Erik Jones seeks "to come to an understanding" with Chase Briscoe before NASCAR's Cup race at Bristol

Cup Series driver Erik Jones has once again opened up on his troubles with fellow NASCAR driver Chase Briscoe ahead of the Food City 500 race in Bristol on Sunday, March 17.

Jones busted heads with Stewart-Haas Racing driver Briscoe during the NASCAR Cup race in Phoenix last weekend. Starting from fourth position, the 27-year-old driver had delivered one of his career-best performances in the first half of the race.

However, following a restart with 92 laps remaining, Erik Jones found himself in a heated battle alongside Chase Briscoe. The clash resulted in Jones making contact with the outside wall, damaging his car and ultimately relegating him to a 31st-place finish.

Jones didn't back down from expressing his frustrations with Briscoe following the race. He said the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 driver has troubles with him "almost every week."

Now, ahead of the Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Erik Jones still hopes to ring up Chase Briscoe prior to the event and address the lingering frustrations between them. He told journalist Bob Pockrass (via On3.com):

"No I haven’t today, I hope to call him this afternoon and talk. I don’t really like to talk early in the week, I think everybody’s still made including myself and probably Chase as well. Yeah, I hope we can come to an understanding, the frustration is there, it’s still there, right?"

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Erik Jones believes Chase Briscoe didn't "realize" his mistake following the race

Jones, who drives for the Jimmie Johnson-owned Legacy Motor Club, believes that Briscoe may not have fully realized the extent of his mistake during the Phoenix race. Expressing hope for a productive conversation between them, he added:

"We still got wrecked. I don’t think it was all on him but I think it was probably more on him than what he realized at the time. Maybe has a different opinion now, I don’t know hope to talk to him this afternoon and go into this weekend with an understanding."

The 27-year-old driver of the No. 43 Toyota doesn't wish to carry the animosity to future NASCAR races. He added:

"I don’t really like to carry things on, I don’t like to be in car fights on the race track and I just hope we can have an understanding of how we want to race going forward."

After five races in the 2024 season, Erik Jones is 18th in the Cup Series standings with 84 points. Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe, with 83 points, ranks just below Jones, in 19th.