Jimmie Johnson became the co-owner of Petty GMS Racing at the time of the 2022 season finale. He joined fellow seven-time champion Richard Petty and billionaire Maury Gallagher in the owners’ group of the Chevy team. Johnson took over the centriole of the team ahead of the 2023 season and implemented massive changes, including rebranding the team to Legacy Motor Club.
Another major change that the team has undergone under the leadership of Johnson is their move to the Toyota garage. They will field Toyota Camry from 2024 alongside Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing and believe they would get the opportunity to showcase their true potential if they get the support they deserve.
Legacy MC’s CEO, Cal Wells III, recently commented about the decision to leave the General Motorsports’ or Chevy umbrella. He pointed out that the manufacturer treated them like a third-tier team when they should have gotten the tier-one treatment and acknowledged that the information being shared with them was inadequate.
Unfortunately (GM) just didn’t feel that way. And they left (LMC) at what I would consider a tier three, where the information was very limited and intentional. Wells III said via Autoweek.
Legacy MC expected better treatment as Jimmie Johnson’s team
Before making the third-tier team revelation, Wells admitted that they expected a lot from GM as they were the team of Jimmie Johnson, who won seven Cups with them. It wasn’t just Johnson who neglected Maury Gallagher’s Truck championship wins as a Chevy team owner was also undervalued.
He expected the manufacturer to think like them; they have two of their most successful partners running the team, and they deserve more independence and tier-1 treatment. But to his surprise, they didn’t get it, and it eventually forced them to seek other opportunities, as being the top-tier team was the only way to achieve their ultimate goal of winning the title with LMC.
And so when you look at that ecosystem, it was tough for Jimmie—even though he had won seven championships for General Motors. This will always surprise me (that) there wasn't (more of ) a focus on (LMC). And Maury winning multiple trucks championships for Chevrolet, you would just think that General Motors would say, 'Jimmie, Maury, look at what we can do. Let's move them up to be more independent and call them a true tier one.
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