The NASCAR In-Season Challenge enters its pivotal third race this Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, where drivers will compete for a $1 million prize. Among the eight remaining contenders are Legacy Motor Club teammates Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek, who face off directly in this dramatic round.

Following two weekends of elimination, only eight of the original 32 drivers remain in the contest. Jones and Nemechek’s upcoming battle will determine who advances to Round No. 4 at Dover next weekend, and who faces elimination for their team. This head-to-head matchup carries added tension as only one Legacy Motor Club driver can progress.

Erik Jones Maintains Routine Despite Stakes Against Teammate

Erik Jones refrains from revealing any special tactics aimed at overcoming teammate John Hunter Nemechek on Sonoma’s road course. He insists that his preparation remains unchanged from any other race weekend.

I would love to give you some big play on it. But it has been business as usual,

Jones said on Saturday at Sonoma.

For me, I’m always pretty good about letting the result be what it is. I never go into a race thinking about how I want to run or how I want to finish.

He explained,

I run the best race I can run and then hope the result is going to come with that.

Jones will have a challenging task starting from 31st position, needing to outpace Nemechek who will start 18th. Despite the pressure, Jones plans to race cleanly around his teammate if they find themselves close on track. However, he admits this approach could shift in critical moments.

Obviously, is there a last lap and he’s one car in front of me and we are going into Turn 11, yeah, it might be different,

Jones acknowledged.

Minimal Interest in Tracking Teammate’s Position During Race

Though his advancement depends heavily on how Nemechek finishes, Jones prefers not to be updated frequently about his teammate’s exact track position during the race. When asked whether he would want such updates in the final stage, Jones was dismissive.

No, probably not, he said with a laugh at Sonoma.

This approach echoes Jones’s experience during the previous Chicago Street Race, where he was pitted against Ricky Stenhouse Jr. In that event, Jones remained unaware of Stenhouse’s whereabouts throughout the race.

I didn’t think or know where Ricky was all day,

Jones said.

We crossed the finish line, and it wasn’t a very good day. And the first thing Ben (Beshore, crew chief) says is, ‘Well, we beat the 47 (Stenhouse).’

He added,

I was like, ‘OK, that is cool.’

Nonetheless, Jones’s spotter, Will Rodgers, joked that if Jones is close to Nemechek near the race’s conclusion, the communication dynamic might change.

If we are two or three (cars) back from him, coming down to it, I may say something,

Rodgers remarked with a laugh.

Teammate Rivalry Highlights the Stakes at Sonoma

This in-season encounter between Jones and Nemechek is more than just a race; it represents a high-stakes challenge where team dynamics and individual ambitions intersect. With both drivers vying for survival in the bracket and a million-dollar prize, their rivalry intensifies the drama unfolding on the Northern California road course.

Legacy Motor Club co-owned by Jimmie Johnson now faces the difficult position of having only one driver advance, raising questions about how teammates will balance cooperation and competition. Their performances Sunday will greatly influence the team‘s fate as well as their own potential to advance in the tournament.

With only five races scheduled under the In-Season Challenge format, every decision and moment during these events matters more than ever. The pressure on Erik Jones to climb from a back-of-the-pack start and defeat his teammate creates a tense atmosphere, embodying the uneasy, conflicted feelings tied to this novel NASCAR competition.