Right now, Erik Jones is sitting well at Petty GMS Motorsports. Despite not making the playoffs this year, the driver of the legendary #43 scored his first win of the season last month. However, not many know that Jones’ fate at Petty was decided by Bubba Wallace.

In fact, one can even venture out to say, that it was Wallace who more or less saved Jones’ career.

In a recent appearance at the Dale Jr. Download, Jones opened up on the time he was fired by Joe Gibbs Racing and left on his own to find a team.

The driver revealed he had contacts with JTG Daugherty Racing, a deal that “fell through last minute,” followed by things not working with Stewart Haas Racing because of “some funding and stuff.” 

“Those were probably the two big players and Petty had come on later in the game as I was talking to them,” Jones continued on as Dale Earnhardt Jr. tried to confirm what he knew from this story.

“So they were trying to keep Bubba (Wallace) I think if I remember correctly,” Jr. said, to which Jones replied, “They were.”

“They were rumored to offer him some equity in business…that all fell apart,” Dale Jr. added.

WATCH THIS STORY: “There Is No More Running in the Back..” – Michael Jordan’s Blunt Message That Caught Bubba Wallace Off Guard

“Yeah, they found out he was not coming back late…like October, really late,” the Petty GMS driver revealed, leading Junior to ask, “So they came looking?”

“They were hunting hard for someone and it really came at a perfect time for me,” Jones replied.

The reason why Michael Jordan signed Bubba Wallace for his NASCAR venture

In an interview from a couple of years ago, Michael Jordan described why he specifically picked Bubba Wallace as the headlining driver for his NASCAR venture, the 23XI Racing team.

“I think [Bubba] has the potential to be [a champion]. If I didn’t think so, I wouldn’t get into this,” Jordan had said. “Luck has a lot of do [with winning] in a lot of sports. But if you feel you have the same knowledge and the same equipment, you give yourself a chance. Then it’s all up to the driver.”

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The NBA legend even went on to claim that signing Wallace for his team is something of a chance “to educate a new audience” while opening more opportunities for black people in racing.

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