Erik Jones moves to Sprint Cup in 2017 with Furniture Row Racing

Highly touted prospect Erik Jones is getting a full-time promotion to the Sprint Cup Series in 2017, where he will drive for an expanding Furniture Row Racing, the team announced Sunday morning at Watkins Glen International.

Five-Hour Energy will serve as primary sponsor for 22 of 36 races on the No. 77 Toyota.

“At the end of the day, I’m as ready as I can be,” Jones said. “At some point you got to make that jump. You’re going to sink or swim.

“There’s going to be a lot to learn for sure. There’s going to be ups and downs throughout the year. I think at the end of it all we’re going to be in a good position, and I think we’ll be able to have speed at it and hopefully be competitive throughout the year.”

Furniture Row announced a two-year contract extension with Martin Truex Jr. to continue driving its No. 78 car, in addition to an extension with his sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Jones won the 2015 Camping World Truck Series championship and moved to the Xfinity Series for this season where he’s scored three victories, most among series regulars. He made three Sprint Cup starts in 2015 for Joe Gibbs Racing, driving for an injured Kyle Busch in the May race at Kansas Speedway, and for the suspended Matt Kenseth later in the year at Texas Motor Speedway and Phoenix International Raceway. His best finish was 12th.

“A big learning curve for sure,” Jones said. “It’s a big jump. You’re going from a field from where 10 to 12 cars can win to a field where 20 cars can win. All those guys are extremely talented. Definitely going to be tough, but I think I’m definitely in a good situation to succeed.”

Furniture Row has been a single-car team since its formation in 2005 and largely self-sponsored by owner Barney Visser’s other business interests. The organization is an outsider in NASCAR, as it’s located not in the Carolinas where nearly every team is located, but in Denver.

Beginning this season, Furniture Row switched manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota, entering into a technical alliance with JGR. That pact has seen Truex and JGR’s stable of drivers — Busch, Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin — work closely together and essentially operate as one team under the Toyota banner.

In 2016, Truex, Busch, Kenseth, Edwards and Hamlin have combined to win 10 of 21 — including the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, the sport’s marquee events — and lead 57 percent of all laps.

That close relationship between JGR and Furniture Row allowed for Jones, who drives in Xfinity for JGR, to sign with Furniture Row. Jones’ deal with Furniture Row is for one year, but Visser “hope[s] to make that many more,” he said.

“Toyota and the JGR alliance, all those things have been wonderful for us,” Truex said. “Now I feel like those things all coming together, allowing us to do a second car, kind of helps keep those relationships strong, helps us build those for the future, and really I think bodes well for the future of Furniture Row Racing.”