Erik Jones will miss this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway following a brutal crash Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Jones said in a video on social media that he has a spinal fracture and will take his recovery week by week. Legacy Motor Club said Jones’ fracture was discovered after he met with specialists in the Charlotte area.
NASCAR Truck Series driver Corey Heim will substitute for Jones in the No. 43 car at Dover Motor Speedway, and will make his Cup Series debut in the process. Heim is the reserve and test driver for Legacy.
“Erik’s long-term health is our number one priority,” Jimmie Johnson, Legacy Motor Club co-owner, said in a release. “It will be great to see him at the track Sunday and we intend to give him the time it takes to recover properly. I know Corey will do a great job behind the wheel for the club.”
— Erik Jones (@Erik_Jones) April 23, 2024
Jones was part of a group of Toyotas running in a single-file line Sunday when he was suddenly turned into the wall with no warning. He immediately came on the team radio, sounding in extreme pain, and said, “I don’t know if I’m OK,” before complaining of back pain and adding that he needed help.
But Jones was evaluated and released from the infield medical center shortly after and did interviews with reporters in which he said he was just “sore” after his back got stretched out in the crash.
By the end of the race, though, Jones had returned to the medical center on his own and was sent to a hospital in nearby Birmingham, Ala. He was evaluated and released later that night to return home to North Carolina.
This will mark the first Cup Series race Jones has ever missed since becoming a full-time driver in 2017, snapping a streak of 262 consecutive starts.
In a bit of irony, Jones made his Cup debut in 2015 under similar circumstances as Heim now will; as a teenager, Jones made one start in place of the injured Kyle Busch and two starts for the suspended Matt Kenseth for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Why Legacy picked Heim as Jones’ substitute
That Legacy Motor Club would tab Heim to come off the bench to substitute for Jones is no surprise; it’s situations like this one is why he was selected by LMC (and fellow Toyota-supported team 23XI Racing) to serve as its reserve driver in case of an emergency.
Heim is in this position because he is regarded as one of NASCAR’s top prospects, something he demonstrated in winning the 2023 Truck Series regular-season points championship and nearly the overall title before being collected in a late accident during the championship final. This season, Heim ranks second in the Truck Series standings and has not finished outside the top 10 in seven starts.
Heim’s ability has drawn strong praise from many within Toyota, which is quite high for the 21-year-old, and believes he possesses the talent to one day win at the Cup level. The one thing Heim lacks is experience, something he has gained since being named in January as the reserve and simulator test driver for LMC and 23XI. Heim took over the role previously held by John Hunter Nemechek, who LMC signed to drive its second car full-time this season.
“Obviously, John Hunter moving up we needed to look for somebody and they went for Corey, and I thought that was an excellent choice,” 23XI driver Bubba Wallace said on April 6 when The Athletic asked Wallace to assess Heim’s ability. “I really look at who’s coming up and Corey is kind of at the top of the list — he’s kind of on everybody’s radar — so it’s nice to have him under the Toyota banner.”
Although Heim lacks actual real-world experience in a Cup car, he’s more than capable of quickly acclimating himself when he makes his debut Sunday at Dover. It’s not unprecedented for a driver to jump from Trucks to Cup when pressed into emergency duty, with a handful in recent years excelling when doing so. This list includes Carson Hocevar, who made eight starts for LMC last year and five times finished 20th or better. — Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR writer
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(Photo: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
