Erik Jones aims high at Bristol, confronts the huge task of 'trying to keep up' for 500 laps in NASCAR Cup race

Aneesh
NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children
Erik Jones, driver of the #43 Family Dollar Toyota, looks on in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 08, 2024 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones has outlined the big ask of the upcoming 500-lap race as he looks to get his season back on track at Bristol.

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The commencement of the NASCAR Food City 500 will mark the fifth race on the 2024 Cup Series calendar. The 0.533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway will witness a lineup of 36 drivers battling for the top spot. The race on Sunday, March 17, at 3.30 PM ET will be preceded by the practice session and the qualifying stint on Saturday, 5 PM ET and 5.50 PM ET, respectively.

Erik Jones ventured into the 2024 season with a top-10 finish at the season-opener Daytona 500. However, the former couldn't keep up with his form and saw his performance plummet in the upcoming races.

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Finishing P25 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, P14 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and a season-worst P31 at the Phoenix Raceway, the Michigan native has collected 84 points and sits at P18 in the Cup Series driver's rankings.

Ahead of his 500-lap dash, Jones opined on the difficulty of keeping up with a lengthy race like the Food City 500. The #43 LMC driver also shed light on the physical and mental toll that occurs during a long Cup Series outing.

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During an interview with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, the 28-year-old spoke about the exhausting affair with the 500-lap races. His views were shared on X (formerly Twitter):

"It's hard to stay totally focused all the time. Your brain gets tired trying to keep up with when the track's moving around, when you gotta move around, what's the cars doing, so it's not easy to stay on for 500 laps. I'd say that's one of the tougher parts about Bristol."
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Erik Jones lashed out at Chase Briscoe's questionable maneuvers on the restarts that robbed his Phoenix prospects

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell clinched the recently concluded Shriners Children 500 win, registering his first triumph of the season. However, for Erik Jones, his day ended on a dismal note. Despite clocking the fourth-fastest time at Saturday's qualifying run, the #14 driver couldn't churn out a satisfactory result.

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According to Jones, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe is to be blamed for that. During a post-race interview, the LMC driver unraveled his frustration on how the SHR driver's moves have been the reason behind his dipping positions on the restarts. Moreover, the former also accused Briscoe of putting him in such a position that he got wrecked into the wall while running door-to-door with him.

Erik Jones vented his anger as he spoke to motorsports journalist Bryan Nolen, which was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Frontstretch:

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"The 14's [Erik's car] dragging us down over and over on the restart...I got wrecked. That sucks, but he seems to have an issue with me every week."

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Edited by Aniket Rai
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