Toyota announced Tuesday it is partnering with Legacy Motor Club for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. The team’s two entries, the No. 42 and No. 43, will mean Toyota will have eight full-time teams in the series in 2024.
“All of us at Toyota are thrilled to add LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to our NASCAR family,” said Jack Hollis, executive vice president of TMNA (Toyota Motor North America) and president of Toyota Motor Sales. “While Toyota’s tenure in NASCAR has yielded on-track success, our proudest accomplishments are those relationships that have been built off the racetrack. Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher along with the great club that LEGACY M.C. is assembling, will be a great addition to our existing Cup Series team partners with Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing who are truly part of our family.”
Legacy Motor Club, co-owned by Maury Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, currently fields cars for drivers Erik Jones and Noah Gragson. This marks the organization’s first stint with Toyota, after Johnson earned all of his titles with Chevrolet.
“Maury Gallagher and I are very excited about the partnership with Toyota and TRD beginning in 2024,” said Johnson. “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 is in its 20th season in NASCAR, earning close to 600 wins across the Cup, Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series during that time. Toyota has won three manufacturer titles in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
“We are humbled and delighted to welcome LEGACY MOTOR CLUB into the Toyota and TRD NASCAR family,” said David Wilson, president of TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development). “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.”
Both Jones and Gragson have a history with Toyota early in their careers. Jones earned Rookie of the Year titles in all three national touring series with Toyota, the first driver in NASCAR history to do so. Gragson also made his NASCAR Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series debut driving Toyotas.
After 11 races this season, Jones currently sits 24th in the point standings with two top-10 finishes, while Gragson is 32nd in the standings.
