Yahoo Autos Toyota’s Wilson glad to have Gragson and Jones ‘back in the family’ for 2024
David Wilson loves reunion stories.
Wilson (pictured above), the president of Toyota Racing Development, has had a few over the years, and he’s just as eager for the one coming next season. Legacy Motor Club and Toyota announced earlier this week that they will pair together in 2024 in the NASCAR Cup Series, bringing Erik Jones and Noah Gragson back under the Toyota banner.
Jones climbed — and won — his way through the NASCAR ladder driving a Toyota. Signed to the Toyota development pipeline as a teenager, Jones has won in a Toyota in the Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series. He is also a former Cup Series Rookie of the Year.
“Erik Jones is a very special person to Toyota, and his mother Carol and his sister,” Wilson said. “We bonded over those years together.”
Jones and Gragson are just as enthusiastic as Wilson about the future.
When his tenure with Toyota ended after the 2020 season at Joe Gibbs Racing, Jones said he never had any animosity toward Toyota or Gibbs, understanding it was a business decision. Jones has driven a Chevrolet for the last three seasons with the No. 43 team.
“When I initially heard of the opportunity earlier this year to maybe come back to Toyota, I was excited about it because it gave a path forward,” Jones said. “I felt like we were reaching our limitations where we were and what we could do for the future, and I have a lot of unmet goals in the Cup Series at this point. So, for me, Toyota gave a path to meet those goals, so I was more than happy to welcome that news and come back in.”
Jones feels his team was “reaching our limitations where we were” and is better poised to move forward with Toyota. Nigel Kinrade/Motorsport Images
Because he’s quite familiar with the Toyota system, Jones doesn’t feel there will be much change for him next season. Jones looks forward to working with many of the same people he’s known for quite some time.
“I already know Toyota’s commitment and how things work and how things run, and it makes me excited as a driver going in knowing some of the resources that we’re going to have going forward to continue building the program.
‘It’s been fun for me with the 43 car, and I’ve seen enough change in three years. I think we’re ready to settle in and really start to build the program that we want to see.”
