When Jimmie Johnson took over Petty GMS Motorsports and rebranded it as Legacy Motor Club, the NASCAR world had high hopes for the team. It was like an epiphany that Johnson might impart his “legacy” to the team and make it dominate the sport. But the turmoil seen in the team for the two years since is somewhat concerning.

To add to the woes, LMC’s #43 driver got injured during one of the initial races at Talladega and had to be replaced for a couple of months. This further brought the team and the driver’s morale down. Even now when Erik Jones is back on the tracks, the team is in no position for the post-season.

What have been the issues faced by LMC?

Many of the teams in the new-gen era have been operating with the help of a technical alliance. Owners get charters for their teams and take backend support from established teams to run their affairs. A couple of examples of such partnerships are 23XI Racing with Joe Gibbs Racing and Wood Brothers Racing with Team Penske. This allows the upcoming teams to perform from the headstart.

However, LMC did not take the same route. Jimmie Johnson has really just bought an old house and revamped it to the bones to make it beautiful, a parallel drawn by Eric Estepp. This kind of effort is not a plug-and-play solution. Therefore, it will understandably take time for things to materialize and fall into place.

The problem is that not everyone in the team is aligned with the long-term perspective. When talking to Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, Jones explained, “We wanna be running up front, contending for wins. And so, we’re gotta work hard to make it happen. Toyota’s working hard to help us get there as much as they can. Some of it is just gonna take time.”

Especially, sponsors like Maury Gallagher were more of the opinion to get immediate results, unlike the current scenario. The team overhaul and change of engine manufacturer all might be good for building a solid team that will eventually perform, but that process is bound to take trial and error into consideration. Building a team from scratch is not what the investors had in mind.

Thankfully, for Erik Jones, the situation is not so dire. He has established his comfort with LMC and the team has confirmed his seat for the 2025 season. Jones shared that striking a deal with LMC wasn’t complicated, as both the team and the drive are aligned in their visions.

The recent disbanding of the entire #84 team could allow LMC to focus on its core teams rather than scattering the funds for an ineffective development program. Jimmie Johnson returned to stock car racing with the #84 car in 2023 after his post-retirement IndyCar gig. Despite his lack of success in getting LMC to the forefront of the Cup Series, with better intra-team coordination, the team can get there.

How is Erik Jones coping after a failed season?

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The start of the 2024 season was decent for LMC. But Erik Jones’ back injury threw him off the bandwagon. “Tough year, yeah, in a lot of ways, right. I mean, obviously, we started the year and things were okay, you know, and then we had the injury at Talladega and I had to sit a couple of weeks, that was frustrating, I mean. As a driver, it’s just not fun to sit out and have to sit and watch,” shares Jones.

The 28-year-old driver has shown great caliber with his successive Rookie of the Year recognition across all three NASCAR National Series. LMC’s decision to continue with Erik Jones might prove to be right if there really is the chemistry that they boast. “We’ve got people coming in to help make a difference. And, it’s just gonna take some time to get there,” says Jones.

Jimmie Johnson also needs to find his footing back in the sport. His seven championship titles are not helping him get a hold of the Gen 7 cars. His biggest challenge at the moment is to bring his talent and the latest equipment in sync so he can bring everyone else on the same page.