NASCAR driver Erik Jones donates book vending machine to Blue Lake Elementary in DeLand

DELAND — For Erik Jones, life moves pretty fast. Especially when he’s behind the wheel.

But the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor, driving No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club, said he has always been an avid reader — it’s something that helps him slow down and relax.

So when he founded the Erik Jones Foundation in 2021, he knew that “igniting children’s passion for reading” would be one of its main pillars of focus, alongside “encouraging early cancer detection and care” and “promoting animal welfare.”

“It’s a free jumpstart for kids if they’re interested, involved in reading, and so, we were trying to figure out how to connect that with the foundation and with racing,” Jones said.

Roughly a year ago, he learned about book vending machines — vending machines that are filled with books and stories instead of snacks and sodas. He thought the concept was pretty “neat.”

So in March 2023, Jones returned to his hometown of Byron, Michigan, to make his first book vending machine donation to Bryon Elementary, his former school. Come May, Jones made another pitstop; this time to surprise the students of Rocky Creek Elementary in Henry County, Georgia.

While in town for Sunday's Daytona 500, Jones visited Volusia County Schools’ Blue Lake Elementary in DeLand Thursday to make his third book vending machine donation.

“We’ve just been able to kind of grow it more and more, so it’s just been fun giving back when I can, and doing it more and more around,” Jones said. “It’s always fun when you can kind of spread it out to do it in different places — obviously, in market for us, for the 500 this weekend.”

Prior to unveiling the “Bookworm” vending machine, Jones read one of his favorite books — “Madeline Finn and the Library Dog” — to Blue Lake students. He also led a question-and-answer style discussion, where students asked how long he has been reading (Answer: since first grade), how fast he has ever driven (Answer: around 250 miles per hour) and who his biggest rival is (Answer: every other driver.)

Jones explained that students will earn special tokens for the machine when they behave well and show effort to improve or maintain a high attendance record.

Since AdventHealth will be donating $5,000 annually to keep the vending machine fully stocked with books, Blue Lake Elementary Principal Holly Bailey predicts students will be able to take home a new, free book at least once each week.

“We are committed to nurturing healthier communities, and we believe early literacy is key to the future well-being of our children,” Eric Lunde, AdventHealth DeLand CEO, said in a statement. “We hope this gift will help foster a love for reading and empower young minds, laying a foundation for a lifetime of success.”

Julio Nazario-Valle, Volusia’s chief academic officer who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony and machine unveiling on behalf of the school board, hopes this donation encourages students to love reading and expand their imaginations.

“What I want you to do is read, read and read some more because it opens up so many opportunities for you and a world, a beautiful world, for you to be able to not only continue to do good in school and expand and build on your vocabulary, but also to just open that beautiful world … of imagination, and I want you to continue to have that love for reading, and this is going to help you do that.”

Bailey said that this donation will change her students' lives, one book at a time. And her students agree.

“If people can’t afford them (books), and they’re doing really good in class, then they could just get the token and get the book and bring it home,” said Blue Lake fifth-grader Carter Lemons, who is excited to take a new book home.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR driver Erik Jones enhances reading in Volusia County Schools