New Historic Chevrolet driver and design in NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson signs up with Toyota!

Legacy Motor Club revealed previously today that the company will move from Chevrolet to Toyota for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, which represents a significant modification for the company, which will no longer have Richard Petty amongst its investors however will stay co-owned by Jimmie Johnson. The seven-time champ of NASCAR’s essential series will for that reason discover himself a Toyota driver in 2024 after investing his whole profession in NASCAR and Chevrolet.

This choice likewise provides Toyota a boost in the variety of cars gone into in the Cup series. The Japanese maker is anticipated to grow from 6 full-time cars on the grid this season to 8 or 9 next year with the addition of Legacy Motor Club, previously Petty Enterprises prior to the merger with GMS Enterprises and after that the arrival of Jimmie. Johnson and the name Legacy Motor Club considering that this year.

The group will for that reason sign up with Joe Gibbs Racing (4 cars) and 23 XI Racing (2 cars) on the list of main Toyota groups. David Wilson, president of Toyota Racing Development, stated the arrival of the Next Gen automobile– which produced 19 various winners in 36 NASCAR Cup races in its launching season in 2015– has actually increased the car manufacturer’s desire to include groups to its NASCAR existence.

Jimmie Johnson and business person Maurice Gallagher, who is likewise the creator of Allegiant Air, have actually led Legacy Motor Club through a fast improvement recently, through mergers, ownership modifications and development. Things turned sour in late 2021 when Gallagher purchased a bulk stake in Richard Petty’s group. The company took Johnson, who like Petty has 7 Cup Series champions, as co-owners last November, and the group was relabelled Legacy Motor Club last January, prior to the season opener at Daytona.

Legacy Motor Club presently gets in 2 full-time cars in the series: the No.43 Chevrolet driven by Erik Jones and the No.42 Chevrolet driven by novice Noah Gragson. Johnson drives the No. 84 in a restricted variety of occasions, going back to NASCAR after retiring from full-time competitors in the series after the 2020 project. He then drove in IndyCar and Endurance and will contend in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Chevrolet specifically got ready for this occasion, in collaboration with Hendrick Motorsports.

Seeing Jimmie Johnson as a Toyota driver in 2024 is perhaps the most unexpected of this week’s statements due to the fact that he has actually invested his whole profession in the Cup series with Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet’s greatest group. Johnson is ranked 6th on NASCAR’s all-time wins list with 83 wins.

” I simply wish to reveal how thrilled I am to be a part of the Toyota household,” stated Jimmie Johnson. “Obviously I have a long history of over 30 years with Chevrolet, 20 of which with Hendrick Motorsports. What we’ve done together will remain in the history books and something that I’ll value. As Maury (Gallagher) stated, tactically in the long run, it’s part of the structure. for the group and it is easy to understand.

While the news is huge for Johnson, it’s a type of coming-of-age for Jones and Gragson, who both went into NASCAR’s premier series as motorists in Toyota’s advancement program prior to getting to Chevrolet groups. Both motorists won races for Kyle Busch Motorsports, then among the leading Toyota-affiliated groups in the Craftsman Truck series.