What began as a small wish has now grown into an ever-growing ambition. At the end of 2022, Jimmie Johnson joined Petty GMS Racing, rebranding Richard Petty’s NASCAR Cup Series team into Legacy Motor Club. Johnson’s tenure kicked off 2023 on a strong note, as Erik Jones fetched 7 top tens and 1 top five. However, the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota marked a dire turn. The team reached rock bottom in 2024 with disastrous results.
It looked like LMC had fallen into an abyss. Yet Jimmie Johnson rolled up his sleeves and undertook a few crucial changes. From stepping into an active role to recruiting experienced personnel, Johnson went far and wide to turn things around. And the turnaround is already visible in 2025.
Jimmie Johnson’s fallen team is growing wings
A solid redemption story might turn a bad day into a good one. Well, guess what, folks, you are in luck! That is because Legacy Motor Club is picking itself up from the ashes. In 2024, Erik Jones’ 28th rank marked the worst standings finish of his eight-year Cup Series career. For John Hunter Nemechek, a dismal 34th place in points put him dead last among all full-time drivers. What is more, 7-time Cup Series champion Johnson could not finish better than 25th in his No. 84 ride. Hence, Johnson got on a war footing in the off-season. He let go of Dave Elenz and replaced him with Ben Beshore as the No. 43 team’s crew chief. Then, Brian Campe hopped aboard to serve as LMC’s new technical director. Initially, Johnson planned to grow in his ownership role for five seasons. But that plan changed in January 2025 when Johnson became the majority owner of LMC.
With Jimmie Johnson in a hands-on role overlooking his team, LMC was already on a path to redemption. The results were visible in the season-opening Cup Series race, the Daytona 500. Johnson showed a glimmer of his past potential by clinching a 3rd-place finish. Meanwhile, John Hunter Nemechek fetched a 5th-place finish. Nemechek’s spark has not faded since – he now has 6 top ten finishes, including back-to-back 6th-place results in Mexico and Pocono. The same goes for Erik Jones, who owns 3 top tens and 2 top fives so far this season.
NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Test Session Jan 24, 2023 Avondale, AZ, USA NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson tests his Legacy Motor Club car during testing at Phoenix Raceway. Phoenix Phoenix Raceway AZ USA
These amazing stats readily prove how Jimmie Johnson is striving to be a top-contending Toyota team. With Erik Jones’ average finish of 12.8 and John Hunter Nemechek’s 18, they are presently more powerful than 23XI Racing. Tyler Reddick, the 2024 regular season champion, is surprisingly behind with a 17.7 average finish. His teammate, Bubba Wallace, is no better with a lackluster 22.6 average finish.
Beating a stellar Toyota team so far has left Jimmie Johnson’s drivers ecstatic. John Hunter Nemechek saluted LMC after Pocono: “Both cars had speed this weekend right off the truck and qualified really well…I’m proud of everything they’ve put in at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB – all the men and women and the effort they’ve been putting in.” Erik Jones also concurred: “Yeah, I mean, it’s been a huge turnaround for us.” He continued, “I feel like there were a lot of times last year we were just scratching and crawling to get to the racetrack and have a race car there, whereas now I feel like we’ve got our stuff pretty documented and pretty laid out to where we know what we’re bringing.”
What is more, even a NASCAR veteran acknowledged the growth of Jimmie Johnson’s team.
The champion’s presence makes a difference
After all, who can deny Jimmie Johnson’s legendary stature? He is arguably one of the best stock car racers NASCAR has ever hosted, with his stats offering evidence. Johnson owns 83 victories in the Cup Series, and in his 7-time title run, he clinched 5 consecutive championships in 2006-2010. So even though Johnson is not experienced in ownership, he probably knows better than anyone about how to make a team stellar. That is why his role update in January made all the difference. With the help of investment advisor Knighthead Capital Management buying into Maury Gallagher’s ownership stake, Johnson could take a bigger role in LMC. He previously lived in England for more than a year. But for the sake of LMC, Johnson returned Charlotte to be hands-on in his larger role with Legacy.
This conscious step-up is making a stark difference for Legacy, and this is what Dale Earnhardt Jr observed. The NASCAR veteran congratulated Jimmie Johnson for his efforts in May: “Jimmie Johnson is now the majority owner of that team. We saw a ton of interesting hires over there the last six months. Jimmie is retooling that organization…He’s made it work and it’s really impressive because Jimmie is spread thin as a human. He’s all over the place, but he’s plugged in enough to understand to put the right people in the right places to succeed in every department going in the right direction and it’s starting to show up on the racetrack. It’s fascinating. Incredible job. I would have bet against it.”
Clearly, Jimmie Johnson’s investment is paying off fairly. A handsome pay-off may be on the cards as well, as LMC confidently moves ahead in the 2025 season.
The post How Jimmie Johnson’s Toyota Gamble Quietly Fueling One of NASCAR’s Best Turnarounds appeared first on EssentiallySports.
