#NASCAR Teleconference With NASCAR NEXT Drivers Erik Jones And Jesse Little

This last weekend NASCAR Next drivers Erik Jones and Jesse Little both scored wins in their respective series.

Eighteen-year-old Erik drives the No. 51 Toyota Care Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and seventeen-year-old Jesse drives the No. 97 NASCAR Technical Institute Chevrolet in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Erik is set to make his Nationwide Series debut with Joe Gibbs Racing this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.

Some Questions from the Teleconference

Question: Erik, I know that earlier in the season in the 51 truck you had had some issues. How big was it to run the way you did on Friday night, especially given the fact that you're making a Nationwide debut this weekend?

ERIK JONES: Well, it was great in a lot of ways. First of all, we did have some trouble at the beginning of the year, really none of our own doing, but I was happy that we could finally really put it all together here and pick up a win there at Iowa. That was a pretty cool deal and definitely gave me a lot of momentum going into next weekend and into the Nationwide race.

It was definitely a great win in a lot of ways for everybody over here at KBM and for myself just to get some momentum going. Hopefully we can carry it into this next weekend and keep going on the Nationwide side of things.

And also, is the plan still for you to run the Nationwide races at Bristol and Phoenix later this year?

ERIK JONES: Yep, that's the plan, just those three races we'll be doing. Phoenix will be double duty with the truck and the Nationwide car.

Question: Erik and Jesse, the usual suspects, those individuals that have influenced your racing career with Chad Little for Jesse and maybe Kyle and Joe Gibbs for Erik, but what other individuals have been a part of your development and influence to get you where you are today?

ERIK JONES: I would say for me, you know, obviously my mom and dad have been able to guide me the right direction in my racing career, and I'm a first-generation racer, I'm not from a racing family of any sort, so it's been really a deal of finding people in the racing industry to kind of influence me and show me which way to go. But definitely Kyle has been a big influence on me and pointing me in the right direction and helping me out. I think he's been the biggest person in my career, especially since I've been up at the late model level and above that has been able to really show me the right way to go and what is definitely his opinion on what he thinks I should do next.

JESSE LITTLE: Yeah, I'm in a different boat than Erik. I grew up in the racing world, and that's really all I know. I don't know really too many people outside of it. But other than, like you said, my dad and my mom, it's just people that have been close to my dad and have helped him through his career that he's stayed close with and now I'm beginning to build relationships with. That goes for my dad's old crew chief when he was in the Nationwide Series, Harold Holly, who is Joey's crew chief now, Joey Coulter in the Truck Series, to just everybody that helped him, like I said, in his career. Other than that, it's just really been my dad who really just helps me outside of the car and mainly inside.

Question: Jesse, as far as Virginia International Raceway for the K&N East, what are your thoughts going back to the road course?

JESSE LITTLE: I love it. I got to do both road courses last year in the K&N Series, and I enjoyed it a lot. It's a lot of fun. It's something different. It was my first time on a road course, and I had a blast. I'm looking forward to going back this year, and hopefully we can build a little bit on our finishing. I've got an idea of it now, so I think going in I'm a lot more confident in myself, and it should be a lot of fun.

Question: For both Erik and Jesse, there seems to be a lot of young guys moving up different ranks in NASCAR, and obviously there's a lot of talent out there, and maybe be some big changes the next couple years. What's the biggest challenge that you both think you feel that you've got as you try to take the steps up, and how do you learn from the veterans? Do you watch them on the track? Do you just take everything in stride? Do you listen, that kind of thing?

ERIK JONES: I would say my biggest challenge for a long time was my age. Honestly I was stuck being below 18 and I didn't have an opportunity to run a lot of racetracks that were on the schedule. But obviously that's now out of the way.

Now it's just a matter of getting my name out there, getting a sponsor. It's so hard when you're a young guy that's not well known to find somebody that wants to support you because at the same time there's a lot of sponsors don't want to go and help out a guy that's not well known in the racing world when you can go help out somebody that's known to everybody.

That's the toughest part for me, and on the side of learning from veterans, I would say that I just try to talk to them as much as I can and go and -- any chance I get to speak to one of them, I take it and just take it all in and watch what they're doing.

JESSE LITTLE: Yeah, I second Erik with that completely. I think the biggest thing at both of our ages is just showing owners and sponsors that you have the potential and that you have the potential to succeed, and you're going to be a good asset for them, and I think that's probably the hardest part, just because there's so many good young drivers that have talent and are marketable. I think it's trying to single yourself out and just make sure that you set yourself apart from them in as many good ways as possible.

17-year-old Becomes The Younges Truck Series Winner

Erik Jones scored his first Camping World Truck Series win Friday night,
coming in his fifth series start.  (Photo: Getty Images)

In a battle between two drivers who had never won a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, 17-year-old Erik Jones pulled away from Ross Chastain in the final 10 laps of Friday night's Lucas Oil 150, becoming the youngest winner in series history.

Driving the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, Jones took the lead on Lap 142 of 150, powering to the inside of Chastain through the dogleg on the backstretch. Born May 30, 1986, Jones eclipsed Chase Elliott, a winner earlier this year at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, as the youngest winner in the truck series.

On the last restart, we stayed with him through (Turns) 1 and 2 on the top side," Jones said. "He squeezed us up -- but that's racing with 10 to go. You can't blame him for that. But when something like that happens, it makes you more determined than you were before. I was really determined after that to go back and get it. I really felt like we had a better truck from the previous restart, and I really felt like it was our race all day and didn't want to let it slip away.

Jones lost the lead to Chastain during pit stops under caution on Lap 89, the yellow flag necessitated by Ron Hornaday's hard crash into the Turn 4 wall. As soon as the green flag waved, however, Jones powered to the outside of Chastain after a restart on Lap 94 and cleared the No. 19 by the time the trucks exited Turn 2.

Jones opened a lead of 3.2 seconds before debris from Joey Coulter's truck caused the fourth caution of the night on Lap 112. Chastain grabbed the lead from the inside lane after the Lap 120 restart moments before John Wes Townley's spin into the outside wall caused the sixth caution.

Chastain held the top spot on Lap 134, when Timothy Peters' truck got loose beneath that of fellow Toyota driver Darrell Wallace Jr. and sent both trucks spinning. 

As they say, the rest was history.

Young Truckers Ready To Make Waves

March 27, 2013, Brad Norman, NASCAR.com

Semi-elder statesman Coulter shows teens Wallace, Jones the ropes

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- With 16-year-old Erik Jones seated to his left and 19-year-old Darrell Wallace Jr. to his right, Joey Coulter was undoubtedly the veteran of the Kyle Busch Motorsports triumvirate of drivers during Wednesday’s appearance at Martinsville Speedway.

In this case, though, being a veteran is simply a manner of speaking. Coulter is just 22 himself and is in his first season with KBM after running with Richard Childress Racing last year. But with 48 career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series and a third-place finish in the final points standings last year, Coulter’s two years of driving far outweighs the trucks experience of Wallace and Jones, who have one combined start.

“It’s really strange,” Coulter said of being considered a mentor at such a young age. “When I got in the truck series, I went straight to Ron Hornaday (Jr.), Todd Bodine, Johnny Sauter. I went to guys who have been racing longer than I’ve been alive. So it’s kind of strange to have 14 years of experience and be giving advice to someone who has eight. But at the same time, it’s a lot of fun. I really enjoy hanging out with these guys.”

The deference to Coulter was on display Wednesday during a segment of open-ended questions in which both Jones and Wallace were more than happy to allow the full-time college student Coulter to answer with thoughtful, articulated responses.

Jones was equally as poised when discussing his future as he was in the final laps of the 2012 Snowball Derby, when he bumped with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Kyle Busch during the final laps before pulling away to win what is considered the most prestigious event in late model racing.

Winning that race, Jones said, is what allowed him to be at Martinsville Speedway on Wednesday. Shortly after his victory, KBM signed the up-and-coming driver to a five-race deal in the No. 51 Toyota Tundra.

“That was a big moment in my career,” said Jones, who also noted he had previously spoken to Busch intermittently a few months before that December race. “Hopefully I earned a little respect from (Busch) in the Snowball Derby. Really, winning that race, that’s the reason why I’m here today.”

To focus on racing, Jones now takes online classes as a junior at Swartz Creek High School in Michigan. He recently got his driver’s license and grew up driving for his family-owned team -- Paragon Racing, LLC -- after telling his uncle at age 4 that he was “born to race.”

If Coulter is the elder statesman and Jones the polished rookie, Wallace, with an impressive pedigree himself, is the class clown.

Some of his one-liners Wednesday:

•  On the long break (six weeks) between Truck Series races: “I’m not even sure I remember how to drive.”
• On whether or not he’s been racing recently: “I’ve been doing a lot of racing on Xbox, but I don’t think that really counts.”
• On the intricacies and history of Martinsville, following sharp answers from both Jones and Coulter: “What they both said.”
• On meeting Jones for the first time: “I just gave Erik a ride in the pace car. That’s as much as he’s getting out of me.”

Wallace’s ability in a car is no laughing matter, though. A graduate of the 2010 NASCAR Drive for Diversity class, Wallace won six races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East from 2010-12. His 2010 win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway made him the youngest race winner in track history, and the first African-American driver to win at that track.

Wallace and Coulter, along with 22-year-old NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Parker Kligerman, met with team owner Kyle Busch and his wife, Samantha, for what Coulter described as a “shooting the breeze” dinner prior to the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.

The goal: To build a bond between teammates that ultimately leads to a more successful on-track product.

So far, the bond is there. Perhaps the on-track results will be there, too, at next weekend’s Kroger 250.

“Until I got to RCR (in 2011), I had kind of been a one-man band,” Coulter said. “It really showed me how important it is to have a good team and all be working toward the same goal. Going racing with these guys, especially with Darrell because he’s full time, if everyone’s on the same game plan, you can really make both teams excel. That’s what we want for ourselves and for each other.”

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