Welcome to Around the Grid, a new series we’ll be doing every single Sunday after raceday. The idea is simple: We pick a driver before the race we want to hone in on to try and highlight the most interesting parts of the day. 

I’ve had a gut feeling about Legacy Motor Club all offseason. John Hunter Nemechek only improved to end the 2025 season, and Erik Jones has been a consistent driver for the last five years or more. With continued manufacturer and sponsor support, it just felt right. 

Initially, I wanted to cover Erik Jones, but it was a lot of parading around before an unfortunate wreck in the closing laps. Due to this, I’ll be taking a look at the whole team’s effort today, including team owner Jimmie Johnson.

Nemechek started the week off hot for the team by qualifying 11th for the 500, with Jones in 24th and Johnson in 31st, respectively. 

The son of NASCAR journeyman Joe Nemechek held it down to start the main show, mixing it up with some of the faster cars and flying in line with the other Toyotas in tow. Jones and Johnson found themselves stuck in the back of the pack to start, a tune that wouldn’t change as the laps ticked down and down 

One thing about today’s race was that it was a lot more cordial than past Daytonas have been. Besides a BJ McLeod spin, things stayed friendly in stage one, and JHN benefitted, mixing it up in the top three and dueling with the likes of Joey Logano. 

Things seemed typical until around Lap 57, when JHN pitted as part of a four-car group where he was the only Toyota. The strategy for teams seemed off early. 

Jones and Johnson pitted away from the #42 again as Nemechek came in just ten laps after his first stop. He would slide into the stall sideways and lose the track position he’d been fighting for. 

This is when things would get mundane for the Club, as all three of their cars used the second stage to stay in the mid to back of the pack. Things got complicated after the big one finally hit on lap 124, collecting Nemechek and Jones and forcing both to work on some damage. 

Nemechek got the brunt of it, needing a heap of tape and once again forcing the young driver to make up lost ground. The sole benefactor was Johnson, who drove away unscathed and got the free pass. 

After the field began to shuffle to three wide in the final stage, the LMC crew somehow found themselves in the position to win. Avoiding race-ruining damage, Nemechek used the draft to stay around the pack despite heavy tape on the front end. 

As things began to get testy with less than three laps to go, Jones began to work around the field and build an outside lane to make a charge to the front. Like a white-hot bullet, the AdventistHealth 43 of Jones shot forward, and the white flag waved. 

Well, just as fast as the flag was dropped, Jones was sideways, pointing towards the grass. Jones’ huge was blocked by Carson Hocevar, with the shove getting the #77 sideways and ending both of their days immediately. Nemechek would be caught in the crossfire as well. 

After a day filled with hardship, pack racing, and working their way up, Legacy Motor Club finished with all of their cars inside the top 20, and two being wrecked. 

If there’s any lesson I got reinforced after working on this piece, it’s that Daytona is one unforgiving mistress. This is a team that has yet to win a race under the Legacy MC moniker, and Jimmie Johnson may run out of business pitches for their partners if they can’t start finding ways to get up front. 

The progress of the team will have to be checked on when we get to tracks that utilize car performance more, but you can’t help but feel for the three-car team after a day of tough racing. 

We’ll be back next week for the second edition of Around the Grid from EchoPark Speedway (still hate that), so stay tuned to see who the next driver we lock in on is.