Jones Confirmed to No. 20 Seat in 2018

Joe Gibbs Racing announced on Tuesday that young phenom Erik Jones will officially move to the No. 20 seat in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series for 2018. Jones will replace 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth, who is officially a free agent for next season.

Jones’ move to the No. 20 Toyota has been evident for at least a year and a half now. Jones, who has been driving the No. 77 for Furniture Row Racing this year, has been a Gibbs and Toyota development driver since the youngster was 16 years old. Now at 21, the driver moves to the flagship team to race Cup next year.

“This is a really exciting time in my career for me to make the move back to Joe Gibbs Racing full time in the Cup Series and continue to have the success I’ve had with them over the last few years,” Jones said. “I will always be grateful for the opportunity given to me by Barney Visser and everyone at Furniture Row Racing this year for my first full year in the Cup Series. I’ve learned a lot this year and I’ve had a great group of guys around me each week to lean on as I figured out my rookie season and how to make my way in the Cup Series.”

Matt Kenseth, at age 45, is now left without a ride, but he’s been adamant in the past to say he’s not looking to retire yet. In four full-time seasons with JGR, he’s scored the team 14 wins, and propelled the team to a second-place championship result in 2013 after winning seven races that season.

“Matt (Kenseth) has been a tremendous asset to our organization over the past five seasons both on and off the track,” said Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He’s been a great teammate and a great ambassador for our sponsors. We have a great deal of respect for him and we are working hard to get the 20 team into the playoffs to make a run for the championship. We have a great deal of confidence in his abilities to do just that.”

A sponsor for Jones during the 2018 season has not yet been announced. His current sponsor, 5-Hour Energy, is not expected to follow him over to Gibbs.