Erik Jones Foundation expanding reach, with a passion for reading at the heart of its mission

When Erik Jones appeared on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s popular podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, late last year, the two drivers compared notes about their life stories. Sure, their driving days were an obvious topic, but when they talked about the specific rush they received from reading to an audience of young students, both Jones and Earnhardt lit up.

The immediate reactions and personal engagement were tougher to measure when it was just Jones, his camera and a copy of Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” in April 2020, when the height of COVID-19 forced schools to shift to at-home learning. Jones had wanted to make his personal passion for reading a part of his platform as a NASCAR driver since he first reached the national series ranks. In that moment, that first Facebook appearance, it clicked.

“It was kind of crazy to hear in the industry, a lot of guys coming up and saying they watched it with their kids and wanted me to keep doing it,” Jones says now, reflecting on the start of his #READwithErik campaign. “They tune in every other week when we do it. So that was cool, unexpected for me. You never know how those things are going to take and who’s going to be interested, but it’s been fun.”

From the humble beginnings that started with storytime and a hashtag has sprouted the Erik Jones Foundation, which launched in August 2021 with the goal of giving back in three areas that remain personal to the 26-year-old driver — early cancer detection and awareness, animal welfare and his love of reading.

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The foundation is making an expanded presence with its #READwithErik program this year, including events this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Those plans include a scavenger hunt for a VIP garage tour, a giveaway of 100 copies of Dale Jr.‘s children‘s book “Buster‘s Trip to Victory Lane” and a read-along with Jones at 10:10 a.m. local time Sunday in the kids’ area of the Talladega fan zone.

Helping to guide the foundation into its next phase is Brent Nickola, the foundation’s executive director and, like Jones, a Michigan native. His hometown of Flint has long been associated with the car culture of nearby Detroit, and Nickola’s downtown office sits two blocks from a statue of Louis Chevrolet.

Nickola’s background with the Jones family goes back to the roots of Erik’s racing career. Back then, Nickola worked for the University of Michigan, involved with the alumni relations and fundraising development office. When he needed help and a potential sponsor for a racing-themed event in 2010, he was introduced to Dave Jones, Erik’s father.

“I just stayed in touch with the Jones family over those years,” says Nickola, now 46. “And it’s interesting, actually. It would have been about 10 years ago, Erik was climbing the ranks of NASCAR, and his father and I were having a conversation about … I’ll just put it simple, he was dreaming about what Erik’s career could be. And we saw that time he was racing for Kyle Busch, and we’re like, ‘Man, there might be a path for this.’ And I said to him, ‘Dave, if something ever happens, and Erik ever makes it all the way, and you guys want to do a foundation, I’d love to be the guy to do it.’

“He passed away two or three years later, and I never brought that conversation up to Carol, Erik’s mother, or Erik because I just felt it was too self-serving. There was never a right time to bring it up. And it was about a year and a half ago, they called me and said, ‘Hey, we’re starting a foundation, we want you to be a board member,’ and after I’d worked with them for a year and a half as a board member, they said, you’re our guy.”

Those first conversations came nearly 350 national series starts ago before Jones’ name had been established on the NASCAR scene and before he had a more prominent platform to use for a good cause. Those dreams that Dave Jones had for his son came true, with Erik Jones now in his seventh season as a Cup Series regular and now driving the No. 43 Chevrolet for Legacy Motor Club.

“I’ll never forget the day, similar to a phone call like this, that I picked up the phone and called his father about a week after he won the first Snowball Derby when he beat Kyle Busch, and it was a big thing for his career,” Nickola recalls. “And I remember standing there talking to his dad, looking out the window like I am right now, he said, ‘I think he punched his ticket. This might be it.’ And that was 2012, and it’s just been a neat kind of ride to watch ever since.”

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Being along for that journey on the NASCAR side has required some transition for Nickola but in a manageable amount. He’s still based in Flint, and the tenets of building strong relationships, multitasking and communicating effectively from his previous role still apply. It’s the pace, which dovetails with the 36-race schedule and then some, that’s accelerated.

One thing that’s remained constant: Reading and racing have seemingly always run in parallel paths for Jones. The bedtime read-alongs that his parents would share led to novels and biographies as Jones grew up, much like how the young racer progressed from quarter-midgets at age 7 to full-bodied stock cars once he reached his teenage years.

He’s remained an avid bookworm even as he faces the week-to-week pressures of competing at NASCAR’s highest level. Reading has offered him balance and an escape. Now the racing portion of Jones’ passion is helping him share the same enjoyment of the written word with others but also to address literacy issues within the greater community. According to 2022 statistics from the National Literacy Institute, 21% of adults in the US are illiterate, and 54% of adults have a literacy level below sixth-grade proficiency, figures that Jones called “eye-opening.”

“It’s been something that I had no idea,” Jones says. “I think you always just assume, it’s just something you do. You grow up, you learn how to read, and everybody’s a pretty decent reader, but it’s not really like that. So I’ve been able to kind of promote it on the early side to children but also trying to get adults involved in reading has been something we’ve picked up on.”

Those goals also hit home with Nickola on a personal level.

“For me, a reason I’m really excited about the literacy piece of this is because I come from a family who struggled with literacy in our lives,” he says. “And so, I have a son who’s dyslexic. I suffered from learning disabilities as a youngster, I was not confident in my writing probably until I was in my mid-30s, and so for someone who struggled as a youngster, this is just such a tremendous opportunity to try to help some young folks overcome some of those struggles with their own literacy.”

The foundation has already made strides in promoting reading in areas close to home for Jones and his family, with donations to local libraries and other events to spread awareness. Last month, Jones visited his former school of Byron Elementary, reading to students and donating a book vending machine as an incentive for young readers to build their own personal library. Tammy Laurin, Jones’ teacher in both first and fifth grades, was alongside for the machine’s unveiling.

More #READwithErik-themed events at tracks around the NASCAR circuit are in the works for this year, Nickola says, as the foundation aims to expand its reach. At the heart of it is that rush that Jones gets from reading to others.

“It’s always cool to read to the kids in person, see the reactions, following along with the book, giving some books away. Now taking that and expanding into the schools is kind of our next direction,” Jones says “… There’s a lot of different possibilities within it, and it’s been fun to uncover those.”