Erik Jones is used to having an extended amount of friends and family with him when he visits the Michigan International Speedway twice a year. See, Jones is from nearby the race track, 90 minutes to be exact. That makes the two annual NASCAR Cup Series visits to the Irish Hills, a bit of a homecoming per say for Jones.

He usually plays hosts to several friends and family members during both weekends, but with both races now being combined to one and that one weekend not having fans, it’s a missed opportunity for him.

“It’s kind of a bummer because I do get a lot of family out there and usually try to get a setup to where they can hang out and tailgate, that’s always really fun,” said Jones. “We usually have 40 or 50 guests come out to that race and watch either from the grandstands or somewhere in the infield and it’s an opportunity for a lot of friends and family that I have to come out and watch a race because they all are from that area and they can’t travel to some of the races that we go to that are farther away.

“It’s a cool congregation and getting to usually spend the week up there ahead of time visiting friends and family is always a lot of fun and getting to catch up with everybody that I hadn’t seen through the year. When we’re in our season, it’s pretty crazy and we don’t have a lot of time to spend with friends and family so it’s cool to just have an opportunity to catch up with them. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m going to have as much this time. It’s definitely a bummer in a lot of ways, but I guess the other side of it, I understand why we don’t have fans there. I wish we could, but hopefully next year we can come back and have fans back in the stands.”

Another driver that considers Michigan his hometrack is Ryan Newman. Yes, he grew up in Indiana, but South Bend, which is on the Indiana-Michigan border. He says the lack of fans is difficult for him to still adjust to as a driver.

“Obviously the lack of fans – not that we don’t have fan support whether we’re at the racetrack or not – but the fact that the fans aren’t there and that energy level that goes along with them being there pre-race and post-race has been just so different that after doing it for 20 years now to see that part of the sport deleted is just interesting,” said Newman.

“I mean, it’s not good and the reality is we want fans there. I know why they’re not, but it’s just you can’t change that energy unless those fans are there or not. That’s completely black or white.  There’s no gray in between.  There’s either energy with the fans or there’s no energy with the fans.

“When I’m in the race car I don’t see or feel the difference.  When the green flag drops until the checkered flag drops it’s all the same, but pre-race and post-race energy is just so stagnant.  It’s just interesting.”

Jones, has made six career Cup starts on his hometrack with a best finish of third coming in his rookie season in 2017. That’s also his only top 10 too.

With the Joe Gibbs Racing driver sitting directly on the bubble for the 10 race postseason right now, he’d love nothing more to win at Michigan even without several friends and family members in attendance rooting him on.

Where does a win at Michigan compare to his achievements? He’s won twice in NASCAR’s premiere series. The first one came in 2018 at Daytona with the other last year in the Southern 500. So, where would a win on his hometrack without his closest confidants being there but also how big of a victory it would be for a postseason berth rank?