Legacy Motor Club announced earlier this month that two-time Southern 500 winner Erik Jones has signed a multi-year contract extension with it. The 28-year-old driver joined the outfit back in 2021 when it was under different ownership. The development will keep him in No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE for the foreseeable future but it did not come without multiple layers of thought.
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Jones spoke about it during a press conference in Michigan and revealed what it took to put his pen on the paper. When the dates on his original contract began narrowing down, he had little option but to consider moving to a different team. The only criteria that he had for a future destination was that it be a currently race-winning team that could push him towards a championship.
The lack of seats at such organizations made him see the sense in staying with Legacy. Jones said, “I think we are building that [a race-winning, championship-contending team] right now with LEGACY, and that is a time away right now, but unless that was an instant move that I could make, I wasn’t changing.” A key part of his decision was the intentions of the team owners.
Jones is just entering the prime period of his racing career. The upcoming ten years will be crucial in crafting his legacy and he wishes to be associated with a team that will give him the best set of resources. He believes that Jimmie Johnson, Maury Gallagher, and Richard Petty have all brought in people who will lift the team to that level of sophistication that he dreams of.
How the discussions with Jimmie Johnson changed Jones’ mind
He continued to reveal that multiple discussions with Johnson and Cal Wells, the team president, had helped him gain clarity about the direction in which Legacy was headed. He added, “We don’t ignore the fact and how we are going to get where we want to be. It was laid out to me, well enough, that I felt good about coming back. There is a plan in place.”
The management was working on bringing fresh faces into the shop even as the deal was still being redone. The intent is what has inspired Jones that he is already at the best place suited for his career over the next decade.
He underlined the same in a team release, “I’ve been with the No. 43 car for a handful of years and feel like I’m coming into some of the best years of my career. I am hoping to grow alongside Legacy MC in the seasons to come.” His next race will be at the Darlington Raceway this weekend.
