NASCAR community drops heartfelt messages as Erik Jones and his wife Holly celebrate Thanksgiving with their newborn

Erik Jones introduced a new member of his family on Thanksgiving. He and his wife Holly Shelton welcomed their first son, David Wayne, and were showered with love from the NASCAR community on social media.

Jones is a 28-year-old NASCAR Cup Series driver piloting the No. 43 Toyota Camry for Legacy Motor Club. He married fellow race car driver Shelton in August last year after dating for about five years. The couple took to Instagram to welcome David and wrote in the caption:

"Thanksgiving looked a little different for us this year…David Wayne Jones was born 11/27 at 12:11 PM. Labor didn’t go exactly according to plan, but mom and baby are both good and healthy! Cannot wait to get home for Oscar to meet his new little brother."

Oscar has been the couple's German Shepherd since 2017. The Instagram post was bombarded with positive comments from the NASCAR community including NASCAR prodigy Connor Zilisch, LMC co-owner and former seven-time NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson, and Legacy Motor Club teammate John Hunter Nemechek. Seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty said:

"Congratulations!!"

Richard Petty's comment on Erik Jones' Instagram post (@erik_jones)

Jones will return to Legacy Motor Club in the No. 43 car for the upcoming season. It will mark the first full schedule for him and his new crew chief Ben Beshore, who assumed the position following the Talladega playoff race.

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Erik Jones remembers his late father after receiving a community service award

Erik Jones received the 2024 Comcast Community Champion of the Year at the NASCAR Awards Banquet in Charlotte. During his award acceptance speech, he acknowledged his father inspiring him to give back to the community through the Erik Jones Foundation. The Michigan native said:

"I mean, first thing I could think of just as my dad would be proud, you know, I think back to a lot of great moments with him and something we talked about a lot was, if we ever had the opportunity to be in a position in NASCAR to start a foundation and what that would mean and what it would be and it's a little different than probably what we thought but you know we're here and celebrating something that's a really big honor for us." [0:20]

"That can help shape David's direction a bit in life, definitely my father did even before his diagnosis and him passing away from cancer. The philanthropy was important to him, he was definitely a donor in his life, it's how he met Bran our executive director and many other people in the philanthropic world. But it's something that definitely carries on his legacy day-to-day."

The Comcast Community Champion of the Year is given to NASCAR personalities for their community service-focused efforts.