A good redemption story is what NASCAR fans crave. Chase Elliott put up one last weekend with much pomp and glory. Wheeling the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy in his hometown of Atlanta, Elliott won the Quaker State 400 to a roaring crowd. Snapping his 46-race winless streak was much-awaited and trumpeted. However, not every driver on the Cup Series grid gets the same attention as Elliott. Case in point being Erik Jones, who finished 5th, but this finish alone doesn’t tell the entire story.

The Legacy Motor Club driver has been in the doldrums for a long time. Wheeling the No. 43 Toyota for Jimmie Johnson’s team, Erik Jones went through a disastrous season in 2024. But even though hopes around LMC dropped to an all-time low, their efforts did not. That is what Jones is proving every weekend.

Erik Jones is a silent runner

Ever since his Cup Series debut in 2017, Erik Jones has maintained a low profile. Switching seats from Furniture Row Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing and finally to Richard Petty Motorsports, his transition has been quiet. Yet Jones has never failed to perform – after clinching 16 Truck and Xfinity victories, he paved a path of consistency in Cup.

The top tens and top fives never ceased, with the 2019 Cup Series season being a highlight as Jones clinched the Southern 500 along with 17 top tens and 10 top fives. The three-time Cup Series race winner lost pace from 2023 onwards. With Jimmie Johnson hopping on board Petty’s organization, rebranding it to Legacy Motor Club, and switching from Chevrolet to Toyota, things took time to adjust. However, Jones seems to be on the right path.

In the 2025 season, both LMC drivers are showing exceptional speed. That marks a remarkable turnaround from 2024, when Erik Jones finished 28th in the championship standings. Last weekend in Atlanta, Jones fetched his second top-five of the season. Starting 26th, Jones patiently climbed up during the 400-mile battle.

He broke into the top five by the end of Stage 2 and held that advantage into Stage 3. Eventually, he was able to hold off Ricky Stenhouse Jr to finish 5th. This speed was nothing new, as a recent data post on X showcased: “Over the last nine races, Erik Jones has scored 101 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 points than he did during the first nine – by far the biggest improvement of anyone in the Cup Series.”

This is a staggering turnaround for Jones and Legacy Motor Club overall, showing how trust in an organization’s values can yield incredible results. No one expected LMC to succeed without an alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, but Jimmie Johnson and his boys are set to prove everyone wrong, and for anyone watching closely, they’ve noticed this jump from Jones.

The Toyota speedster started his journey in Texas and is showing no signs of stopping. The month of June, especially, was a wondrous time of improvement for Jimmie Johnson’s talented driver. Jones collected 156 points in total in this period. At the start of the month, he was placed 27th in points. Then he finished seventh at Nashville and fifth in Atlanta, finishing in the top 15 in four of five races in June.

With those results, he went from 27th to 16th after Atlanta. Currently, Jones is 49 points out of a playoff spot with eight races left in the regular season. However, now those 49 points seem puny in Jones’ path. A good example of why Erik Jones is a silent threat is his dexterity during the Nashville race.

Jones outpaced legendary rivals

Well, we all know who in the Toyota grid is grabbing the spotlight for 2025. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell ranks on top, as the No. 20 driver clinched three back-to-back victories in February. Then his teammates, Denny Hamlin, 3 wins, and Chase Briscoe, 1 win, are also in the mix. To be able to outpace these Toyota giants would be a mighty feat, which Erik Jones accomplished in Nashville.

His 7th-place finish was not just a solid finish, but also a dominant one. He held a top rank in NASCAR Insights’ Defense Rating, which evaluates a driver’s ability to hold their position when under pressure. With sturdy footing, Jones held strong against Bell and Tyler Reddick. Then he ranked 5th in Speed, and 6th in Passer Rating, Restart Rating, and Pit Crew Rating.

Such a well-rounded performance speaks volumes about Erik Jones’ phenomenal improvement. He admitted to his team’s dexterity after Nashville: “We didn’t have any mistakes,” Jones said. “We had good pit stops. It just is cleaning everything up and continuing to improve on these cars. Like at the end there, that was all we had. Our balance was pretty good, so we still need to get a little faster. We’ve done a great job. We are getting there. We are optimizing the speed.” Then they showed the same impeccable effort, repeating at EchoPark Speedway last weekend!

If Erik Jones keeps up this pace, he may bring great success to LMC by the end of 2025. Let us wait and see how the Toyota driver progresses from here.