The National Football League (NFL) has plenty of takers in NASCAR despite the competitiveness between the two leagues for a larger share of the American sports market. One such staunch NFL follower in stock car racing is Legacy Motor Club driver Erik Jones. A native of Byron, Michigan, he cheers for the Detroit Lions and most recently even attended one of the team’s games.
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Jones was spotted along with his friends at the Ford Field on Sunday watching the Detroit Lions vs Buffalo Bills game. He shared pictures of the experience on X with the caption, “Sundays are for the boys. Had a great time with my buddies this weekend at the Lions game. #OnePride.” The driver revealed in an interview earlier this year why the Lions are close to his heart.
Sundays are for the boys. Had a great time with my buddies this weekend at the Lions game. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/cl7ntcGP16
— Erik Jones (@Erik_Jones) December 16, 2024
He said on DirtyMo Media, “The Lions, for me growing up, were horrible. I was younger when we went through the 0-16 season and had a lot of losing years. I’ve only seen them go to the wild card round one time right before this.” This string of forgettable years is why he puts a lot of value on it when the Lions perform well and win games. Unfortunately, Sunday wasn’t one of those moments.
The team lost to the Bulls following yet another injured player David Montgomery. Despite the loss, Jones’ support did not go unappreciated by the team. The Lions sent him a set of the 2024 jerseys before the season began and acknowledged his identity as a fan. He put up pictures on X, wearing the shirt in Talladega, and expressed his joy. All this is owed to his hometown of Byron.
What Jones loves about Byron, Michigan
He revealed on the 12 Questions series hosted by Jeff Gluck this year that he has a house in Byron and he goes there as much as he can. “I appreciate it a lot more now than I ever did,” he said. “When I was a kid, I wasn’t in a hurry to leave, but I wanted to get to Charlotte and I wanted to be around racing and be a part of the scene.” However, once he got to Charlotte, he began getting homesick.
He continued to note that the town’s population was just around 400 or 500 people and most of them knew each other on a personal level. Jones loves how quiet things are and how easily accessible everything is. He added, “I’ve just come to love the quietness of it and the slow pace. It’s 20 minutes to the grocery store.”
“You go back there, and it’s just quiet and relaxing and people don’t know how to really find you sometimes. You can kind of get off the grid for a minute and just relax.” Being a new dad, he must love the idea of spending time with his family in his Byron home away from the chaos of racing.
