Legacy Motor Club made big moves after the 2023 Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson, who shares ownership duties with Maury Gallagher, became more and more involved with the decision-making process. Trevor Bayne was named the team’s new competition advisor, and Bobby Kennedy was named the new general manager.

However, the big change came with the switch to OEM partners. Legacy Motor Club decided to ditch the Chevrolet and join the Toyota camp. Jimmie Johnson, who won his seven titles driving a Chevrolet car at HMS, leading a charge for his team, was looking for a long-term strategic alliance. Additionally, the move to Toyota made sense at the time but seemed to have backfired if we were to consider the first half of the 2024 season.

LMC’s new partnership with Toyota has failed to deliver so far

With this technical alliance in place, the Japanese automaker had eight cars on the field. Thus, it was seen as a huge boost for them to compete for race wins and championships. Legacy Motor Club wanted to develop its own long-term program, which was not possible with Chevy given the number of teams they supported.

Trackhouse Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Spire Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, and JTG Daugherty Racing are all under the Chevrolet banner. So, to be competitive, LMC decided to join a less-crowded Toyota roster. Unfortunately, they are yet to see the desired results of this new technical alliance.

Driving the No. 42 Toyota Camry John Hunter Nemechek has had it tough staying on par with the competition. Out of the 22 starts he’s made this season, only three of them have resulted in a top-10 finish. To add to his woes, he has ended a total of 5 races on a DNF. He currently sits 31st in the points standings, far from the cutline to make the playoffs.

His teammate Erik Jones, has suffered a similar fate while driving the No. 43 Camry. The only bright spot from his races so far has been consistent top-20 finishes. The #43 team has collected a total of ten of them so far in 2024, which sees him placed 27th in the points standings. However, this is far from being competitive. Even Jimmie Johnson, who runs a partial schedule, has been unable to weave his magic with the No. 48 car.

Although it seems like Legacy Motor Club’s gamble of switching to Toyota has turned sour, in reality, there is a bigger picture in play here. LMC wants to build its own program from scratch and does not want to rely on team alliances to leapfrog into contention.

Is LMC better off without a technical alliance?

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Usually, a technical alliance helps the new or small operating team get a jump start in the competitive scenario. 23XI Racing has a technical alliance with JGR, Trackhouse Racing has forged ties with RCR; and recently, Front Row Motorsports inked a deal with Team Penske. This allows the team to tap into the resources already at the disposal of powerhouse NASCAR organizations. But all of this comes with an additional cost. LMC isn’t shy about spending the big bucks, but they wanted to develop their own program that would pay off in the long run.

LMC is a Tier 1 racing organization partnered with Toyota, and they have their own race shop, where they develop parts and pieces. The technical alliances are only good for the bug team until the smaller ones do not overtake them on the racetrack. This was the feeling LMC felt while they were with Chevy, and they certainly didn’t want to work under the shadow of other organizations that could call the shots. Therefore, a solo venture slowly developing its expertise was a better prospect in their minds.

Perhaps it is too early to judge Legacy Motor Club’s and Toyota’s strategic partnership. But it will be interesting to see how long the team will stick to this philosophy given how mediocre their on-track performance has been this season.