Legacy Motor Club, formerly known as Petty GMS Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team owned by Jimmie Johnson with minority stakes by Richard Petty, Maury Gallagher, Knighthead Capital Management and an strategic ownership group.
The team competes in the NASCAR Cup Series where they currently field three Toyota Camry teams: the No.42 full-time for John Hunter Nemechek, the No.43 full-time for Erik Jones, and the No.84 part-time for team co-owner Johnson. The team has a technical alliance with Toyota Racing Development. In 2024, Legacy Motor Club competed in the electric off-road racing series Extreme E.
History
On December 1, 2021, Maury Gallagher purchased a majority interest in the former Richard Petty Motorsports for 19 million. The deal included both of RPM's charters; the No.43 continued to operate with its charter while the second charterwhich was leased to Rick Ware Racing for the No.51 from 2019 to 2021was transferred to a second car for the team, the No.42. Following the purchase, the team was renamed to Petty GMS Motorsports.
On September 16, 2022, it was reported that Petty GMS Motorsports would use Joe Gibbs Racing pit crews in 2023. On November 4, seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson purchased an ownership stake in Petty GMS. Following the 2022 season, Richard Petty sold all shares of Petty GMS Motorsports to majority owner Gallagher.
On January 11, 2023, the team announced the rebranding of the organization to Legacy Motor Club, marking the first time since the founding of NASCAR in 1949 that the Petty family has not had their name on a team in NASCAR's top series. On February 18, Petty announced that Johnson had taken control of the team's day-to-day operations, leaving him without decision-making power. On May 3, the team announced it will switch manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2024. On July 26, Cal Wells was appointed as the team's CEO. On August 25, Bill Scott was promoted from Executive Vice President & General Counsel to COO. On October 10, Matt Kenseth was named the team’s Competition Advisor.
On January 25, 2024, Trevor Bayne was named the team's Competition Advisor. On July 14, Bobby Kennedy was named General Manager, while Competition Director Joey Cohen left the team.
On January 27, 2025, Johnson was named majority owner of Legacy Motor Club, with Knighthead Capital Management purchasing a minority stake and Gallagher stepping back into an ambassador role.
Strategic Ownership Group On March 25, 2026, Darius Rucker was named co-owner of LMC. On June 25, 2026, Guy Fieri was named strategic owner of LMC. On July 30, 2026, LMC announced that the team would be owned by a strategic ownership group that includes Rucker, Fieri, Bryce Harper, Kelly Slater, Andy Roddick, Sam Byrne, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Jen Rubio, and Chase Utley.
Lawsuit against Rick Ware Racing On April 1, 2025, LMC sued Rick Ware Racing over the sale of a charter. On March 3, both teams signed a deal for RWR to sell a charter to LMC, but RWR has allegedly backed out on the deal. RWR claims the agreement would go in effect in 2027, but LMC changed the terms to 2026 without any communication with RWR.
On April 9, LMC obtained a temporary restraining order preventing RWR from selling, leasing, or otherwise encumbering the charter in question for at least 10 days or until agreement by LMC and RWR. However, a North Carolina judge denied LMC the injunction. It was revealed that the lawsuit resulted from a confusion over which of RWR's two charters was in the transaction. The agreement stated Charter 36 (currently used by the No.51 car) was to be sold for 45 million; LMC's attorney argued that the contract listed Charter 27 (which was leased to RFK Racing for the No.60 car in 2025). RWR's attorney claimed that two weeks after the agreement was signed, LMC offered to pay RWR an additional 5 million for Charter 27 for 2026. RFK has an agreement to lease Charter 36 in 2026, as teams are allowed to lease charters once every seven years.
On June 18, RWR filed a countersuit against LMC, citing LMC made a false claim of purchasing the charter for 2026.
On July 14, The courts granted LMC permission to depose RWR following the recent revelation that T.J. Puchyr intends to purchase RWR. On July 16, LMC filed a lawsuit against Puchyr for tortious interference, alleging that he attempted to purchase RWR and violated the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act by using insider knowledge and a position of trust to interfere with Legacy’s agreement with RWR. On July 31, a judge granted LMC a temporary restraining order against RWR, preventing RWR from closing the team's sale to Puchyr for ten days.
On September 19, 2025, it was announced that LMC and RWR ended their lawsuit under a settlement, with RWR selling the charter to LMC; the rest of their settlement agreement is still unknown.
Cup Series
Car No. 42 history
Ty Dillon (2022)
On June 17, 2021, Gallagher announced that GMS Racing would move up to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022. On October 10, GMS announced that Ty Dillon would drive the then-No.94 in their inaugural Cup season. On December 1, Gallagher purchased a majority interest in Richard Petty Motorsports for 19 million. The deal included both of RPM's charters; the No.43 would continue to operate with its charter while the second charterwhich was leased to Rick Ware Racing for the No.51 from 2019 to 2021would be transferred to GMS' entry which was re-numbered from 94 to No.42.
Dillon began the 2022 season with an eleventh place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. Throughout the season, he only scored a top-ten finish at the Bristol dirt race. On July 15, Dillon announced that he would part ways with Petty GMS at the end of the 2022 season. Prior to the Pocono race, the No.42 was docked 35 driver and owner points for an L1 penalty when the pre-race inspection revealed issues on the car's rocker box vent hole. At Kansas, the No.42 began to use pit crew members from Joe Gibbs Racing; both the No.42 and No.43 will use JGR pit crew members starting in 2023. Dillon ended the season 29th in the points standings.
Noah Gragson, multiple drivers (2023)
On August 10, Petty GMS announced that Noah Gragson would replace Dillon for the 2023 season, having signed a two-year contract with the team. Gragson started the season with a 24th-place finish at the 2023 Daytona 500. Shortly after finishing 29th at Kansas, he confronted Ross Chastain over a racing incident between them that resulted in Gragson hitting the outside wall. Gragson shoved Chastain, who retaliated with a punch to the face. At Gateway, Gragson was involved in a hard crash due to a brake rotor failure. His car spun down toward the apron and then back up the track, hitting the wall first with the rear of his car and then the front. Gragson suffered concussion-like symptoms from the crash and was replaced by Grant Enfinger at Sonoma. Enfinger finished 26th. On August 5, NASCAR and LMC suspended Gragson indefinitely for violation of Section 4.4.D. of the NASCAR Rule Book, which concerns member conduct, after Gragson liked an offensive meme related to the murder of George Floyd on social media. Josh Berry replaced Gragson at Michigan, where he finished 34th after a hard crash in Turn 4 on lap 51. Mike Rockenfeller drove the No.42 to a 24th-place finish at Indianapolis, a 19th at Watkins Glen, and a 29th at the Charlotte Roval. On August 10, Gragson requested to be released from his contract with LMC so he can focus on the reinstatement process. Carson Hocevar drove the No.42 to a seventeenth place finish at Darlington. Hocevar finished twentieth at Kansas, earning the No.42’s first back-to-back top-twenty finishes since Atlanta and COTA. A week later, he scored a career-best eleventh place finish at the Bristol night race. On October 4, Hocevar was signed for the final four races. On October 16, LMC announced that John Hunter Nemechek would drive the No.42 at Homestead instead of Hocevar, with Hocevar still running the final two races. Nemechek finished 32nd after being involved in a crash on Lap 222. The No.42 team ended the season 32nd in the owners’ standings.
John Hunter Nemechek (2024–2026)
On September 6, 2023, Legacy Motor Club announced that John Hunter Nemechek will drive the No.42 in 2024. On October 8, 2024, technical director Brian Campe replaced Ben Beshore as crew chief of the No.42. On November 19, LMC named Travis Mack as the crew chief of the No.42 in 2025.
Nemechek started the 2025 season with a fifth-place finish at 2025 Daytona 500, a career best. He followed that up with a tenth-place finish at Atlanta.
Nemechek started the 2026 season with a 26th-place DNF at 2026 Daytona 500. He led most of the Pocono race on alternate strategy but was later passed by Denny Hamlin, finishing 4th. On August 20, the team confirmed that their No. 42 car would temporarily be renumbered to the No. 40 for the 2026 Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the founding of Dollar Tree. On September 1, 2026, it was confirmed that Nemechek would not be returning to the team in 2027.
Josh Berry (2027)
On September 8, 2026, it was announced that Josh Berry would drive the No. 42 for the 2027 season.
Car No. 42 results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Owners Pts 2022 Ty Dillon 42 Chevy DAY11 CAL17 LVS20 PHO15 ATL36 COA20 RCH24 MAR23 BRD10 TAL33 DOV27 DAR12 KAN20 CLT13 GTW27 SON23 NSH31 ROA20 ATL28 NHA33 POC22 IND34 MCH14 RCH17 GLN16 DAY18 DAR22 KAN20 BRI26 TEX16 TAL23 CLT25 LVS33 HOM24 MAR31 PHO26 31st 518 2023 Noah Gragson DAY24 CAL22 LVS30 PHO29 ATL12 COA20 RCH37 BRD33 MAR30 TAL32 DOV34 KAN29 DAR26 CLT36 GTW33 NSH26 CSC25 ATL33 NHA32 POC22 RCH28 32nd 389 Grant Enfinger SON26 Josh Berry MCH34 DAY22 Mike Rockenfeller IRC24 GLN19 ROV29 Carson Hocevar DAR17 KAN20 BRI11 TEX16 TAL35 LVS35 MAR31 PHO19 John Hunter Nemechek HOM32 2024 Toyota DAY7 ATL21 LVS22 PHO25 BRI6 COA21 RCH25 MAR36 TEX34 TAL33 DOV20 KAN13 DAR31 CLT30 GTW27 SON29 IOW26 NHA8 NSH31 CSC35 POC28 IND29 RCH31 MCH29 DAY15 DAR25 ATL33 GLN21 BRI33 KAN30 TAL31 ROV34 LVS9 HOM26 MAR31 PHO30 35th 447 2025 DAY5 ATL10 COA22 PHO14 LVS20 HOM23 MAR25 DAR30 BRI21 TAL30 TEX8 KAN10 CLT27 NSH27 MCH34 MXC6 POC6 ATL26 CSC15 SON28 DOV21 IND12 IOW15 GLN32 RCH36 DAY17 DAR4 GTW6 BRI14 NHA34 KAN32 ROV26 LVS29 TAL14 MAR21 PHO31 25th 664 2026 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS DAR MAR BRI KAN TAL TEX GLN CLT NSH MCH POC COR SON CHI ATL NWS IND IOW RCH DAY DAR GTW BRI KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM 40 NHA 2027 Josh Berry 42 DAY ATL COA PHO LVS DAR BRI MAR TAL TEX KAN DOV CLT NSV POC MCH CHI IOW SON ATL IND COR BRI GTW DAY DAR RCH GLN NHA KAN LVS CLT PHO TAL MAR HOM
Car No. 43 history
Erik Jones (2022–present)
On October 21, 2020, it was announced that Richard Petty Motorsports had signed Erik Jones to a multi-year contract to drive the 43 car. When GMS bought Richard Petty Motorsports in 2021, Jones was retained to drive the 43 car.
Jones began the 2022 season with a 29th-place finish at the 2022 Daytona 500. He scored thirteen top-ten finishes during the season, including a third-place finish at Fontana and a fourth-place finish at Atlanta. Prior to the Pocono race, the No.43 was docked 35 driver and owner points for an L1 penalty when the pre-race inspection revealed issues on the car's rocker box vent hole. Jones was signed to a multi-year agreement on July 30. Despite not making the playoffs, he won at Darlington, giving Petty GMS its first win. In addition, he gave the No.43 its first win since the 2014 Coke Zero 400 and its overall 200th win. Jones ended the season eighteenth in the points standings.