WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- Furniture Row Racing formally introduced young NASCAR star Erik Jones as driver of a second Sprint Cup Series car the team will field in 2017.
Jones, 20, spoke with reporters at Watkins Glen International on Sunday morning before the Cheez-It 355 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Jones will drive the No. 77 Toyota with sponsorship from 5-hour Energy, and the car was unveiled in the Watkins Glen infield.
First look at @erik_jones with the @5hourenergy 77 Toyota Camry! #FurnitureRow #NASCAR #ToyotaNation pic.twitter.com/i8v5Xpc6xV
— Furniture Row Racing (@FR78Racing) August 7, 2016
"It's hard to say I'm not excited, but anxious at the same time," Jones said. "Anxious for this day, and excited to be here,. It's pretty cool for me to be partnered up with Furniture Row and be part of them growing and part of 5‑hour, too. To have such a big company like that be partnered with me is pretty cool this early in my racing career and something I've always wanted. Just a good fit all around.
"I've had the chance to kind of meet with everybody, get everything lined up, to see it all come together here over the past month or so has been a pretty cool experience for me. Got a lot to do this year yet, but definitely excited for next year."
Team owner Barney Visser said that Jones' contract is for one year, and that the team is actively pursuing a Charter for 2017.
MORE: Fast facts on Charter system
The reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, Jones is currently fourth in the XFINITY Series points standings with three victories. He sits first in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Grid.
He has three previous Cup starts -- all in Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. He filled in one race (Kansas) for an injured Kyle Busch in 2015 and then substituted for a suspended Matt Kenseth at both Texas and Phoenix later in the season. He scored a career best 12th place in Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota at Texas.
"I think a day like today, you have to put in perspective," said Toyota Racing Development's General Manager David Wilson. "Think about this. It was less than four years ago that Erik Jones, famously now, beat Kyle Busch in the Snowball Derby super late model race. Last year Erik won his first NASCAR championship with Kyle Busch Motorsports. This year obviously Erik is fighting for an XFINITY Series championship with Joe Gibbs Racing.
"So next year for him to ascend to the Cup Series with Furniture Row Racing is a spectacular story. Three different teams in three consecutive years. Toyota is the fortunate and grateful common denominator in that equation."
Wilson said he expected Jones to begin sitting in at Toyota Sprint Cup racing briefings this year while the young driver continues to race for the XFINITY Series title.
It was a big weekend of news for the Denver-based Furniture Row Racing.
The team announced Friday it had re-signed its current driver Martin Truex Jr. to an additional two-year contract that will cover 2018-2019 seasons.
Truex advanced to the four-driver championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway last season, finishing fourth in the final standings. He had a dominating victory from the pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway this year for the Coca-Cola 600 -- leading 392 of 400 laps -- and is currently ranked eighth in the standings as he prepares for a second championship run.
"Obviously they've been working on it for quite a while," Truex said. "I think for us, and the long-term future of our company it's a good thing. It's stability. It's more people, more money coming in. You could probably race two cars cheaper than one as far as per car. Bringing in more sponsorship will help.
"I think short term it might be a little more challenging. Our shop isn't real big, not a lot of space. We need to make sure when bringing in more people it doesn't upset the chemistry we've got going on. But Joe (Garone) and (Truex's crew chief) Cole (Pearn) and those guys will make sure they have people who fit into their system and way they do things and won’t upset the apple cart, so to speak.
"From Toyota side and JGR side, obviously it's really good for that relationship and anything we can do to keep that going, make that stronger, build that through is going to be good."
Jones, 20, spoke with reporters at Watkins Glen International on Sunday morning before the Cheez-It 355 (2:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Jones will drive the No. 77 Toyota with sponsorship from 5-hour Energy, and the car was unveiled in the Watkins Glen infield.
First look at @erik_jones with the @5hourenergy 77 Toyota Camry! #FurnitureRow #NASCAR #ToyotaNation pic.twitter.com/i8v5Xpc6xV
— Furniture Row Racing (@FR78Racing) August 7, 2016
"It's hard to say I'm not excited, but anxious at the same time," Jones said. "Anxious for this day, and excited to be here,. It's pretty cool for me to be partnered up with Furniture Row and be part of them growing and part of 5‑hour, too. To have such a big company like that be partnered with me is pretty cool this early in my racing career and something I've always wanted. Just a good fit all around.
"I've had the chance to kind of meet with everybody, get everything lined up, to see it all come together here over the past month or so has been a pretty cool experience for me. Got a lot to do this year yet, but definitely excited for next year."
Team owner Barney Visser said that Jones' contract is for one year, and that the team is actively pursuing a Charter for 2017.
MORE: Fast facts on Charter system
The reigning NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion, Jones is currently fourth in the XFINITY Series points standings with three victories. He sits first in the NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase Grid.
He has three previous Cup starts -- all in Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas. He filled in one race (Kansas) for an injured Kyle Busch in 2015 and then substituted for a suspended Matt Kenseth at both Texas and Phoenix later in the season. He scored a career best 12th place in Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota at Texas.
"I think a day like today, you have to put in perspective," said Toyota Racing Development's General Manager David Wilson. "Think about this. It was less than four years ago that Erik Jones, famously now, beat Kyle Busch in the Snowball Derby super late model race. Last year Erik won his first NASCAR championship with Kyle Busch Motorsports. This year obviously Erik is fighting for an XFINITY Series championship with Joe Gibbs Racing.
"So next year for him to ascend to the Cup Series with Furniture Row Racing is a spectacular story. Three different teams in three consecutive years. Toyota is the fortunate and grateful common denominator in that equation."
Wilson said he expected Jones to begin sitting in at Toyota Sprint Cup racing briefings this year while the young driver continues to race for the XFINITY Series title.
It was a big weekend of news for the Denver-based Furniture Row Racing.
The team announced Friday it had re-signed its current driver Martin Truex Jr. to an additional two-year contract that will cover 2018-2019 seasons.
Truex advanced to the four-driver championship race at Homestead-Miami Speedway last season, finishing fourth in the final standings. He had a dominating victory from the pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway this year for the Coca-Cola 600 -- leading 392 of 400 laps -- and is currently ranked eighth in the standings as he prepares for a second championship run.
"Obviously they've been working on it for quite a while," Truex said. "I think for us, and the long-term future of our company it's a good thing. It's stability. It's more people, more money coming in. You could probably race two cars cheaper than one as far as per car. Bringing in more sponsorship will help.
"I think short term it might be a little more challenging. Our shop isn't real big, not a lot of space. We need to make sure when bringing in more people it doesn't upset the chemistry we've got going on. But Joe (Garone) and (Truex's crew chief) Cole (Pearn) and those guys will make sure they have people who fit into their system and way they do things and won’t upset the apple cart, so to speak.
"From Toyota side and JGR side, obviously it's really good for that relationship and anything we can do to keep that going, make that stronger, build that through is going to be good."
