DAVIDSON, N.C. - Erik Jones would not normally spend Thursday morning before a short track weekend jogging through the streets of a picturesque North Carolina town.
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His normal weekly schedule would provide more recovery time before heading to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the first points-paying race at the track in 30 years.
Yet, here he was, jogging just after 8:30 a.m. while dealing with temperatures in the mid-80s and a humidity percentage in the high 80s.
"I usually don't run this late in the week," Jones told FanBuzz during the morning session. "Especially (before) a short track. I mean, I don't want to be sore or feeling tired, so I try to taper down toward the end of the week."
This conversation was part two of a morning that began with a content shoot for performance apparel brand NOBULL and ended with an interview. He had to run for his sponsor, and then he had to run while fielding questions.
It was not the standard week for Jones, but he adapted to meet his responsibilities.
This B-roll of Erik Jones and me jogging through Davidson will make more sense in a moment once I publish the story. pic.twitter.com/Io2snERYHw
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) July 28, 2026
Such is the life of a full-time Cup Series driver needing to balance all aspects of his week while contending for a spot in The Chase - NASCAR's playoffs - and maintaining a level of fitness that can meet the demands of the 38-race schedule.
"The first time people started asking about training for me was about four years ago," Jones explained during a break. "Up until then, it was pretty nonchalant.
"And then guys started to say, 'Hey, what's your program? What are you doing?' I'd kind of have to say, 'Well, not much.' (laughs)."
Obviously, his approach has changed over the years.
So how does this updated schedule break down? It partially depends on the NASCAR calendar and where Legacy Motor Club is heading each particular week. Tracks with Saturday night races shift the schedule more than those with the standard Sunday afternoon race.
A "normal" week for Jones will feature a rest day on Monday due to the travel involved with getting home. Tuesday will be weightlifting, Wednesday will be running, and Thursday will be weightlifting again.
The amount of running depends on time and location, as well as the influence of Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth, who joined Legacy Motor Club as a competition advisor.
Sometimes, they run for distance. Other times, they go to a track and work on sprinting.
"Matt's a big distance guy," Jones said. "Not me. If it was up to him, I think if we went on a run, he'd want to go 10 miles, no problem. I'm more of I get four or five (miles), and I'm pretty ready to stop (laughs)."
Friday will vary depending on the travel schedule, but Jones has been using this day for two purposes.
He certainly rests before heading the track, but he also uses Friday as an opportunity to spend time with the son, David, that he and wife Holly welcomed in November 2024.
"I just try to, especially with my son now, prioritize just some time where I'm really just home and present all day," Jones said.
"Because there's not a lot of days I just get to be at home and hang with him and see what he's doing, and it's just nice to do it."
A major part of this time at home is a weekly family dinner, which involves all members of the family who live in the area. Jones can't remember the last time he missed this special meal, and his goal is to maintain this streak.
The boys are ready for today. pic.twitter.com/0Jx2dirDEz
— Erik Jones (@Erik_Jones) July 26, 2026
Prioritizing these parts of his life has become significant for Jones as he has matured as a NASCAR competitor.
Early in his career, he had fewer endeavors taking up time. He focused on competing for championships in the lower NASCAR series, and he captured the 2015 title in the Truck Series.
More than a decade later, the situation has changed.
Jones has a family, as well as the Erik Jones Foundation that he established in 2021 to promote literacy, encourage early cancer detection, and support animal welfare.
He also has a packed weekly schedule with workouts, simulator sessions, countless meetings, practice, qualifying, and racing.
So how is he balancing all of this to ensure that he can properly devote time to everything meaningful in his life?
"Well, it's funny. I saw that (Michael) McDowell did a 12 Questions (with The Athletic's Jeff Gluck), and I was reading it," Jones said. "He was kind of talking about that - and he's a little more intense than me. He's got five kids. I just got the one.
"But it's true. His story is a bit similar to mine, where it's gotten harder recently because as we ran better, there is more time that comes with that. When I joined the 43, we didn't run very good, and the time was less. We had less partners.
"...Now it's a matter of kind of front-loading my week and just trying to make sure I've got at least one day a week where I wake up and there's nothing on the calendar."
Something that makes the balancing act easier is the lane into which Legacy Motor Club's partners fall.
Both NOBULL and AdventHealth emphasize healthy living while focusing on different parts of the process.
This is also true for the veteran coaches at the Toyota Performance Center in nearby Mooresville. Jones has access to the TPC as a member of the Toyota Racing family.
NOBULL provides the gear that Jones uses while training, whether he is going out for a long run or working through a strength training session.
I had a great time going on a run through Davidson the other day with @Erik_Jones for an upcoming story.
It is in the final edit portion, but I can say that he had a ton of interesting comments about his family-work-fitness-nutrition balance.
(I need to fix my posture) pic.twitter.com/YzwerutRLc— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) July 21, 2026
The coaches at the TPC and the staff at AdventHealth both work with Jones on his nutrition, improving sleep quality, and accounting for the amount of fluids lost throughout the race. They help him break down the sleep and heart rate data gathered by his WHOOP band.
"They've provided a lot of resources to us just to take it more serious," Jones said, "and know better what to do and train.
"It's probably the most important thing — and for injury recovery (and) prevention, that sort of thing. So that's been a huge help for us."
Jones didn't initially want to believe that all of this would make him a better driver - the working out side of the gig didn't sound interesting or fun to him. Yet, his opinions have changed after spending multiple years putting more of an emphasis on this part of his life.
It's helped him behind the wheel, and it's helped him better manage everything else outside of the race car.
"I just kind of didn't want to believe it, and then once I really did it, the strength training was good, but the running was kind of a whole another level," Jones said.
"When you push yourself to do something hard like that, I think, during the week, and then you get in the car, everything just feels easier."
