Erik Jones has to be upset as another solid race was lost when his car stepped out from under him on lap 265 and slammed hard into the outside wall in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
However, Jones needs to be thanking his lucky stars for heads up driving by 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, who somehow, some way avoided slamming into Jones’ driver’s side door at full speed as Jones’ No. 43 car slid back across the frontstretch.
How close was Bubba to slamming into Jones? Here is the replay from FOX’s race broadcast:
Whoa … ? … Erik Jones slams the wall and then Bubba Wallace hooks it hard left to miss slamming into the 43. pic.twitter.com/R8eOIQDkjX
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 7, 2022
Jones was still done for the day after the incident, but he will be able to race again next week with no issue. Wallace, also spun avoiding Jones and hit the inside tire barrier, but he was able to still soldier on to finish 25th, one lap off the pace.
Wallace should be commended for the maneuver on Sunday.
Despite the subpar end results, Wallace now sits ninth in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings while Jones finds himself in 15th in the No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports machine.
