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Can a rookie win NASCAR's most prestigious championship? That's almost absurd to consider given the depth of talent in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the steep learning curve faced by rookies. But that hasn't kept Erik Jones, 20, from contemplating how to get to the season finale in Homestead, Fla., this year with a shot at the championship.
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Last year, Jones came within a couple of laps of winning the Xfinity Series championship in his rookie season on that circuit. He was looking to move from title to title after becoming the youngest Camping World Truck Series champion in 2015. But a yellow flag with three laps to go as he was closing on leader Daniel Suarez at the Xfinity season finale in Homestead derailed his bid.
That caution wasn't the biggest interruption in his racing career by any means. Early in the 2016 season, Jones learned his father had been diagnosed with cancer. Dave Jones, who was instrumental to his son's racing success, died within three months at age 53.
Through a Twitter post, Jones shared a touching goodbye letter he wrote to his father and credited him with enabling him to "believe I could do things I never thought possible."
So, credit Jones' father for teaching his son to think big, as if it were second nature. Coming into his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Jones has been focused on two things: winning races in his Furniture Row Racing team's Toyota and advancing to the championship round in the Cup series at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. He said the pursuit of the usual focus of first-year drivers, the rookie of the year crown, would take care of itself.
The last time anybody won the title in his rookie season occurred when Red Byron captured the first Strictly Stock championship in 1949. But during the preseason media tour in Charlotte, Jones made it clear he was focused on the highest possible finish, which would be a championship in Homestead.
"I think it's definitely different this year," said Jones of the new points system that includes stages. "You have to position yourself to get the best possible finish you can in every segment and rack up those bonus points to get to the (playoffs). At the end of the day, the more bonus points you have, the better position you're in to make it to Homestead."
In the first seven races prior to the Easter break, Jones has acquitted himself admirably under the new stage format. He is 14th in the points -- the same position that last year's rookie phenomenon Chase Elliott held after seven races in 2016.
Jones has scored 19 stage points, but is still looking for his first playoff bonus points, which are earned with stage wins or an overall victory. He is well ahead of this year's two other most prominent rookies. Suarez, a first-year driver of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, is 23rd. Ty Dillon, who drives a Chevy for Germain Racing, is 24th.
During a Goodyear tire testing session last week in Daytona Beach, Jones was asked about his inaugural Cup season. Other than a 22nd-place finish at the Texas Motor Speedway he was satisfied in the sense of lap times.
"I would say, performance-wise, other than last week at Texas, I've been really happy with where we've run. We've run consistently in the top 10 at Phoenix, Fontana, Atlanta but we just didn't get the finishes we deserved. I think at Fontana and Phoenix we really had top-five cars but things just didn't play out at the end.
"Either way I look at it, we've done as good a job as we can and we brought fast race cars to the track. We're just learning more about how to execute, how to close these races out, and how to get the finishes we feel like we are capable of."
Jones, who says his driving style is "checkers or wreckers," has become known for his quiet confidence -- although he's not shy about speaking out when the situation arises.
He was critical of the final restart at Homestead last year, for example, which cost him a shot at the Xfinity title versus Suarez, who won it in overtime. In addition to his confidence, Jones also exudes intelligence. He says learning how to make Cup cars go fast has not been too much of a challenge. Apparently, Jones knows what he's looking for in chassis set-up.
"Driving the cars and getting the speed out of the cars hasn't been too big of a deal," he said. "I think like we've had good speed pretty much everywhere. It's been more of a matter of everything else: The execution of getting on and off pit road, pit stops, strategy, everything that plays into these races.
"We're learning more about that as a team. It's a whole new group with Chris Gayle, who is a rookie crew chief. We have a lot of guys on the team that are first-year Cup guys so we're all learning together and trying to figure it out more and more as we go."
On sheer talent, Jones appears to be in a similar situation as Elliott was last year. Elliott had an impressive rookie campaign and made it to the Round of 12 in last year's postseason Chase. But restarts, pit stops, strategy and luck were decisive in keeping him from gaining his first career Cup victory.
Jones was asked if he had talked with Elliott or Ryan Blaney, who occasionally led laps last year in his Wood Brothers Ford during his rookie campaign, about navigating his first year in the Cup. His answer was a bit surprising.
"I don't hang out with the other drivers too much," said Jones. "I kind of do my own thing. I show up at the race track to do my job and that's kind of always how it's been. I've always lived by the mentality that you bring your friends to the race track with you."
Throughout his professional career, Jones' only and closest confidante was his father. After his father died in June, Jones said it took the remainder of the season to get his head around the fact his father was no longer a phone call away when he ran into a problem he couldn't resolve.
Now Jones is content to work with his Furniture Row team, including teammate Martin Truex Jr., and otherwise figure things out on his own. He's grown up fast for a guy who won't turn 21 until May 30.
