Legacy Motor Club Announces Manufacturer Swap From Chevrolet To Toyota In 2024

When seven-time Nascar Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson was announced as the newest co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, he said the new endeavor is part of “a legacy I want to create outside of the car.”

In early May, Legacy Motor Club announced it is taking the major step of switching manufacturers as it will move from Chevrolet to Toyota starting in 2024. The move to Toyota will effectively end Johnson’s relationship with the bow-tie OEM, which he’s been with for the majority of his career.

“Maury Gallagher [co-owner] and I are very excited about the partnership with Toyota and TRD beginning in 2024,” Johnson said in a statement. “We admire and respect the level at which Toyota conducts their business in this sport 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.”

Toyota, which currently fields six cars in the Nascar Cup Series, will now have eight entries. Legacy Motor Club will join Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing as the three Toyota-backed organizations in 2024. Toyota noted 2024 will see its highest number of entries in the Cup Series since 2011.

Both Erik Jones and Noah Gragson, the team’s two primary drivers, have previous experience driving Toyota racecars in various forms of Nascar competition.

“We are humbled and delighted to welcome Legacy Motor Club into the Toyota and TRD [Toyota Racing Development] Nascar family,” David Wilson, president of TRD, U.S.A., said in a statement. “Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher have impressed us with their long-term vision and commitment to building a championship caliber organization. More importantly, their character and values are aligned with ours and our current Cup Series partners, Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing. Of course, we also look forward to being reunited with our old friends, Erik Jones and Noah Gragson.”

The team announced in January it would undergo a rebrand from Petty GMS to Legacy Motor Club. Johnson is currently piloting a third part-time entry for the team as part of his re-entry into Nascar following a two-year stint in the NTT IndyCar Series.

“I have so much to learn in this capacity,” Johnson said in January. “I certainly know how to build up drivers, the competition department, going to the racetrack, going racing, I have a lot of experience there.

“In many aspects, I’m a rookie. I have the yellow stripe on my blazer and I know I’m a rookie in the office, the board room and in meetings. Being aware of my lack of knowledge in some areas and listening is a big part of this.”

Through the first 11 races of the 2023 Cup Series season, Jones sits 24th in the standings with Gragson in 32nd.