Is Toyota the Right Move for Legacy Motor Club?

 

Photo: Racing America

Earlier this week, Legacy Motor Club announced that beginning in 2024 they will field Toyota Camry's in the NASCAR Cup Series.  This adds another to many changes the team has seen over the past couple of years from Richard Petty Motorsports merging with GMS Racing to adding seven-time champion, Jimmie Johnson, as an owner to create Legacy Motor Club.  The team has seen a lot of changes, but hasn't seen the results they were hoping to in 2023.  Last year, it seemed as if the team were on the up-and-up.  While the #42 team struggled, the #43 had an 18th place points finish and a Southern 500 victory.  However, after 11 races, the #43 and #42 sit 24th and 32nd in the standings, respectively.  Could the move to Toyota be the change needed for the team to change that? There are certainly some reasons to believe so.


No More Small Fish, Big Pond

Chevrolet is the leading manufacturer in NASCAR's top series.  Currently, Chevrolet is the OEM of choice for eight NASCAR Cup Series teams.  These eight teams make up 16 of NASCAR's 36 chartered entries.  Because of this, often times it is easy for the smaller teams to get lost in the shuffle.  Contrastingly, Toyota is NASCAR's smallest manufacturer in the top division.  Toyota has two NASCAR Cup teams, making up six of the aforementioned 36 chartered entries.  With LMC joining, they will be less likely to be forgotten in the mix of manufacturers.  Toyota has been looking to expand their numbers to help their performances on tracks like Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta.  Because of this, Toyota is going to treat their teams well.


Familiarity Among Drivers

Legacy Motor Club is currently the home of NASCAR Cup Series drivers Erik Jones and Noah Gragson.  While LMC and Chevrolet are their current home it wasn't always that way for either driver.  As a matter of fact, both Jones and Gragson were originally a part of the Toyota Racing Development program.  Erik Jones found his way to Cup series through Kyle Busch Motorsports during their tenure with Toyota.  Erik Jones has won 19 National Series races in his career, 18 of which were with Toyota.  Likewise, Noah Gragson was also a part of the KBM toyota success, scoring two wins in his two seasons there and getting a Final Four appearance in the Truck series in 2018.  This success amongst both drivers proves that both are familiar with Toyota and they both have what it takes to win in Toyota equipment.


Toyota Switch Has Worked Before

Legacy Motor Club is not the first team from the Chevrolet camp in the last decade to switch to Toyota.  In 2016, Toyota became the home of Furniture Row Racing.  Over the next three seasons, FRR would go on to win 16 races and the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.  In 2019, Leavine Family Racing would also make the jump to Toyota from Chevrolet.  While not having quite the success that FRR had, LFR would get 7 Top-10s in both seasons they were with Toyota: a number that is equivalent to the amount of Top-10's they'd had in all of their previous seasons combined.  Unfortunately, FRR and LFR went out of business after their tenure with Toyota, but the success they achieved along the way is undeniable.


Legacy Motor Club is a team that desperately wants to be successful in the NASCAR Cup Series.  The team is surrounded by success with having two of NASCAR's three 7-time champions around: Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson.  Will Legacy Motor Club find the same success that teams like Furniture Row Racing and Leavine Family Racing found?  I suppose we will just have to wait and see in 2024.

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