Some observers assumed the Toyota livery meant that Jones' car was unsponsoredGETTY IMAGES
Toyota was the primary sponsor of the No. 20 car Erik Jones drove to victory Saturday night in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400, but not because Joe Gibbs racing could not sell the asset. Sources said that Toyota has had the Daytona summer race reserved for it as part of its overall deal with JGR that sees it supply engines to the team. Some observers assumed the Toyota livery meant that Jones' car was unsponsored. It would have been notable for Jones, one of NASCAR’s highly touted class of marketable drivers in their early 20s, to have driven in the primetime race without a sponsor (Adam Stern, Staff Writer).
THE START OF SOMETHING BIG? The AP's Dan Gelston wrote Jones' "feel-good, first-time win gave the sport a vital bump as it capped the official first half" of the season. The question now is whether this is a "sign that perhaps the so-called 'Young Guns' are poised to break through over the final 18 races" or whether is was "just an aberration as Jones became the latest benefactor to survive the wild wrecks that litter Daytona" (AP, 7/9).
