At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, NASCAR driver Erik Jones shared details about his recent initiative to support animal welfare through a new plushie modeled after his dog, Oscar. This project aims to raise funds for the Erik Jones Animal Welfare Foundation, promoting dog training and animal care efforts.
Jones, who races the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club, revealed the plushie during media availability before the NASCAR Cup Series race, highlighting its role as a fundraiser for his foundation and partnerships with organizations like Ultimate Canine Training.
Partnership with Ultimate Canine Training Enhances Animal Welfare Focus
Jones explained that the foundation’s animal welfare program has grown over nearly four years but has not received as much attention as its other pillars, such as cancer support and reading initiatives. This plushie, available in the merchandise trailer and on his website, represents a key step in increasing awareness and funding for the cause.
The driver recently visited Julie Case’s facility, CEO of Ultimate Canine Training in Westfield, Indiana, where his dog Oscar experienced a surprise training course. Jones highlighted the impressive work done by Ultimate Canine, which trains various types of dogs, including police canines and family pets.
“Yeah, so yesterday we went to Julie’s place (Case, CEO, Ultimate Canine Training) in Westfield, Indiana. We drove over there. It was a great facility. I’m not going to take all of Julie’s thunder here, but they do a lot of training on multiple different dogs. We took my dog, Oscar, out there and ran him through a surprise course that they had out there set up for us. He gave it his best effort and did okay. He got through it. It was a lot of fun, and it was neat to see. We brought a few dogs from Ultimate Canine today that you can see up front hanging out that are in training and getting ready to go home with their families. We also have another announcement. This is a plushie that looks like Oscar. This is going to be something that is going to be available this weekend in the merch trailer, also, on my website – the Erik Jones Foundation website. It is going to be raising funds to go towards our cause of Animal Welfare, helping out groups like Ultimate Canine with their dog training effort and multiple other areas we do with animal welfare. Something we’ve been working on a long time, and we’ve been having fun with it this weekend here in Indy. Happy to have some dogs here in the media center for the media to enjoy.”
—Erik Jones, NASCAR Driver
The Foundation’s Commitment and Broader Impact
The animal welfare branch of Jones’s foundation has been an important but less publicized focus compared to its other missions. Jones expressed a strong desire to elevate this part of the foundation and connect with organizations making meaningful impacts in dog training and care.
His experience with Ultimate Canine has been particularly inspiring. The facility trains dogs for various roles, including special operations and police work, both locally and internationally. Jones emphasized the potential of dogs and how often their capabilities can be underestimated.
“Well, we started the foundation, I guess it has been almost four years, and I felt like the animal welfare portion has been probably one of the pillars that we’ve – we have done quite a bit with – but not as much as we have with the cancer or reading side. It hasn’t been as much as the forefront, and I’ve been wanting to bring it more forward. That has been a really big objective with the foundation, so as we kind of dove into that and figured out ways to connect, the plushie was a huge way we came up with the raise money for it, for one, but connecting with groups like Julie (Case, CEO, Ultimate Canine Training) and what they do, for me has been pretty fun. We did some work a few years ago with a group in Michigan with some training for police canines, and then to see Julie’s organization and to see what they do with the police work here locally and internationally with some other work with special ops dogs and with family dogs – as these are not quite special ops dogs here today. To see the work they do with all of the different kinds of trainings and just to see these first-class facilities, for me, is something that is pretty neat. Growing up, we always had dogs, and funny enough, my mom was big into training our dogs, so it was always something that was just interesting to me to see the different groups that train these dogs and what goes into it, and I think just to see the potential of dogs. It gets so overlooked sometimes – you meet these dogs, and you don’t always see their full potential and to see them working hard, and learning and getting smarter is something that is pretty neat.”
—Erik Jones, NASCAR Driver
Personal Bond with Oscar and the Value of Dog Training
Jones shared a heartfelt view of his dog Oscar and the role training has played in their relationship. Oscar, now eight years old, has been a loyal companion throughout major milestones in Jones’s life, including marriage and fatherhood.
The driver believes that proper training enhances the bond between dogs and their owners, improving life quality for both. Jones encourages others to seek out training resources to deepen their connection with their pets.
“I think Oscar (laughter). Even at eight years old, he can get pretty quick for a couple of minutes if he wants too. He’s just been a great dog. I’ve had Oscar since I was a single guy, and to watch him through meeting Holly (Jones’ wife), her and I getting married, and now having David, our eight-month-old and the way that he has adapted with him and grown with him, he has just been such a great dog in so many different ways, and a great companion. I just hope that everyone gets that experience and honestly, having a resource like Julie (Case, CEO, Ultimate Canine Training) and Ultimate Canine that you can have that a dog that is trained – it makes your life so much better with that dog and your relationship with your dog so much better, and just to try to share that through different communities is pretty important to me. With Oscar and the training that he had as a puppy, it has made the time with him over the last eight years even more enjoyable.”
—Erik Jones, NASCAR Driver
Future Prospects for Expanding the Foundation’s Impact
When asked about involvement with programs that support military members by fostering dogs overseas, Jones expressed interest in exploring this avenue further. Although the foundation has yet to engage in these efforts, Jones recognizes the importance of broadening the animal welfare initiatives.
He views partnerships with organizations like Ultimate Canine as valuable resources for expanding the scope and reach of his foundation’s work in the coming years.
“That’s honestly not something that I’ve done with the foundation at this point but would love to learn more about it. Trying to just expand the animal welfare portion of the foundation. The other two pillars – with cancer and reading – they are so far off and running with different causes, that is kind of doing itself, but the animal welfare portion, I’ve been trying to grow this last year, so definitely something to look into, and I think we have a resource with Julie (Case, CEO, Ultimate Canine Training) and those groups, so would definitely love to look into it.”
—Erik Jones, NASCAR Driver
Plushie Sales as a New Fundraising Model at Indianapolis
The introduction of the Oscar-inspired plushie during the Indianapolis NASCAR weekend marks a creative fundraising approach for the Erik Jones Animal Welfare Foundation. Fans attending the race have the opportunity to purchase this item and contribute directly to animal training and welfare programs.
By involving the fan community and showcasing live examples of dogs in training, Jones aims to draw more attention and donations to these charitable efforts, setting the stage for continued growth and impact.
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. How did Erik Jones fracture his back?
A. During a multi-car crash on April 21 at Talladega, Jones got a compression fracture in a lower spine bone from hitting the outer wall. Because of this injury, he couldn’t participate in the last two races at Dover and Kansas.