Jimmie Johnson, Legacy Motor Club Moving from Chevrolet to Toyota in '24

• Legacy Motor Club is co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and businessman Maury Gallagher.

• The team currently fields two Chevrolet Camaros in the Cup Series.

• David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development, said he and his company are “humbled” and “delighted” by the arrival of LMC.
  

In a development that few if any saw coming, Toyota has announced that it will add Legacy Motor Club to its NASCAR Cup Series lineup in 2024. The two Legacy entries—No. 42 with Noah Gragson and No. 43 with Erik Jones—will be the seventh and eighth full-time Toyota Camrys in the Cup Series next season.

Legacy Motor Club, co-owned by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson and businessman Maury Gallagher, currently fields two Chevrolet Camaros in the Cup Series. After retiring from full-time racing after the 2020 season, Johnson spent two dismal years in IndyCar before returning to NASCAR this year as a part-time driver and co-owner of LMC with Gallagher.

Gallagher’s resume includes the 2016 (Johnny Sauter) and 2020 (Sheldon Creed) Craftsman Truck Series championships with his GMS Racing organization. Richard Petty, another seven-time Cup Series champion, became a partner last year, when the team was renamed Petty GMS Racing with Chevrolets for Ty Dillon and Jones.

When Johnson joined the organization this year, the team was renamed Legacy Motor Club. With Johnson coming in as a major decision-making owner, Petty’s role has become largely ceremonial.

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

David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development, said he and his company are “humbled” and “delighted” by the arrival of LMC. “Jimmie and Maury have impressed us with their long-term vision and commitment to building a championship caliber organization,” he added. “More importantly, their character and values are aligned with ours and our current Cup Series partners at Joe Gibbs Racing (four teams) and 23XI Racing (two teams). Of course, we also look forward to being reunited with our old friends, Erik Jones and Noah Gragson.”

Toyota, now into its 20th NASCAR season, has won almost 600 races across the Truck, Xfinity, and Cup series. Christopher Bell currently leads all Cup drivers in top-5 and top-10 finishes, while four Camry drivers are top-10 in points. In NASCAR’s most recent races, Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. won on Monday at Dover Motor Speedway for Joe Gibbs Racing and his brother, Ryan, won the Saturday afternoon Xfinity race, also in a Toyota for JGR.