The impact Kyle Busch had on several drivers through his Kyle Busch Motorsports team across the Truck and Auto Parts series is understated. 

Daniel Suarez openly thanked Busch for helping him transition into NASCAR when he celebrated his Charlotte win in the wake of Busch’s passing. And Bubba Wallace is another figure who would thank Busch for mentoring him.

But the story of how Erik Jones made it to NASCAR is one that the Legacy Motor Club driver claims wouldn’t have been possible without Kyle Busch.

In an interview with Kaitlyn Vincie on Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour YouTube channel on Friday, Jones revealed the impact Busch had on his career.

Jones said, “I don’t know if I ever would have really got to where I am. I think maybe there would have been some opportunity along the way, but probably not like he gave me with the trucks and the equipment that he had at the time that were top-notch. And I was able to go out and run up front and win.”

Back in 2012, in the late model Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway, Kyle Busch, who was building his reputation as a winner, ended up losing a well-fought battle to a 16-year-old Jones. Jones led 123 off 300 laps, racing Busch hard but fair to take the victory. That win had put Jones on the NASCAR map overnight.

Speaking about the trajectory of his career since speaking to Busch after the race win, he said, “I was 16 at the time. I didn’t have any opportunities in NASCAR at all. I wasn’t really getting any interest from anyone on that side of things. So all of a sudden, it opened up a door for me to go and drive his truck for a minute.”

Kyle Busch recognized his talent and offered him a developmental ride with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Jones recalled getting to do 5 races with KBM the following year and winning one, and then getting 14 races the following year before a full-time deal with KBM in 2015. 

How Busch became the ladder between Jones and JGR 

It would be Kyle Busch’s injury in Daytona back in 2015 that would be part of the domino effect that got Jones his first drive in the Cup series in Busch’s 18 Toyota at Kansas. 

While he made his full-time Cup debut later in 2017, that was his first full season with KBM in the Truck series, which he went on to win. Jones’ debut at Kansas was a topsy-turvy one, battling alongside Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick for a bit in the top 5 and even leading a lap before he ended in the wall at lap 196. 

In 2016, KBM’s Truck champ would get a full-time Xfinity deal with Toyota and JGR before driving in the Cup series for Furniture Row Racing in 2017. From there, he would go on to drive the 20 Toyota for JGR in the premier series in 2018. 

Jones credited Busch for helping him to get all the steps right. “All along the way, he was helping me build my relationship with Toyota and Joe Gibbs at the time to get in their Xfinity car and their O’Riley’s car and run races and then eventually go full-time for them. And eventually, after that, all the way to the Cup series.”

Jones still drives for a Toyota team, Legacy Motor Club, which was formerly Richard Petty Racing. Jones is now identified as driving the legendary Petty number 43 for Jimmie Johnson’s LMC as a tribute to former team owner and NASCAR legend King Richard Petty.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason