2026 Season Preview: Legacy Motor Club

Although the results are still lacking, 2025 did see Legacy Motor Club seemingly turn a page. Both John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones had more races where they looked to have competitive speed. Nemechek nearly found his way to earning double digit Top-10s. It is a promising sign for things to come for the third Toyota team. Will 2026 be the season where Legacy breaks out? That does seem unlikely, but every season seems to have one surprise team pop up and impress. Based on what was seen last year, there are some glimmers of hope tied to Legacy. At the very least, Darlington should be a couple of strong races. What else should be expected from Legacy Motor Club in this 2026 Season Preview?

#42 – John Hunter Nemechek

Crew Chief: Travis Mack

2025 Points Finish: 25

2026 Announced Sponsors: Dollar Tree/Family Dollar, Pye-Barker Fire & Saftey, DriveValue.com

Between the two fulltime Legacy Motor Club drivers, John Hunter Nemechek certainly looks to be the breakout candidate. His time in the lower series brought some pedigree to his name. While his first season back in Cup went poorly, last year saw flickers of the potential Nemechek holds. In the equipment he is in, it is impressive that the 42 collected 8 Top-10s at a variety of tracks. That said, finding the consistency from start to finish will be key for this team. Reading through their results from last year, there were no periods of sustained positive results. In a bizarre trend, Nemechek would have back-to-back Top-10s then fail to do so for at least 7 races 3 out of 4 times.

2026 Expectations

If one would expect growth to continue on a linear path, then 2026 should see Nemechek break into the Top-20 in points. After rattling off 2 Top-5s and 8 Top-10s, the expectation would be to bump into the teens for Top-10s and approach 5 Top-5s. The question of equipment will certainly come into play there though. Until proven otherwise, the Legacy cars are a tick behind the rest of the field. At drivers’ tracks, Nemechek can maximize the equipment. Elsewhere though, this team has failed to demonstrate the capabilities to rise to the occasion.

Dark Horse for The Chase

Not many people will have John Hunter Nemechek in any serious dialogue in regards to The Chase. As mentioned above, the consistency is not there to have faith in this team pointing their way in over other teams. That said, the first 26 races should play better into Nemechek’s strengths. If the 42 team can hit on the setups, it would not be shocking to see Nemechek consistently run inside the Top-20. The driver has the talent to pull this off. Is it likely? Obviously not. Yet, he is not the worst off-the-wall pick to make The Chase.

#43 – Erik Jones

Crew Chief: Justin Alexander

2025 Points Finish: 24

2026 Announced Sponsors: Advent Health, Dollar Tree/Family Dollar, Massey Motor Freight

What to make of Erik Jones with Legacy Motor Club. As with John Hunter Nemechek, the talent certainly seems to be there with Jones. However, the results have not lived up to that talent. 2022 certainly looks to be a one-off season of success. Whatever happened after the organizational shift to Toyota killed that momentum. On the bright side though, 2025 was Jones’s best since that notable ’22 season. His peak stretch last season arrived with Amazon Prime. From the Coca-Cola 600 through Atlanta, Jones put up a 11.0 average finish.

2026 Expectations

At this moment, Erik Jones certainly feels to be driver 2 in the Legacy Moto Club stable. Although he finished a spot above Nemechek in standings. the eye test does not favor Erik Jones. Outside of Darlington and the superspeedways, Jones and the 43 have not demonstrated the ability to compete with the better teams. When considering what the expectations should be for Jones, it is a tricky situation. On one hand, Jones’s talent should be enough to keep this team relevant and consistent. At the same time, no amount of talent can overcome dragging an anchor across the finish line. For simplicity’s sake, a reasonable expectation for Jones is to be around the Top-20 in points.

Crew Chief Shuffle

When in doubt, swap them out. After the calendar flipped to the new year, Legacy Motor Club announced that Justin Alexander would replace Ben Beshore atop Jones’s pit box. While the thought for optimism might be quelled, Alexander is a multi-time Cup Series winner. While serving as the crew chief for the 3 car, Alexander managed to snag 2 Gen7 wins, one at Richmond. RCR used him as the fix-it man for Austin Dillon, so maybe he can do the same for the 43 team.

#84 – Jimmie Johnson

Crew Chief: Chad Johnston

2026 Announced Sponsors & Dates: Carvana (Daytona & San Diego)

Jimmie Johnson is back in the saddle again for 2026. After only making two starts last year, Johnson looks set to improve upon that number in 2026. At the moment of this writing, the two confirmed starts are the Daytona 500 and San Diego Street Race. Based on precedent, it would be a safe assumption that Johnson will attempt the Coca-Cola 600. No matter how many starts Johnson ends up making in 2026, the goal has to be improving upon is awful record. His lone Top-10 is from since returning is last year’s Daytona 500. Every other start has seen Johnson finish 26th or worse. For the younger generation, Johnson’s legend is being tarnished. He is a shell of the former 7-time Champion NASCAR fans grew to despise. It would be nice to see Johnson run a few races where he can impress before he hangs it up for good.

Catch up on the previous 2026 Season Previews

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