Friday Faceoff: Will Erik Jones Make The Chase in 2026?

1) Now sitting just 18 points below the cut line, will Erik Jones make the NASCAR Cup Series Chase?

Gabriel Goodman: While it would be a great story, no. With Joey Logano, Ryan Preece and others on the outside looking in as well, it is going to be a tall task for Legacy Motor Club to outperform teams like Team Penske and RFK Racing. Even so, the current top 16 in points looks solid. I can only see one or two above the cutoff dropping out at most.

Christopher Hansen: No, but he will be very close. Of the drivers Erik Jones is competing against who are below the cut line, Logano and Preece will be the toughest competition. Logano is sure to turn things around. The same can be said for Preece, who currently sits 19th in the standings and is on a recent cold spell with three consecutive DNFs due to crashes. While Jones’ performance trended up in recent weeks, punctuated by his impressive second-place finish at Michigan International Speedway, he hasn’t done quite enough to consistently outperform drivers like Logano and Preece on a regular basis.

Steve Sonderman: Jones has run well, but he won’t have the consistency to land him in The Chase. He is sandwiched between two Fords in the standings, Logano and Preece. Although it has been a brutal year for Ford, it has a history of finding some momentum at the end of the season. A talented driver in Ross Chastain sits in 24th, 54 points back, but with Trackhouse Racing’s current track record, the bigger threat will come from the Fords.

Michael Bellifemini: It might be difficult for Jones to keep this up with the upcoming road courses and inconsistent speed of Legacy. If the No. 43 team can keep up these performances, it should get in and even get itself a win.

2) What can Ford do as a manufacturer to turn around its 2026 season and close the gap to Toyota and Chevrolet?

Hansen: Find more speed. Last weekend at Michigan was the first weekend in a long time that Ford didn’t have a single driver really compete for the victory. Despite Logano, Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher all finishing inside the top 10 last weekend, Ford drivers were a virtual no-show for the entirety of the race. That’s something the manufacturer is going to have to work on over the next few weeks to be back on pace with Toyota and Chevrolet.

Bellifemini: It just has to weather the storm and stick to its strengths, which seem to be short-track racing. There’s been a long drought of no short tracks, but North Wilkesboro Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Richmond Raceway come up later in the summer. I’d throw Iowa Speedway in there, too, but Ford really has to rely on other guys outside of Blaney. He can’t do it all by himself. It needs to see winning speed from the other Penske cars and RFK. I’ll include Zane Smith here, too.

Sonderman: The only driver who looks to be in a position to close the gap is Blaney. He is the only Ford driver who has, at times, displayed top-tier speed. He is fast at Pocono Raceway and will likely be one of the favorites at Iowa and New Hampshire. If Blaney can capitalize at his best tracks, he could find himself a bit closer to second place and cut into his current deficit of over 100 points behind Denny Hamlin.

Goodman: Getting its cars faster and handling better should be the top priority, but in the meantime, Ford teams need to control what’s controllable. They can’t win a race on pure pace. Instead, they can focus on strategy and execution. Pocono, Naval Base Coronado and Sonoma Raceway are all going to be races with heavy strategy. Whoever uses the best tire and pit-stop strategy over the next few weeks will have a good chance of doing well. Mastering tire strategy and cutting down on mistakes is what Ford can do while teams work to improve their cars.

3) Will any Cup drivers respond on-track to Carson Hocevar’s aggressive driving?

Sonderman: If drivers haven’t responded yet, why would they respond now? Carson Hocevar continues to race hard, and opposing drivers will continue to return the favor. His aggressive style will not do him any favors in the long term, and he will likely not receive many Christmas cards from the Cup garage.

Bellifemini: If Hocevar continues to ruffle feathers, I could see someone finally doing something about it. I don’t think and I hope it won’t be egregious like intentionally crashing him hard, but maybe just a spin or a face-to-face confrontation. We’ve seen our fair share of pit-road fights, and the way he’s driving, although entertaining, his competitors aren’t going to put up with it much longer without dropping the gloves with him.

Goodman: If Hocevar races for long enough, someone will retaliate on track. Yes, few drivers have done anything, but retaliation can come at any time from anyone. Who could have predicted Chase Elliott would intentionally wreck Hamlin a few years ago? Or that Austin Cindric crashed Ty Dillon last season? At least half of the Cup field has either intentionally wrecked someone or been intentionally wrecked. It is only a matter of time.

Hansen: Words can only do so much, especially in this instance with Hocevar continuing to ruffle his competitors’ feathers. Sure, drivers can voice their displeasure with the aggressive driving style of Hocevar. However, at this point in time, maybe it’s time for the rest of the field to race the driver of the No. 77 the same exact way he races them on a weekly basis.

4) Does Kaden Honeycutt need to change his driving style to win more NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races? Does he, in the words of Corey Heim, need to “get thicker skin”?

Bellifemini: Kaden Honeycutt is battling for the regular season title with Layne Riggs, so he doesn’t need to change much. The wins will come, and it’s been hard recently for Truck regulars to win against Cup and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series guys coming down. The “thicker skin” comment shouldn’t make him change his style, but it should teach him how much of a break he should give other drivers when they keep blocking him late in races.

Goodman: If Honeycutt wants to win more races, he does need to become more aggressive. Though, does he actually need to change his style? I’d say no. With good points days needed in this format, making a risky pass for the win isn’t necessarily worth it. He is having a championship-caliber season. When the championship is on the line, it will be different, but until then, Honeycutt is still getting good results.

Hansen: There’s no question Honeycutt is in one of the best rides in the Truck Series, driving the same No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota that Corey Heim dominated with last season en route to winning the title. With multiple races slipping away this season, at this point, Honeycutt must turn up the intensity to show that the No. 11 is more than capable of competing for more race wins, along with securing the title at season’s end.

Sonderman: Honeycutt is second in points, and DraftKings lists him at +300 odds to win the championship compared to the +250 of favorite Riggs. These numbers show it is not time to panic. Losing to Heim is not something to beat yourself up over. It’s been happening to everyone in the Truck Series over the past few years. He needs to continue focusing on getting good finishes and staying in the best possible points position. If that means occasionally giving up a position to a Cup driver, then so be it.