Since making his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2015, Erik Jones has scored just three wins in 315 starts.
The site of two of those three victories?
Try Darlington Raceway, the fabled 1.336-mile egg-shaped oval serving as host of today’s Cook Out Southern 500.
No wonder Jones, who competes for Jimmie Johnson co-owned Legacy Motor Club, feels like today might be one of his best opportunities to get a win in 2025.
But is Jones legitimately capable of playing the spoiler role in a race that serves as the kickoff to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs?
Erik Jones Has Real Reason For Optimism At Darlington
Known as the track “Too Tough to Tame,” Darlington Raceway is a notoriously difficult place to win. But for whatever reason, Erik Jones seems to have a knack for navigating the fabled South Carolina venue where the preferred racing groove, uniquely, runs right up against the outside wall.
“I always enjoy this race,” Jones said on Saturday at the track. “I look forward to it every year.”
Every time I come back here, I think about how much Darlington has given me in this sport. Let’s get a third tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/zQKUwRiMlG
— Erik Jones (@Erik_Jones) August 30, 2025
The oldest race on the Cup Series schedule, and one of the longest races, the Cook Out Southern 500 joins the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 500 as one of NASCAR’s “crown jewel” events.
Impressively, Jones has won the Cook Out Southern 500 twice — and done so with two different teams.
He earned his first win in this race in 2019 while part of Joe Gibbs Racing. Jones then returned to Victory Lane in the Cook Out Southern 500 in 2022 with Petty GMS.
The following year, in 2023, Petty GMS rebranded as Legacy Motor Club and seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson became a co-owner of the organization.
September 4th, 2022 – Erik Jones takes the 43 back to victory lane and claims his 2nd Southern 500 victory at Darlington. pic.twitter.com/3uMS77QxFs
— Did Erik Jones Win (@diderikwin) August 29, 2025
While progress has been slow-going for the group under its newest ownership, Legacy Motor Club made a lot of personnel changes between the 2024 and 2025 season that seem to be bearing fruit.
Jones, for this part, has three top-five finishes this year — triple the number of top-fives he recorded in the 2023 season and the 2024 season.
Legacy Motor Club Driver Takes Nothing For Granted At Darlington
Although Erik Jones missed out on the playoffs this year, the Byron, Michigan native is arguably positioned as well as anyone to be a potential playoff spoiler over the next 10 weeks.
That’s especially true at Darlington, where he owns not just the two big victories on Labor Day weekend but eight top-10s — including five top-fives — in 15 starts.
“I feel like we have a shot to win when we come here,” Jones said. “I feel like this is our best chance in a few years. Our cars are getting better. The last couple of years, I don’t feel like we’ve had the cars that we’ve needed to contend. But this year, I feel like we will be a bit closer.
“I definitely feel good about it.”
Jones will start 19th today in his No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota. Despite feeling good about the direction of his team and being glad to be back at Darlington, Jones knows another trip to Victory Lane in the Cook Out Southern 500 won’t come easily.
“It is a hard one to win,” he said. “Everything has to go really well. A lot of green-flag stops. You can’t get caught in a yellow or a weird situation. A lot of things have to work out throughout the night to have opportunities. But I definitely have the confidence coming here knowing that I feel like I know how to run the race. And knowing what I need from my car and that if it is doing certain things, we will be able to contend.
“You don’t have that feeling every week. There are not always tracks that you are comfortable at or had a car that was good enough to contend. But here, I definitely have that feeling.”
As he should, based on his Darlington resume.
“It has been a fun one for me,” he said. “So, I’m excited to get it going.”
