NTT IndyCar Series racer Ed Jones will make his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series at Circuit of The Americas, Jayski.com has confirmed. An official announcement could come as soon as Saturday.
Jones, 28, will drive the No. 20 truck for Young’s Motorsports in the XPEL 225 at COTA. Young’s Motorsports has been fielding entries in the Truck Series since 2012. This season, the team is again fielding three full-time trucks, with Kris Wright running the full schedule.
For nearly a decade, Jones spent the majority of his time chasing an open wheel dream, which included a championship in the Indy Lights Series in 2016 for Carlin Motorsport. With that came a $1 million Mazda advancement scholarship to advance into the IndyCar Series for a guaranteed three-race deal.
Jones’ rookie season in IndyCar was highlighted by finishing third in the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 for Dale Coyne Racing. Only Takumo Sato and Helio Castroneves finished ahead of the Dubai native.
In 2018, Jones picked up a pair of podium finishes while running for Chip Ganassi Racing, with third-place efforts at Long Beach and Belle Isle. He finished a career best 13th in the championship standings.
Most recently, Jones competed the full 2021 slate for Coyne, earning a best finish of sixth in the inaugural Big Machine Music Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville. He picked up two additional top 10s while driving the No. 18 car. Jones has also competed in sports cars over the past couple of seasons, including three starts in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The No. 20 truck that he will compete in will have a cast of drivers throughout the 2023 season. Derek Kraus finished 18th for the Young’s team in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, while Matt Mills finished 26th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend.
Jones joins other IndyCar mainstays such as Conor Daly, Santino Ferrucci, Marco Andretti and Sage Karam to have dipped their toes into NASCAR since 2021.
The XPEL 225 is scheduled to go green shortly after 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 25.