2025 Cup Series Team Preview: Legacy Motor Club

STATESVILLE, N.C. – When the marriage of Legacy Motor Club and Toyota first occurred, the expectation was always a slow but steady rebuild.

In 2025, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek – who will return as teammates for a second straight year in the NASCAR Cup Series – look to take the next step forward toward the ultimate goal of playoff and championship contention.

By no means was the 2024 season one to remember for the group. The pair collected just one top five and a combined eight top 10s across 36 races.

Often, both teams would run 23rd or worse most weeks, with a rare top 10 effort coming too few and far between.

However, with time and an off-season comes the opportunity to grow and learn from growing pains. When starting fresh, getting adjusted can prove to be difficult.

Tale of the Tape I:

Driver: Erik Jones

Age: 28

Experience: Enters ninth full-time season

Crew Chief: Ben Beshore

2024 season: 28th in final standings; one top five, two top 10s

Throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career, the narrative on Jones has been that he’s a driver who can be elite. However, the Michigan native has always had something restricting him from reaching his full ceiling as a potential star.

Whether the roadblock was struggles and inconsistency with Joe Gibbs Racing or being part of the new era for Richard Petty Motorsports post Bubba Wallace, now known as Legacy Motor Club, Jones hasn’t yet been in a stable-enough situation to put himself among the consistent frontrunners.

After 2024 saw a fractured vertebra in his back that sidelined him for two weeks and only produced one top five and two top 10s overall, Jones suffered through the worst statistical season of his Cup career.

Due to this, changes were made late last season and hopes are higher that 2025 may ignite the stardom many owners and teams feel the Michigan native is capable of.

Veteran crew chief Ben Beshore was paired with Jones as his new crew chief to close out 2024, as former signal caller Dave Elenz moved on from the organization. Now, Beshore and Jones began their first full season together as a duo.

With the right car, the 28-year-old is a threat to contend at any track, and that shouldn’t change entering his ninth full-time Cup Series season.

Potential Tracks of Contention: 

• Darlington (S.C.) Raceway: (Two Southern 500 wins and five top fives)
• Pocono (Pa.) Raceway: (Average finish of 10th since 2022, with a career eight top 10s)
• Texas Motor Speedway: (Three top fives, seven top 10s and 116 laps led)

Neither talent nor skill has been the issue for Jones throughout his racing career; it’s just a matter of having competitive equipment each weekend to make the correct strides.

Tale of the Tape II:

Driver: John Hunter Nemechek

Age: 27

Experience: Enters third full-time season

Crew Chief: Travis Mack

2024 season: 34th in final standings; four top 10s

After reviving his career as a NASCAR Cup Series prospect by dropping back to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series and contending for championships, Nemechek experienced all of the elements of adversity in 2024 during his Cup Series return.

At times the No. 42 team was a no-show, whether it was because they lacked speed or had a decent effort but didn’t get a representative result to show for it. Due to finishing 34th in points last season, Nemechek, like his teammate, also has a change at crew chief.

Veteran Travis Mack moved from Kaulig Racing and will join the 28-year-old as his voice atop the pit box. Since working his way back to the top level of NASCAR, it’s time for the Mooresville, N.C., native to take the next step.

Potential Tracks of Contention: 

• New Hampshire Motor Speedway: (Finished eighth June race in 2024)
• Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway: (Finished seventh and 15th in both races last year)
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway: (Qualified 10th and led 16 laps in July race)

For Legacy Motor Club, both drivers are talented and have made names for themselves in NASCAR in previous seasons and lower series. Now with new leadership atop the pit box and a year of notes with Toyota under their belts, it’s go time for Jones and Nemechek to assert themselves as top contenders.

The 2025 Cup Series season begins with the non-points Cook Out Clash at Bowman-Gray (N.C.) Stadium on Feb. 2, followed by the 67th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway on Feb. 16.

Both races will be broadcast live on FOX, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.