Legacy Motor Club has had quite a journey. From being rebranded in 2023 to switching manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota, Jimmie Johnson’s team has left no stone unturned to turn their fortunes around. After a disastrous 2024 campaign, LMC made some significant changes to its backroom staff, with Jacob Canter joining as Director of Competition and Bobby Kennedy as General Manager, helping support the transition to the Japanese manufacturer. And despite the growing pains, the team has shown significant improvement this season.
A big credit for the turnaround goes to Matt Kenseth. The former Cup Series champ is currently serving as competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club, assisting the drivers as well as playing a hands-on role in competition and engineer meetings. Sometimes it’s the little things that can make all the difference.
Erik Jones has turned a corner in recent weeks
Legacy Motor Club was still in its infancy when Matt Kenseth joined the team. From battling for wins and championships against Jimmie Johnson to serving as a mentor for Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek, it’s been a wild journey for the Hall of Famer. He came with a wealth of experience, with 39 Cup Series triumphs to his name until the Wisconsin-native eventually retired in 2020, leaving behind a legacy that he’s building on from behind the scenes. Having an old connection with Erik Jones also helped.
Matt Kenseth has turned Erik Jones into a fitness guru, and the longest the two have run is four miles together. The racer is also consistent in the gym, and that’s translating to results on the track. “I think I’m in the best shape I’ve been in through racing,” Jones said. “Thirty-six to 38 races per year is hard on your body. When you’re 20 years old, it’s easy to hop in a car and go and feel good about everything. When you’re on the backside of 20, it’s not as easy to recover, not as easy to get through some of these days.”
Few would have predicted that the two would get along so well. Particularly after a complicated situation at Joe Gibbs Racing led to some underlying awkwardness. Back in 2018, Jones replaced Matt Kenseth in the No. 20 Toyota, after taking the Truck and Xfinity Series by storm by collecting 16 wins. But like a real leader, the 53-year-old isn’t holding any grudges, going on to say, “It’s not like the driver did it, or he was the owner and let me go.” Letting bygones be bygones has helped the Legacy Motor Club driver tremendously, both on and off the track.
The results speak for themselves. Erik Jones has six consecutive top-20 finishes, and he even finished fifth at EchoPark Speedway at the Quaker State 400. The performances have propelled the No. 40 Toyota driver to 16th in the standings, technically tied with Austin Cindric, but the result at Talladega Superspeedway has proven to be the difference maker. While a big part of the credit goes to the driver himself, one can’t help but feel that Matt Kenseth has also played an important role in his improvement.
Matt Kenseth knows there’s work to be done at Legacy Motor Club
Legacy Motor Club was never looking for quick fixes. While teams such as 23XI Racing have a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, Jimmie Johnson’s side was willing to endure short-term pain for long-term gain. Instead of spending money getting assistance from a bigger team, they decided to slower but steadier route, reducing reliance on others and saving costs at the same time. And if the ongoing season is anything to go by, it looks like the gamble has paid off, with both drivers having nine top-ten finishes between them.
But Matt Kenseth knows that the team can’t rest on its laurels just yet. The former champ went on to say, “To be totally honest, we started the year not taking as big of a step forward as I expected or was hoping we would take. I feel like we took a pretty big leap within the last [seven or eight] weeks. We’ve had cars — both or one of them — that were capable of running in the top 10. I don’t know if we had cars last year capable of running in the top 10, but once or twice. It’s been a big leap, but there’s a long way to go to get to where we want to be.”
It’s only fitting that a team owned by Jimmie Johnson competes for titles every year. But in a cutthroat industry like NASCAR, with the likes of Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, and Joe Gibbs Racing already having a significant head start, it’ll take years before Legacy Motor Club can go wheel-to-wheel against the heavyweights. But if the last few weeks are anything to go by, LMC seems to be headed in the right direction, and with Matt Kenseth’s leadership, it’s only a matter of time before they’re right up there, challenging for the Bill France Cup.
The post Former NASCAR Champion Plays Uncredited Mastermind Role in Legacy Motor Club’s 2025 Revival appeared first on EssentiallySports.
