Jimmie Johnson and his Legacy Motor Club team made headlines this offseason when it was revealed they’d be switching from Chevrolet to Toyota as their manufacturer.
This was especially shocking considering Johnson’s involvement, as he’s been with Chevrolet for what seems like forever, and immense success was had by their partnership. Not only will Johnson’s team be running Toyotas now, but so will Johnson when he races his limited schedule in 2024.
While it may come as a shock to the system, Johnson is excited about the change, no matter how weird it’ll look to see him running a Toyota.
“No, it’s not,” Johnson said, regarding whether it’s hard to be running for Toyota after ending his longstanding relationship with Chevrolet, via FOX’s Bob Pockrass. “Yes, last year, around this time when we were working through the transition, there’s some interesting emotions coming through it that took place. But I’ve had a great run with my friends at GM, and so thankful for it. But life goes on, and I’m extremely excited about a relationship with Toyota.
“The partnership that we are forging with them is unlike anything I’ve been a part of or have seen, and I’m very proud to be here.”
Moreover, Johnson’s team isn’t forging an alliance with any of the other Toyota teams, like Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing, instead operating as a “stand-alone team within the Toyota ecosystem,” as Johnson put it.
Why would they do that? Well, Johnson believes it’ll help the long-term vision of Legacy Motor Club, even if they may suffer in the short term.
“There are many long-term reasons that make sense to us to be our own stand-alone team within the Toyota ecosystem,” the seven-time Cup Series champion explained. “It’s in the short term, maybe going to make things a bit more difficult for us. It would have been really nice to form a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, write that big check and be guaranteed a certain level of car. But Maury Gallagher, my partner in Legacy Motor Club, is still on his own in business and has been able to figure it out. And he really believes in this process and wants us to rise to the occasion and create our own entity with the support of Toyota, of course.
“It’s not the easy way by any stretch, but we really feel like long term, it’s the best thing that we can do for organization.”
Alas, Toyota seems like a great fit for Jimmie Johnson and Legacy Motor Club, even if it’ll take some getting used to. We’ll see how the NASCAR Hall of Famer looks driving under his new manufacturer during Sunday’s Daytona 500, our first look at Johnson’s new brand.
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