Erik Jones replaces injured Denny Hamlin midrace

When the Food City 500 resumed after a nearly four-hour delay on Sunday, one of its biggest stars was no longer racing at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Denny Hamlin removed himself from the No. 11 car after he began suffering spasms in his neck and back around Lap 12 of the scheduled 500-lap event. When rain placed the Food City 500 under the red flag, Hamlin elected not to rejoin the race when NASCAR restarted the race after 3 hours and 58 minutes.

Joe Gibbs Racing selected Erik Jones to substitute.

“I pulled something in my neck to upper back,” Hamlin told Fox Sports 1. “I started going backward because the pain was bothering me quite a bit. I stretched it out, and we’d been working it the last few hours. I’m not 100 percent. With this format, it’s all about winning, and there’s no way I’d be able to compete for a win. It’s just doing my team a complete injustice to run a bunch of laps.”

Jones drives in the Xfinity Series for JGR and earned his first victory in NASCAR’s No. 2 division last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Prior to Sunday, Jones had never competed in the Sprint Cup Series. He finished 26th, four laps down, after dropping to the rear of the field following the driver change.

“The extra speed is such an adjustment from lift points to throttle pick up points and everything else,” Jones said. “You have to really adjust yourself. It took me a good half to three-quarters of the race to really get a feel for it and I’m still not there. I’m still trying to figure out timing and passing cars and not getting hung up behind the car because I picked up throttle too soon. It was interesting to feel the differences.”

The 18-year-old was home preparing to watch the race in North Carolina when he was alerted about Hamlin’s injury and that he might be needed in relief. Jones, who was thinking about taking a nap, quickly packed a bag and then called his father to apprise him of the situation. He then hopped on JGR’s plane for a 35-minute flight to Bristol.

“I called my dad and said, ‘Hey, I think I might be getting to run a Cup race tonight,’” Jones said. “He was like, ‘Okay, cool keep me updated.’ Took off right from there and flew here and helicoptered in and got in and drove.”

Jones is considered one of NASCAR’s rising talents and is anticipated to fill-in some for the injured Kyle Busch, who isn’t expected to return from a broken right leg and left foot until this summer.

“I would love the opportunity to get a full weekend of practice and really dial the car in for myself and be comfortable overall,” Jones said. “I’d love to try it. ... If I do, great, but I have a ton of races already in the Xfinity and trucks so we’ll have to see where it goes.”

Though Jones finished the race, Hamlin is credited with the result and receives the accompanying points because he started Sunday’s race. Hamlin is virtual lock to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup having won March 29 at Martinsville Speedway. Next week’s race is in Hamlin’s home state of Virginia and he is expected to compete.

“It’s something that will go away, I just pulled something,” Hamlin said. “I’ve just got to go try and win Richmond next week.”