take to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, July 31, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. NBC will carry live television coverage and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will carry the live radio broadcast.

— Petty GMS Racing —

UPDATE 3 – 7-26-2022: Erik Jones is closing in on a multiyear contract extension with Petty GMS Motorsports, per sources.

Team co-Owner Maury Gallagher convincing Jones to return for multiple guaranteed years suggests that he’s intent on turning the team into a winner at the NASCAR Cup Series level.

UPDATE 2: A day after both Martin Truex Jr. and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. announced contract extensions, it appears another Cup Series veteran could be inking a fresh deal of his own in the near future.

No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports driver Erik Jones offered a glimpse into his contract negotiations with the team for 2023 on Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway — hinting an agreement might be just around the corner.

“We’re getting close,” he said, before qualifying 23rd for Sunday’s Ally 400 (5 p.m. ET, NBC, NBC Sports App, MRN). “Obviously, I’ve been in talks with Petty GMS now for about a month I guess at this point. Just kind of finishing things up. Back and forth on all the little stuff, right, that makes a difference. We’re going through that but I feel like we’re getting close.”

— NASCAR.com —

UPDATE 5-30-2022: Spring will soon turn to summer, and the clock is slowly churning toward decision time.

“I mean, it’s what — end of May, almost June? I mean, by late July, August, I’d like to have something going already for next year,” Jones said. “You get past that, and it just kind of gets to be a burden for both ends, you know. Burden for me, burden for the team, so if I could get something done by then, I mean, that’d be pretty cool.”

The timing of Jones’ confirmed return to Richard Petty’s No. 43 came last year with an Aug. 22 announcement. His status didn’t change when the team underwent an offseason merger with Maury Gallagher’s GMS Racing, forming a two-car operation with Ty Dillon as a new teammate in the No. 42 Chevy.

His re-up in 2021 marked the latest in a series of one-year deals, which included his time under the Toyota banner with Joe Gibbs Racing. Jones said a new deal that had the security of a two-year term or more ranked as a wish-list item.

— NASCAR.com —

ORIGINAL POST 5-2-2022: Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass caught up with Erik Jones prior to the start of Sunday’s DuraMAX Drydene 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway to ask him about his contract status.

Jones’ contract with the team expires at the end of this season.  He say preliminary contract talks have started and he would like to return next season, but it will likely be a couple more months before anything is finalized.