Legacy Motor Club

NASCAR’s Legacy Motor Club switching manufacturer to Toyota starting in 2024

Legacy Motor Club announced Tuesday it will switch car manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The race team, co-owned by seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and businessman Maury Gallagher, currently fields two full-time cars: the No. 43 Chevrolet driven by Erik Jones, and the No. 42 Chevrolet for rookie Noah Gragson. With Legacy Motor Club partnering with Toyota, the Japanese automaker will have eight cars chartered on the circuit next year. They join Joe Gibbs Racing (four cars) and 23XI Racing (two cars).

“Maury Gallagher and I are very excited about the partnership with Toyota and TRD beginning in 2024. We admire and respect the level at which Toyota conducts their business in this sport… Look forward to forging a new legacy for the future. I will always be appreciative to Chevrolet and everything we have accomplished together,” Jimmie Johnson said in a press release. “I’m so thankful they took a chance on a kid from California so long ago… Proud that the history books will forever memorialize our record-breaking success we shared.”

Toyota expanding NASCAR Cup Series charters

Toyota expanded its flight from four to six cars with the formation of Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin’s 23XI Racing. Toyota’s have enjoyed great success in 2023, winning three races — second only to Chevrolet (seven wins).

“We are humbled and delighted to welcome LEGACY MOTOR CLUB into the Toyota and TRD NASCAR family,” said David Wilson, president of TRD, U.S.A. [Toyota Racing Development]. “Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher have impressed us with their long-term vision and commitment to building a championship caliber organization.”

Legacy Motor Sports’ duo in Jones and Gragson sit 24th and 32nd in the points standings respectively. Johnson, meanwhile, has driven the team’s No. 84 car on a part-time basis this season. Johnson, who retired from full-time competition in 2020, made starts in the Daytona 500 and at Circuit of The Americas. Both ended prematurely after crashes.

“While Toyota’s tenure in NASCAR has yielded on-track success, our proudest accomplishments are those relationships that have been built off the racetrack,” said Jack Hollis, executive vice president of TMNA [Toyota Motor North America] and president of Toyota Motor Sales. “Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher along with the great club that LEGACY M.C. is assembling, will be a great addition to our existing Cup Series team partners with Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing who are truly part of our family.”