Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones shares health update ahead of his first road course dash since recovery at Sonoma - “This weekend will be a big test”

Ahead of the 17th Cup Series contention at the Sonoma Raceway, Erik Jones has given a health update on his recovery from the lower back compression fracture. This comes after the Legacy Motor Club driver succumbed to a horrific pileup at the Talladega Superspeedway.

The incident occurred on Lap 157, while the Toyotas fielded by Tyler Reddick, Jones, Bubba Wallace, John Hunter Nemechek, Martin Truex Jr., and Denny Hamlin ran bumper to bumper. However, the #42 Toyota fielded by Nemechek rammed into the #23's rear and a chain of events ensued, trapping Jones' #43 high-octane ride.

Shortly after the multi-car crash at the GEICO 500, the Legacy Motor Club driver was rushed to the infield care center. The impact was more severe than initially seemed, and Erik Jones was subsequently taken to a local hospital. The Michigan native missed the next two stints at the Dover Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

Since returning from the injury at the Darlington Raceway, Erik Jones is now gearing up for his first road course dash at the Sonoma Raceway. The 28-year-old shared his injury update while citing how his recent stint at Gateway Motorsports Park displayed a positive sign of his fitness level.

"It's good. I've felt 100% now for [the] last three weeks and back at the gym doing what I was doing before. As far as lifting weights, [I] don't have any lingering effects. I had a doctor's appointment last week, going to make sure everything's healing good, and it all looks good. So only have one more and two more months, that'll be my final one to check back up, but been feeling really good," Jones said via X.

"Gateway, I thought, was some of a test. There was so much heavy braking and shifting there obviously. Picked some stress on and it felt okay. This weekend will be a big test. Probably the most physical test since then that I've had at any track," the LMC driver added as he replied to Bob Pockrass. (0.44)

Erik Jones outlines his stint at Charlotte as his first "really good" weekend after the back injury

After getting trapped in the final stage crash at Talladega, Jones underwent treatment on his back, which marked his absence for two races. However, the #43 Toyota driver was at the LMC garage to mentor his replacement driver, Corey Heim.

Heim is a full-time Truck Series driver for Tricon Garage and savored his debut Cup run as he filled for the 3x Cup Series winner. Until that time, Erik Jones was still in pain, but since his injury was on the "mild side," the LMC driver was feeling pretty good and geared up for his next run at the Darlington Raceway.

However, it was at the Charlotte Motor Speedway that Jones felt comfortable in his ride again as it went through a seat adjustment. The Michigan native revealed it took a few weeks for him to gel in.

"Darlington, I had a ton of stuff different. I changed a couple of more things after that before Charlotte (Coca-Cola 600). Charlotte was the first race it felt really good, it felt really comfortable in the car again," the LMC driver said. (1.24)

"You know, you change seating position, you don't really think much about it, and doesn't sound like a big change but when you're used to sit one way for a long time and feeling certain things, it's a pretty big shift. It took me a couple of weeks to get used to that," Jones added.

With a solitary top 10 in the bag, Erik Jones is placed 26th in the Cup Series standings and will eye to churn a promising result at the upcoming Sonoma race.