Update No. 1 (May 2nd, 2024):
Despite being cleared by doctors and approved by NASCAR, Erik Jones will not pilot the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Kansas Speedway, per LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. Corey Heim will drive the No. 43 at Kansas Speedway before Jones makes his return the following weekend at Darlington Raceway.
“Erik Jones has been cleared to race by doctors and approved to return by NASCAR, but out of an abundance of caution the team has opted for Jones to rest for another event. Corey Heim will drive the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE at Kansas Speedway this weekend,” a statement from LEGACY MOTOR CLUB reads.”
“Jones will attend the race at Kansas Speedway to support crew chief Dave Elenz and the No. 43 team and plans to return to the driver’s seat next weekend at Darlington Raceway — a track where he has two NASCAR Cup Series victories.
Original Story (May 1st, 2024):
While Erik Jones was initially listed on the preliminary entry list for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in the No. 43 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entry, he has been replaced by Corey Heim on an updated entry list from NASCAR on Wednesday.
While Heim is on the updated entry list, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has yet to make an official announcement for this weekend’s race.
Jones is continuing to recover from a compression fracture in a lower vertebra, an injury he sustained in a hard crash in the final stage of the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Heim, 21, competed admirably in his NASCAR Cup Series debut last weekend at Dover Motor Speedway substituting for Jones as he finished the race in the 25th position. Heim completed 397 of the race’s 400 laps, but ultimately a caution flag came out while he was executing a pit stop, which hampered what could have been a top-20 run.
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has not given any official timetable for Jones’ return, and team co-owner Jimmie Johnson has expressed that he wants the driver to come back when his back is right instead of rushing back behind the wheel.
While Heim, a Toyota development driver, was announced as the reserve driver for 23XI Racing and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB this offseason, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has yet to name a replacement for Jones past Kansas. Without the plans set in stone, many have wondered whether Johnson could drive the No. 43 if Jones misses more time. Johnson is in the No. 84 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entry this weekend for the second consecutive week, but that car is not scheduled to run next weekend at Darlington Raceway.
