Tomorrow marks the first time in 2025 that Cup cars hit a track. The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium will host practice and the heats to set Sunday’s lineups. As for the Daytona 500, there are still 12 days left to go for practice/qualifying. One team that will hope for a 180 from last year (and the year prior) will be Legacy Motor Club. With 12 Days to Daytona, what can fans expect from Erik Jones and the Legacy Motor Club #43?
The #43 Team
Driver: Erik Jones
Crew Chief: Ben Beshroe
Sponsors: AdventHealth, Family Dollar/Dollar Tree, Allegiant, Club Wyndham
2024 Statistics: 34 Starts, 1 Top-5, 2 Top-10s, 22.9 Average Finish
2025 Season Preview
What Happened?
Cast your mind back to the end of 2022. After a merger between Petty and GMS, the 43 team looked to be on the rise. Heading into 2023, Jones frequently found himself as a dark horse playoff pick. What has followed since then has been a disaster. The transformation from Petty-GMS to Legacy Motor Club seemingly sapped the good fortunes. While 2023 was written off due to leaving for Toyota, 2024 truly has no excuse for how poor it was. Now that Jimmie Johnson is the majority owner, maybe a turnaround can start this season.
Ben Beshore Influence
For the final 5 races last year, Ben Beshore swapped Legacy Motor Club pit boxes. After a trying season with John Hunter Nemechek, Beshore was put with Erik Jones as Dave Elenz left the organization. The initial numbers do not look impressive, but some progress did occur. Outside of a DNF at the ROVAL, Jones ran more competitively around the Top-20. Now with a full offseason to get in sync with each other, perhaps Jones can return to 2022 results.
2026 Plans?
Although Erik Jones got the boot from Joe Gibbs Racing, few will argue against his talent. Jones elevated the 43 car in his first two seasons, especially in 2022 when he won the Southern 500 and finished Top-20 in points. Over the past 2 seasons, the feeling is that the equipment is failing Jones. At a certain point, something might have to give for both driver and team. Jones signed a multi-year extension last year, but another struggling season might strain that commitment. Nothing seems imminent, but it would not be a surprising turn of events.
Daytona 500 Outlook
All of the potential silly season talk could be immediately washed away with a Daytona 500 win. It would be special to see the iconic 43 return to victory lane at Daytona, especially for the 500. Jones is not a ludicrous prospect to win the Great American Race either. He has a Daytona win on his record (2018 summer) and he is considered a solid drafting partner. Plus, he has finished on the lead lap in each of his past 3 Daytona starts.
Once again, the potential of numerous Toyotas making the race as open cars can only help Erik Jones. If majority owner Jimmie Johnson can qualify his way into the Daytona 500, he would surely push one of his cars to victory lane. Granted, that would require Johnson surviving to the end of the 500. Still, Jones has a proven track record at Daytona that would imply he could get the job done. However, the big negative in Jones’ recent Daytona starts is his lack of laps led. Not since 2022 has Jones led a single lap at Daytona.
Days to Daytona Countdown
40 Days: Team Penske #22; 39 Days: Team Penske #12; 38 Days: Hendrick #24;
37 Days: 23XI Racing #45; 36 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #20;
35 Days: Hendrick Motorsports #5; 34 Days: Hendrick Motorsports #9;
33 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #11, 32 Days: Henrick Motorsports #48;
31 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #19; 30 Days: Team Penske #2;
29 Days: Trackhouse Racing #99; 28 Days: RFK Racing #6;
27 Days: Trackhouse Racing #88; 26 Days: Joe Gibbs Racing #54;
25 Days: Wood Brothers Racing #21; 24 Days: RFK Racing #17;
23 Days: 23XI Racing #23; 22 Days: Trackhouse Racing #1;
21 Days: Richard Childress Racing #8; 20 Days: Spire Motorsports #77;
19 Days: Front Row Motorsports #38; 18 Days: Front Row Motorsports #34
17 Days: Front Row Motorsports #4; 16 Days: Hyak Motorsports #47;
15 Days: Haas Factory Team #35; 14 Days: 23XI Racing #35; 13 Days: Kaulig Racing #16
