Ambition and the hunger for expansion are the ingredients of success for every race team owner. Jimmie Johnson is still finding his feet with his NASCAR Cup Series team, Legacy Motor Club; by no means are they among the top-tier teams just yet. But that isn’t going to restrict the 7-time Cup Series champion’s ambitious plans to expand beyond the borders of stock car racing.

We all know Trackhouse Racing has established itself as a successful motorsports brand. While their roots stem from NASCAR, owner Justin Marks has taken his company to the next level with representation at Moto GP and IMSA. This allows them to expand their footprint and collaborate with talented race car drivers from different disciplines of racing. Based on this latest confession, it looks like Jimmie Johnson has been carefully watching all the moves Marks has been making with Trackhouse.

Jimmie Johnson could be following into Justin Marks’ expansion plans

Legacy Motor Club, just like Trackhouse, is a young racing organization that started competing in NASCAR in 2022. However, they didn’t form a technical alliance with the big brother Toyota team, JGR, and have been working independently with Toyota. Although the progress on the racetrack seems slow, Johnson has repeatedly stated that working on their own project in collaboration with Toyota will take some time. In fact, the Japanese automaker is pushing LMC to branch out of NASCAR and compete in multiple racing divisions.

From the outside looking in, one might predict that LMC might take five years or so to embark on this ambitious journey. But Johnson isn’t going to wait around, and he opened up on his team’s plans. “Yeah, definitely possibilities, and I have so much respect for Justin’s vision and execution and just the way he’s gone about building Trackhouse. That’s certainly a model that I’m inspired by. As time goes on and opportunities present themselves to Legacy Motor Club, we’ll have an open eye and certainly hope to expand. I really think there is an opportunity in North America to have a bigger presence.” Johnson said this on Peacock’s broadcast of Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

One of the hosts on the broadcast team even asked if Legacy Motor Club could be heading to IMSA racing soon. To this, the veteran driver replied, “Absolutely one of my initiatives and more so than that. I think there are a lot of great opportunities, especially with a great partner like Toyota and all the divisions that they race in.”

However, if we are to compare Trackhouse Racing and LMC’s short stint in NASCAR, it’s a clear night-and-day difference in terms of a success story. Trackhouse is a young and bold team with drivers like Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Shane van Gisbergen. Not to forget, they also have the PROJECT 91 car that allows them to bring in non-NASCAR talents to major events. Trackhouse has eight Cup Series wins and a championship 4 appearance, while LMC has drawn blanks in their short stint at the Cup Series level.

LMC’s journey in NASCAR so far has been rather anti-climactic. In 2021, when co-owner Maury Gallagher took over Richard Petty Motorsports, renamed it Petty GMS Racing in 2022, and roped in Jimmie Johnson as an owner the following year, things looked set for excellence. The name change to Legacy Motor Club symbolized the ‘legacy’ of Richard Petty Motorsports that would be carried on. However, 3 years later, LMC has just one victory to their name and is going through a host of changes to make that right.

So there is indeed a huge gap in how the two teams have fared competitively ever since their arrival. And given that LMC is just the third Toyota team in the Cup Series garage, they will need to ramp up their efforts to contest for wins and playoff spots.

What can we expect from Legacy Motor Club in 2025?

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Travis Mack will be leading the charge of the No. 42 Toyota Camry driven by John Hunter Nemechek. The 2024 season was JHM’s first full-time run since 2020, that too with a new manufacturer and a new team. He had four top-10 results to his name, but it was just the flash of his potential, as a lack of consistency hampered his overall standings as he ended the 2024 campaign in the 34th spot.

Mack does bring the expertise and experience that could guide the #42 team in the right direction. However, the team can build on their good runs on tracks like Daytona, Bristol, New Hampshire, and Las Vegas. Nemechek is a talented race car driver who bagged a ton of wins; just look back at his 2023 Xfinity Series run. A total of seven wins with JGR is what got him back to the Cup Series, so all the team needs to do is find their rhythm and work on their strengths.

On the other hand, LMC will need to back up their senior driver, Erik Jones, who isn’t new when it comes to Cup racing. Jones has eight full-time seasons under his belt, along with victory lane appearances on tracks like Daytona and Darlington. But the Southern 500 winner hasn’t been able to fire off with the No. 43 Toyota Camry. In fact, the 2024 season was his worst statistically, with an average finish of 22.9 and just 17 laps led.

Ben Beshore will have to find the best out of the seasoned driver; after all, he is plenty capable of winning NASCAR Cup Series races. The big question that remains is whether LMC should have forged a technical alliance with JGR, as their struggles could continue going into the 2025 season.