By AMANDA VINCENT
John Hunter Nemechek will return to the NASCAR Cup Series next season to be the full-time driver of the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club entry. The team also is making a manufacturer change, transitioning from Chevrolet to Toyota ahead of 2024.
“He is impressive both on and off the track and will be a great ambassador for Legacy M.C. and our partners,” team co-owner Jimmie Johnson said. “He will be a solid teammate to Erik (Jones), and I can’t wait to watch them both compete for wins and championships for years to come.”
Cup rookie Noah Gragson was expected to drive the No. 42 for the entire 2023 season, but he was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR ahead of an August race at Michigan International Speedway for liking a racially insensitive social media post relating to the death of George Floyd. Days later, Gragson asked to be let out of his contractual obligations to Legacy Motor Club. The No. 42 Legacy team is finishing the 2023 season with substitute drivers, including Carson Hocevar, Mike Rockenfeller and Josh Berry.
Nemechek has 40-career Cup Series starts, including the full 2020 season as a series rookie for Front Row Motorsports. He, then returned to the NASCAR Truck Series by joining then-Toyota team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. Nemechek has bern part of the Toyota camp the last three seasons, competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time this season as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“Going back to the Truck Series was humbling in a way, but it was the best thing I ever did for myself and my career,” Nemechek said. “I was able to compete for wins and two championships for KBM where we won races and were consistently one of the teams to beat week in and week out.”
Nemechek has three-career top-10 finishes in the Cup Series, including career-best eighth-place finishes in the two races at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in 2020.
Nemechek is second in the Xfinity Series driver standings heading into Saturday’s race at Kansas Speedway, the final race of the regular season. He has seven-career Xfinity Series race wins, including five this season.
Nemechek also has 13-career wins in the Truck Series.
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