Erik Jones lives life on the road but never | Sports News

Erik Jones’ hometown of Byron, Michigan is a far cry from the NASCAR Cup Series. With a population of much less than 600 people, it’s small. But it holds a huge place in Jones’ coronary heart.

The Legacy Motor Club driver is one of NASCAR’s most charitable drivers. His basis helps a vary of worthy causes, whether or not it’s taking his ardour for studying to children, supporting animal welfare or driving most cancers change, having misplaced his dad to the illness in 2016 and seen his mother, Carol, twice combat breast most cancers.

While he finds it unimaginable to tug aside the most rewarding half of his work, he makes a level to try to give back close to his roots. This weekend, the Cup Series takes him back close to home for the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

“Well, it’s hard to pick one,” Jones tells Express US Sports. “I will say that I think the easiest ones that always are fun for me are when we donate the book vending machines. That’s really cool. And doing some readings to the class and the kids. That’s just always a lot of fun.

“The grant-making that we do at the end of the year is obviously always super rewarding. We get a lot of requests and, you know, unfortunately we can’t honor every single request, but it is neat to pick through all the stories.

“Just see what everybody’s got going on in the world and the different charities and organizations that are out there and what they support, what they do and the pillars of our foundation is always cool.

“And for me, I love to keep it local. I grew up in Michigan in a really small town outside of Flint, and to keep it just local to the Genesee and Shiawassee County areas, it’s been something that’s been important for me.

“There’s a lot of struggle there at different times and a lot of people that need help. And for me to have a platform and be in a position that I can reach out and give back to that community is always super rewarding.”

These days, Jones is accustomed to being away from Michigan and dwelling life on the road, though this week he is had the luxurious of being back for his hometown race.

“I mean, I don’t know if you ever get used to it,” he admits. “I think you figure out how to manage it. The time that it takes and the days that you spend, just in the air, are long and tedious.

“And that is, I think, by far the hardest part of racing, is the travel and managing it.”

Travel is even tougher today, as Erik and his spouse, Holly, convey their 18-month-old son David to the race monitor, but he has added a new aspect to his race weekends.

“It’s definitely different with the family now and with David,” Jones says. “We try to bring him along to as many races as we can. And it’s fun to share with him.

“He’s so used to it already and just to see his reaction at the track, and learning more about it. He’s figuring out that we go there because I hop in the car. He sees the car now and recognizes that I get in and drive it.

“He’s putting more and more stuff together, and that part is really fun. It’s just making the most of that time and making it fun, too. You can’t have a negative outlook on it and let it drag and put a strain on everything. You’ve got to manage it well.”

When he’s at the monitor, Jones never forgets what it was like being a child himself, dreaming of getting up close to his heroes and getting an autograph. All these years later, it nonetheless isn’t misplaced on him how fortunate he’s that followers line up for his autograph.

“I think for me and I think for most guys, you always kind of try to take an extra second for the kids,” he says.

“You know, I think about when I was a kid and watching racing and I was obviously a fan of the sport. Just to meet the guys, it seems so far away.

“I think in some ways it seems closer now with social media and everything, you feel like you have a lot more access. But 20 years ago, there was none of that.

“And those guys, you just saw them on Sunday on TV and then maybe you read an article here and there. So they seemed like they were just in a different world. It was kind of a unique experience.

“But I always just try to take that extra time when I can for the kids. Just saying hi and grabbing a photo and signing their stuff. That’s always fun.

“When you get to go to the races and you see a good crowd and a good turnout and you get to meet those fans along the way that tell you stories from years ago or races they were at that you’ve won along the way. That’s always the fun. They’re stories that I enjoy hearing from them.”

Once Sunday ends and the time comes for the Jones household to pack up and start serious about their subsequent vacation spot, Erik finds consolation in spouse, Holly, herself a former dust monitor racer who understands the ups and downs he’s going through.

“There was definitely no explaining to do about what I do and how everything works,” he says. “The politics of it are all a little bit different at the Cup level and the things that we deal with compared to the short track racing.

“ We obviously have tons of partners and a lot of other things we deal with other than just hopping in and driving the race cars in the Cup Series on Sundays. So there’s a lot that comes along with it on that side that I think is more stressful than anything.

“The easy part of our job, honestly, is the Sunday, right? You know, you hop in and when you’re racing, that’s probably the easiest thing we do all week. So we always look forward to it.

“But it definitely helps, just having somebody that understands it and understands the stress and the strain at times of racing and how much of a roller coaster it can be, just the ups and downs of it.

“There’s so many very high highs and very low lows, and having somebody that understands that makes it a bit easier.”