The announcement came on Tuesday afternoon with the team revealing its intentions to switch manufacturers at the end of the 2023 season.
Currently, there are only two organizations running Toyotas -- Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing. There will now be eight full-time Toyota teams on the grid in 2024, which is the most since the 2011 season.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson became a co-owner at Legacy MC during the offseason and has since enacted several changes from personnel to even the team name.
“Maury Gallagher and I are very excited about the partnership with Toyota and TRD beginning in 2024,” said Johnson in the official press release. “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.”
The team currently fields the No. 42 car with driver Noah Gragson and the No. 43 car with driver Erik Jones. Both are former Toyota development drivers.
“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.”
Added Jack Hollis, executive vice president of TMNA (Toyota Motor North America) and president of Toyota Motor Sales. “All of us at Toyota are thrilled to add Legacy Motor Club to our NASCAR family. 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.”
The team has undergone several rebrands in the last few years with changes in ownership. Richard Petty Motorsports in 2021 to Petty GMS in 2022, and finally Legacy MC in 2023.
The organization had gone winless since 2014 until Jones earned a surprise victory in the Southern 500 last year. Despite the bright moment, their struggles have persisted into 2023 with both drivers outside the top-20 in points and just two top ten finishes between them.
