Erik Jones 2017 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
In 2017 Xfinity Series championship contender Erik Jones will move up to NASCAR’s top series. He’ll be driving the #77 for Furniture Row Racing. I think big things should be expected from Erik Jones. He’s extremely talented and should be fast out the gate. In 2017 I think he has a great chance to visit victory lane and make the Chase.
Strengths – I would look for Erik Jones to be at his best at intermediate tracks and flat tracks.
Weaknesses – I think Erik Jones seems very susceptible to bad luck. His bad luck seems to be about on par with Martin Truex Jr’s. In terms of on track weaknesses I would probably recommend avoiding him at plate tracks and road courses.
Track Type Fantasy Value Key = Elite > High > Medium High > Medium > Low
Intermediate Track Fantasy Value – High
I think Erik Jones should be very competitive at intermediate tracks. He’ll be in JGR equipment that Furniture Row Racing has tuned up. Last year teammate Martin Truex Jr. was arguably the best driver on this track type.
Erik Jones has a few top series starts under his belt on this track type. In 2015 in his first Sprint Cup start in the #18 at Kansas he had top ten potential but wrecked late. Later that year in the #20 car at Texas he finished 12th. Both of those performances are very impressive especially when you take into account those were two years prior to his rookie year.
Flat Track Fantasy Value – High
I think Erik Jones should run well on this track type, at both the big flats, and the smaller flats. He’s in great equipment and at big flat tracks that’s often half the battle.
At smaller flat tracks I think he should run very well. Having success at smaller flat tracks in lower divisions is what has led to his rapid rise up the NASCAR ranks.
Short Track Fantasy Value – High
With rookies it’s hard to know what to expect at short tracks. From a talent perspective I really don’t see any reason to be concerned with Erik Jones. I think he’s capable of sneaking in a good result at any of the three tracks. Between the three short tracks I think Martinsville might be a weak spot. It’s perhaps the toughest track for rookies.
At both Bristol and Richmond in the lower series he’s had success.
Restrictor Plate Track Fantasy Value – Medium
It just doesn’t seem like a good idea to pick him on this track type, especially if you’re in an allocation league. In the Xfinity Series on this track type he has a 19.6 average finish and has only finished in the top ten twice. Both of those top tens were in the Daytona July race. In his other four starts on this track type in the lower series he finished between 18th and 31st.
Road Course Track Fantasy Value – Medium High
Erik Jones doesn’t strike me as a road course racer. In the lower series on this track type he had a 13th place average finish. It’s hard to translate that into success. At Watkins Glen he finished 12th.
Sonoma is the other road course that the top series visits and at that venue he’s never been in a race.
From an allocation perspective I wouldn’t recommend picking him on this track type.
