Erik Jones discusses his 'tough year' after injury setback cost him 2 weeks

NASCAR driver, Erik Jones, recently opened up about his challenging season after a back injury forced him to miss two weeks of racing.

Jones is the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE driver for Legacy Motor Club in the Cup Series. He suffered a back injury during a crash at Talladega Superspeedway in April this year. The compression fracture in his lower vertebra was similar to the one Alex Bowman had last year, which also caused him to miss some races.

In a recent interview with FOX Sports, Erik Jones shared his thoughts on missing races.

“Tough year, in a lot of ways,” Jones said. “You know, obviously at the start of the year, things were okay. And then, we had the injury at Talladega and had to sit out a couple of weeks and that was frustrating. As a driver, it's just not fun to sit out and have to sit and watch.”

He also talked about the challenges he has faced since the injury and called it one of the hardest times in his career.

“Obviously the last four months that have led on after that event have been challenging, you know, probably some of the more challenging of my career. We're working hard trying to get things better. You know, nobody involved wants to run bad,” Jones added.

Jones was involved in a four-car wreck on lap 156 and hit the wall during the GEICO 500 at Talladega. He complained of back pain but got out of the car by himself. He was initially released from the care center but was taken to the hospital again for further checks.

Jones was cleared to race but returned at Darlington as Corey Heim replaced him until his recovery.

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"A pretty easy negotiation": Erik Jones on contract extension with Legacy Motor Club

The 28-year-old Erik Jones recently renewed his contract with Legacy Motor Club for the next year and 'beyond.' Jones joined the team in 2021 when it was Richard Petty Motorsports.

He earned a big win for the team at the 2022 Southern 500 at Darlington, his third career victory. Despite a tough season this year, Erik Jones claimed in a recent interview with Frontstretch that the contract talks were easy because both sides wanted the same thing.

"It’s always nice to have that done. Obviously, it was a pretty easy negotiation in general. I think both sides kind of knew what we wanted. Legacy was wanting to have me back...I went through that list of options and looked at what was available, who’s moving around. I thought at the end of the day, Legacy was going to be the best option for me to continue to grow and eventually be in a situation that I was really content with," Jones said.

Jones believes the team is improving and is determined to help them become strong competitors in the future.

He also enjoys racing late model cars and recently won a race at Jennerstown Speedway. He also talked about the importance of fair competition in NASCAR and thinks winning in any race helps boost his confidence.