Kevin Harvick addresses Erik Jones’ return at Darlington, emergence of Corey Heim ahead of Silly Season

Erik Jones is slated to return to action in this Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, having missed the last two races after suffering a spinal fracture at Talladega last month. 

Jones’ return comes as Silly Season is heating up, and FOX Sports analyst Kevin Harvick believes there’s added pressure for the 27-year-old to perform. Speaking on his “Happy Hour” podcast, Harvick said that with Corey Heim running well in place of Jones, Legacy Motor Club could have some tough decisions to make.

“Let’s not leave Darlington without talking about Erik Jones,” Harvick said. “He sat out an extra week this week. He’s won there a couple times. I feel like we can’t leave the Corey Heim thing unaddressed because he had another good week where he ran all the laps. His finish does not reflect how he ran all day and I think it puts a lot of pressure on Legacy [and] Toyota because Corey Heim’s the real deal. And Silly Season is getting ready to get silly.”

Jones, in his second season with Legacy, currently sits 27th in the points standings with one top-10 finish this season. If Jones does indeed need to prove himself, the schedule is certainly in his favor. Darlington has been his best track to date in the Cup Series, with two of his three career wins coming at The Lady in Black (2019, 2022). Jones has tallied seven top 10s in 12 starts at Darlington.

Corey Heim performs well in place of Erik Jones

Heim finished 25th in his Cup Series debut at Dover and 22nd at Kansas filling in for Jones. The 21-year-old prospect has seven CRAFTSMAN Truck Series wins, two coming this season at COTA and Kansas. He has appeared in six Xfinity Series races this season, finishing a career best P4 at Richmond.

“Yeah, I mean, a long day for sure,” Heim said after the race at Kansas, via NBC Sports. “Got behind early from a speeding penalty and just situationally, couldn’t get on the lucky dog until the end of the race. Just struggled with track position, of course, at the end of the longest line, one lap down most of the race. But, once we got back on the lead lap in Stage 3 and freed the car up, I thought we were pretty good.

“Huge thank you to Legacy Motor Club for having me along these two weeks. Dollar Tree, Family Dollar for everything they do and their support. Definitely wish we could’ve run close to the front today, but a good learning experience and we move forward.”