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NASCAR Cup Series driver of the #43 Toyota Camry XSE until last weekend, Erik Jones has been relegated to the sidelines as the sport races at Dover Motor Speedway today. The 2024 Wurth 400 has seen Craftsman Truck Series regular Corey Heim fill in for Jones after the latter suffered a big crash at Talladega Superspeedway.
Jones sustained a compression fracture in his back after making contact with the outside wall of the superspeedway last weekend while drafting with his Toyota teammates trying to sway fuel-saving strategy into a victory for the Japanese automotive giant.
However, that did not seem to go as per plan and Jones elaborated on how being on the sidelines and top of the pit box with Legacy Motor Club's #43 crew gave him a new perspective on the team's operations. The 27-year-old joked about how he was introduced to a new way of communication within the team and said during FOX Sports live coverage of the event:
"There's a lot of trash talk around the intercom that I don't really pick up. They trash talk about everybody, in the booth, on the track. They've been good, it's neat to see it from a different perspective. It's been a long time since I've sat on a pit box or watched a race really anywhere."
Denny Hamlin's thoughts on Erik Jones' fateful crash from last weekend
Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 23XI Racing co-owner recently spoke about how different parameters unique to different drivers can affect the nature of injuries sustained by drivers during what seems like similar wrecks in NASCAR.
Hamlin spoke on how seat angles and posture of certain drivers can also pose a risk of them getting hurt and told Bob Pockrass:
"A lot of it is going to depend on seat position as well. If he's in a laid-back position, certainly could put some more load on your spine in these types of wrecks, especially going up the hill played a really big factor."
It remains to be seen where Denny Hamlin finishes today's Cup Series race, as Erik Jones enjoys his day on top of the pit box.
