Strong day for Legacy MC mourned after carnage in final race at Indy

By Cole Cusumano, Editor

When Jimmie Johnson joined forces with fellow seven-time champion Richard Petty and entrepreneur Maury Gallagher to become a team owner in the NASCAR Cup Series, he had a vision to take a struggling organization to new heights with a complete rebranding and overall changes. Still without a win since transitioning to Legacy Motor Club, the past two seasons have been challenging, but there have been a handful of notable performances that offered some optimism – like the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

For the first time since switching from Chevrolet to Toyota, Legacy MC put on a show on one of the biggest stages in motorsports before falling back into what was a harsh reality. With speed being the name of the game from the start of the weekend and throughout the Crown Jewel event, it wasn’t as if the lights were too bright. The results, however, are what’s remembered, casting a negative shadow over a positive day.

John Hunter Nemechek carried the flag for Legacy Motor Club at the notorious 2.5-mile oval from a competitive standpoint during on-track activities. He posted the 10th-fastest time in qualifying, earning his first top-10 starting spot since the season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

For the scheduled distance of the 400-mile race, Nemechek easily had one of the most consistent and successful starts in the field. After finishing the first segment in 13th place, the 24-time national series winner moved up to fifth place as Stage Two wrapped up, but he wasn’t done yet.

Nemechek led a total of 16 laps, including a handful in the final stage. Not only was it the most laps the No. 42 had led at a non-superspeedway since Kansas Speedway in 2019, but it also marked the first time in the 27-year-old’s Cup career that he led multiple laps in a single race.

Unfortunately, on the first of two overtime attempts, Nemechek was hit by Daniel Hemric on the frontstretch entering Turn 1 while running in 14th place after a line of cars had built up in front of him and he was forced to make corrections entering the corner. Instead of battling for his fourth top-10 of the season, he had to settle for 29th.

“I changed lanes there after the start/finish line (and) went down,” Nemechek said. “I had a pretty good run. Everyone started checking going into (turn) one. I checked and I think I got stuck on the left rear. I’m not sure, (I) went down and I think Daniel (Hemric) got me. It stinks. Our Pye Barker Toyota Camry XSE was really fast today. We were leading laps. Not just leading in a speedway race, but really leading there.

“Proud of all the guys,” Nemechek added. “Proud of the effort. That was a really hard blow. But overall, I’m really happy to have a couple of weeks off after the last couple of weeks. But I’m proud that I was able to show speed three of the last five weeks. I’m looking forward to coming back after the break and seeing what we can do.”

You wouldn’t guess it from the results, but seven-time champion and co-owner Johnson delivered what was arguably his most competitive performance in his ninth start in the seventh-generation car.

Johnson, who retired from full-time Cup racing in 2020 to drive in IndyCar, has been vocal in his support for more training since returning on a limited basis. As in the past, the seven-time champion got his way with a full 50-minute session and even posted the ninth-fastest average speed over 10 laps.

After qualifying 33rd, Johnson was one of the biggest climbers at the end of the opening stage, improving nine positions. While the four-time Brickyard winner was scored 24th, he was also the highest-finishing driver among active Cup winners at the Indianapolis oval, ahead of Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch.

After various strategies, Johnson and his team, who started from number 84, managed to establish themselves firmly in the top 20 for most of the second segment, before impressively working their way into the top 15 by the end of the stage.

With 50 laps to go, NASCAR’s GOAT made his presence felt as he battled all the way to 11th. Then the inevitable happened.

On an aggressive restart that saw Johnson line up on the inside of the sixth row, Carson Hocevar forced his Chevrolet into the middle of a three-abreast situation between the No. 84 and Ryan Blaney entering Turn 1. Unaware of the No. 77, the reigning champion swerved past the nose of the Camaro, hitting the Carvana-sponsored Toyota Camry XSE. That ended the racing days of Johnson and teammate Joey Logano.

On a day when Johnson was at his best and should have easily improved on his previous best finish of 28th in the Next-Gen era, he finished in 33rd place where he started the race.

“I was on the bottom and got hit on my right rear and went into the outside fence at that point,” Johnson said. “Those restarts are just so aggressive. Everyone’s pushing to get to the end of the race and it’s time to go. Unfortunately, those pushes weren’t lined up right. I don’t know what caused it, but something happened on the outside and they caught me and we went off.

“It was great to be back,” Johnson added. “Our cars ran really well all weekend. Unfortunately, we just missed our balance in qualifying, but (were) very competitive in the race. We went from 33rd to 17th and ended up in 11th. Overall, a strong Carvana Camry, and it felt good behind the wheel. I’m starting to understand the Next Gen vehicle. I think our group is starting to understand what we need for the cars.”

Ironically, in typical Erik Jones fashion, the three-time Cup winner quietly put together Legacy MC’s best finish, finishing just ahead of Nemechek in 28th place as the last car on track not to crash. While there wasn’t much to show for a painfully dull day at Indianapolis – and speaking of the performance improvement – ​​Jones did finish in the top 15 at Pocono this past weekend after finishing in the top 10 in both stages.

There is still a long way to go before Legacy Motor Club is at the level Johnson wants it to be competitively, but at least there is a silver lining after a good day at the track and a poor race on paper.