‘The gap is about 90 percent closer than what it’s been the last few years,’ Erik Jones believes the Next-Gen cars makes NASCAR more competitive  

‘The gap is about 90 percent closer than what it’s been the last few years,’ Erik Jones believes the Next-Gen cars makes NASCAR more competitive  

Erik Jones

NASCAR will enter Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 3ed round of cup series the Pennzoil 400 this weekend and fans are more excited about the Next-Gen cars following the performance it has produced in the last two races. Though there is some trouble to the wheels and tires with the new car teams are confident they can get over it produce good races.

Contrary to his disappointing 2021 season Erik Jones now has a car that helps him to score higher finishes and the 25-year-old is having an amazing season in his  No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet. The merging of his team Richard Petty Motorsports organization and GMS Racing provided him with opportunities to succeed.

Erik Jones has been on the mark from the beginning of with him finishing P3 in last weekend’s Wise Power 400 just missing out on the win to champion Kyle Larson and was top of his game in terms of speed in Daytona. The Michigan native has recently shared his confidence in the performance of the Next-Gen car and how it can bring the grid closer.

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Find out what Erik Jones had to say on the Next-Gen car’s performance in 2022

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“I would say the gap is about 90 percent closer than what it’s been the last few years”: Erik Jones

Erik Jones said drivers and teams are figuring out how the car is performing, what is the right or wrong approach to run better on the track and they just have a few ideas that aren’t materialized. He went on to say that the introduction of Next-Gen cars has brought the field together by a lot as he points out that the gap among the teams is 90% closer than it was before.

“For the driver, you were kind of locked into what you got. Every driver wants something different, so I had to kind of adapt and figure that out. We don’t know everything – right or wrong – with it. We have ideas on it but we don’t truly know…,” Erik Jones said.

“For sure, right now we’re on track to have at least somewhat of a leg up at this point of the season. I would say the gap is about 90 percent closer than what it’s been the last few years,” Erik Jones added.

“The Next-Gen car, it’s opened so many doors for us,” Erik Jones is confident about scoring high in his 2022 season

Erik Jones
Erik Jones

Erik Jones acknowledged that he can produce more speed and performance with his new generation car which put his team in a good spot at the point table. He went on to say Contrary to his underwhelming experience with team RPM last season the Next-Gen car has opened so many doors for them as they now only have to make advancements on the parts supplied by the manufacturers than focus on the whole car.

“The Next-Gen car, I think, has been great for us so far, just two races in. Hopefully, we can continue it this weekend in Las Vegas. It’s going to be a different challenge for the race car than what we saw last week. It’ll be a learning process, for sure, but the speed has been there at both Daytona and Fontana. We’re in a good spot in points right now and we’d like to keep that going,” Erik jones said.

“When I came to RPM last season, the (Gen 6) car was in a development freeze. It was what it was. There was nothing left to gain on it…with the Next-Gen car, I think it’s opened so many doors for us. Having the same parts and pieces – we just have to take that wheel they’ve given us and make it a little bit rounder,” Erik Jones added.

Also read: ‘It should have been done before,’ Austin Dillon calls out NASCAR for not solving the flat tire issues with Next-Gen cars earlier