April 27, 2019 | By Lee Spencer

How does Joe Gibbs Racing solve the problem of too many drivers?

TALLADEGA, Ala.—With all the buzz surrounding the NFL draft this week, it invites the question: Who is the top prospect in NASCAR?

 

Despite the immense talent waiting in the wings for a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup ride, there’s no doubt that Christopher Bell leads the list.

 

Team owner Joe Gibbs recently reaffirmed his commitment to the 24-year-old, who has amassed 10 wins in 49 Xfinity Series starts. But there remains the dilemma of where to place Bell within Joe Gibbs Racing’s all-star lineup.

 

JGR’s roster boasts two Cup champions—Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Gibbs’ elder statesman, Denny Hamlin, has 33 wins in 479 starts. Under the direction of crew chief Chris Gabehart, the 38-year-old driver is enjoying the most productive season of his Cup career with an average finish of 5.6—second only to Busch’s 3.9.

 

And then there’s Erik Jones. The 22-year-old from Byron, Michigan, was fast-tracked up the NASCAR ladder. He won the Gander Outdoors Truck Series title in 2015—his first full year on the circuit. Jones nearly won the Xfinity Series championship the following year and led the tour with four wins among full-time competitors.

 

Jones won his first Cup race last year at Daytona in July and qualified for the Playoffs. But this year has been a struggle as he tries to develop the necessary consistency to be in contention at the end of races.

 

Although Jones is in a contract year, Gibbs has also pledged his commitment to the young driver, who is confident he’ll remain in the No. 20 Toyota next year.

 

“Yes, I expect to,” Jones said. “We’re working through it still right now. It’s just early. It’s early in the season to get everything really ironed out. It’s not in the forefront of my plate, for sure.

 

“I’ve got good people working on it from my group and good people from JGR as well. We’ve had good talks with them, and I think we’re moving in a good direction. Hopefully in the future here soon, we’ll have something to announce.”

 

Jones raced with Furniture Row Racing his rookie season when he was shuffled out of the JGR fold in 2017. Last year was his first year in the Cup series with JGR, although he was previously under contract to the company. Jones was adamant he would not be with another satellite Toyota team such as Leavine Family Racing—and Gibbs intimated that was not an option for Bell either.

 

If Jones is feeling pressure from the rumor mill, he’s certainly not showing it.

 

“It’s racing,” Jones said. “It’s happened in the past with different drivers, and it’s going to happen more in the future. It’s easy to speculate. As long as you know on the inside where you’re heading and you’re comfortable with it, there’s no reason why it should make you uncomfortable.

 

“I just show up and race. I’m a pretty private guy for the most part. I don’t share a lot about my life away from the track, I guess. I love to race and I love coming to the track each weekend and getting in the car. That’s what I love to do. I got such thick skin, I guess I just don’t pay attention much to the other things.”

 

Jones started the season off with two top-10 finishes—including third in the Daytona 500 behind his teammates Hamlin and Busch. He has two top fives and three top 10s in the first nine races. His qualifying average was strong until the team’s time was disallowed following post-qualifying inspection at Richmond and he was forced to start 37th. Jones recovered to finish 14th at a track that was difficult to pass.

 

While Jones is encourage by the progress his team has made this year, there are still a few areas that need to be addressed for the driver to contend on a weekly basis with his winning teammates.

 

“I think speed-wise, we’re there. Bristol and Texas I felt like we had cars that could have won. Bristol we had a loose when that put us out of it, a couple loose wheels. Then Texas, strategy just didn’t work out at the end for us.

 

“I feel like we’re there, we just need to execute and work out some other issues that we have. Speed-wise and handling-wise, I feel like our cars are plenty capable. Going to Dover, I think we’ll be fast again and even this weekend we should have a good shot. We’re there, we just have some other issues to iron out.”