Erik Jones signed a contract extension ahead of the return to Michigan International Speedway. The three-time Cup Series winner had other options, but he stuck with Legacy Motor Club after seeing a path to winning races.
Jones provided some details about his contract negotiations Saturday morning at his home track. He explained that the process was easy overall considering that he wanted to return to the No. 43 Toyota and that Legacy MC wanted him back in the lineup.
Jones did his due diligence and saw what opportunities were available, but he didn't plan on leaving unless a sudden opening in a car that could immediately contend for wins and a championship.
"I think you always take a look when this comes around," Jones explained Saturday. "There was no advance discussions but the team encouraged that. They knew the whole time where I was at, and what I was interested in doing, but we pretty quickly came to a point to redoing a deal with Legacy.
"For me, looking at the landscape and where everything was at, what was possibly available, and what other opportunities were out there - none of them were enticing enough for me that made me want to make a move."
Jones knows that switching teams is hard. He has done so once already in his career when he went from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Petty Motorsports ahead of the 2021 season.
Going through this process is not something Jones particularly desired, especially as he saw Legacy MC striving to bring in personnel who could help make both full-time cars more competitive.
Recent moves have included the hiring of General Manager Bobby Kennedy and Director of Competition Jacob Canter. These additions followed the team also bringing in Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth as competition advisor and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne as driver optimization leader.
"Looking at the landscape of Legacy, obviously, (we) made the move to Toyota and it has been a challenge," Jones said. "It has been a big undertaking for us, but we have recently brought on more people to kind of build that gap and continue to grow that and figure out how we are going to make ourselves a race-winning team.
"It has been a lot of emotion, right? I came to the 43 and it was definitely not a race-winning team, and then we got back to a race-winning team, and now we are back to in the ebb and flow of not being where we want to be, so but right now, regardless of what the results are showing, I would say that we are in a better spot for the future, than it's really ever been since I've been in the 43 car."
Jones has faith that Legacy Motor Club is on the path to being consistently competitive. The team believes that he is the driver who can deliver wins and playoff appearances in the coming years. These results may not come in the remaining races this season, but the team will continue pushing for improved performance at Michigan and beyond.
Jones, meanwhile, will contribute while having the confidence that he will be a key figure for multiple years to come.