COMMENTARY: Jones, Bell Battling For Their JGR Lives

Jones was strong again at Pocono

Erik Jones finished third behind Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex, Jr. Sunday at Pocono Raceway, continuing the most successful streak of his brief, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career.

Preceded by third-place finishes at both Kentucky and New Hampshire -- and with Top-10 showings in eight of his last 11 starts -- the Byron, Michigan youngster has solidified his playoff hopes dramatically in the last six weeks, surging from 18^th to 13^th in the championship standings.

Ironically, he may need every bit of that success to keep his job at JGR.

Not long ago, Jones was seen as an unassailable part of Gibbs’ long-term plan. But with resurgent veteran Denny Hamlin banishing the memories of a winless 2018 campaign with his third victory of the season at Pocono Sunday and Toyota wunderkind Christopher Bell winning Xfinity Series races virtually at will, Jones now finds his future in question with an organization that will soon have more elite drivers than available seats.

After replacing former series champion Matt Kenseth in JGR’s No. 20 Toyota just two years ago, Jones is in the final year of his contract. While all parties have spoken about the possibility of an extension, no such contract has yet been signed.

Jones hears the rumors.

"It's so hard putting everything together," admitted Gibbs Sunday at Pocono. "I know people get frustrated because you haven't made a decision yet on some things. But I just say this: there are sponsors involved, so many relationships involved, you're trying to get through that and work it all out. That's part of Erik's world. It doesn't go easy sometimes. He knows. I keep him updated (and) he knows we're working as hard as we can. Hopefully, it will be one of those things we get put in place here pretty quick."

Gibbs’ lukewarm endorsement did little to silence the speculators, and with Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. going nowhere in 2020, it appears that either Jones or Bell may be headed to Leavine Family Racing next season; either as a replacement for Matt DiBenedetto or as driver of a new, second LFR Toyota.

Both Jones and Bell hear the scuttlebutt. They know the importance of running up front – every single week -- and showcasing their value to an organization that will soon have a critical decision to make.

“We’ve had some good meetings, positive meetings, so we’re moving in the right direction,” said Jones two weeks ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I’d love to get it done here soon. We’ve had good meetings between my guys and JGR. I’ve had good meetings with Coach talking about it and moving forward. I know I keep saying it, but I feel like we’re pretty close to getting it done.

“I want to get it done. We both want to get it done and move forward and stop worrying about it and stop focusing on it, but we’re close. Hopefully here soon.”

Christopher Bell just keeps winning.

For his part, Bell admitted feeling powerless to determine his future path, telling reporters, “I think you know as much as I do. Actually, you probably know a little bit more than I do. Ultimately, it’s not up to me. I can’t make the decisions. I’m just along for the ride.”

He also commented on rumors of a possible move to Leavine Family Racing, saying, “I learned early on in my career that a race car driver is only as good as the equipment. I definitely want to make sure that I’m in equipment that can win.”

Bell is clearly a blue-chip prospect, with Toyota Racing Development President David Wilson stating repeatedly that the Oklahoma speedster, “will never drive anything but a Toyota in NASCAR National Series competition.”

With a finite number of seats available in NASCAR’s premier series, however, something has got to give, and soon. Toyota has historically emphasized quality over quantity in its MENCS efforts, fielding a smaller number of cars, while devoting a higher level of resources to each. That approach has paid clear dividends, with both JGR and Furniture Row Racing contending annually for the championship and winning multiple titles.

Jones and Bell have not competed head-to-head since the end of the 2017 Xfinity Series season. But make no mistake about it, they are in direct competition today, battling for one of the premier seats in all of NASCAR.

May the best man win.