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 social media video that he suffered a broken spine and would recover week by week. The Legacy Motor Club said Jones’ fracture was discovered after meeting with specialists in the Charlotte area.
NASCAR Truck Series driver Corey Heim will replace Jones in the No. 43 car at Dover Motor Speedway, making his Cup Series debut. Heim is Legacy’s reserve and test pilot.
“Erik’s long-term health is our number one priority,” Jimmie Johnson, co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, said in a statement. “It will be great to see him on track on Sunday and we plan to give him the time he needs 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 among a group of Toyotas racing single file Sunday when he was suddenly thrown into the wall without warning. He immediately came on the team radio, looking extremely sore, and said, “I don’t know if I’m okay,” before complaining of back pain and adding that he needed to help.
But Jones was evaluated and released from Inland Medical Center shortly afterward and did interviews with reporters in which he said he was just “painful” after his back was stretched in the crash.
By the end of the race, however, Jones had returned to the medical center alone and was sent to a hospital in nearby Birmingham, Alabama. He was evaluated and released later that night to return home to North Carolina.
This will be the first Cup Series race Jones has missed since becoming a full-time driver in 2017, ending a streak of 262 consecutive starts.
Ironically, Jones made his Cup debut in 2015 under similar circumstances to Heim today; 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 chose Heim as Jones’ replacement
That the Legacy Motor Club asked Heim to come off the bench to replace Jones is no surprise; Situations like this are why he was selected by LMC (and fellow Toyota-backed 23XI Racing) to serve as their backup driver in case of emergency.
Heim is in this position because he is considered one of NASCAR’s top prospects, which he demonstrated by winning the 2023 Truck Series regular season points championship and nearly the overall title before being scooped up 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 abilities, which are quite high for the 21-year-old driver, have drawn strong praise from many within Toyota, with those in the camp believing he has the talent to one day win at the level of the Cut. The only thing Heim lacks is experience, which he has gained since being named a reserve and simulator test pilot for LMC and 23XI in January. Heim took over the role previously held by John Hunter Nemechek, who LMC signed to drive its second car full-time this season.
“Obviously with John Hunter we had to look for someone and they went with Corey, and I thought it was a great choice,” 23XI driver Bubba Wallace said April 6 when Athleticism asked Wallace to assess Heim’s abilities. “I’m really looking at who’s coming up and Corey is kind of at the top of the list – he’s kind of on everyone’s radar – so it’s good to have him under the Toyota banner.”
Although Heim lacks any real experience behind the wheel of a Cup car, he is more than capable of acclimatizing quickly when he makes his debut Sunday at Dover. It’s not unprecedented for a driver to go from truck to cup when forced to perform an emergency service, and a few have excelled at this in recent years. That list includes Carson Hocevar, who made eight starts for LMC last year and finished 20th or better five times. —Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR writer
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(Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)