Lasting Legacy: Johnson, Gragson and Jones look to drive Legacy Motor Club to the top

William Shakespeare once famously pondered, “What’s in a name?”

Well Bill, when it comes to the newly rebranded Legacy Motor Club, the name contains about all you need to know.

Even if it may be difficult to remember.

“I’m still getting used to it,” driver Noah Gragson admitted.

Catchy? Maybe not. Fitting? You bet.

"Legacy" sure seems to be a striking word when it comes to a race team that can boast two seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champions (Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty) as part owners, doesn’t it? Really, the organization has the term cornered, with one driver, Erik Jones, in the midst of defining his own legacy and another, Noah Gragson, just ready to make his full-time debut.

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Perhaps the biggest change didn’t come from any of those four, but from a third co-owner, Maury Gallagher, CEO of Allegiant Travel Company and owner of GMS Racing, who bought majority control of Richard Petty Motorsports prior to the 2022 season. At the time, Jones, Petty’s lone driver, was coming off of a lackluster season that included just five top-10 finishes and a points standing of 24^th.

The change in ownership and, according to Jones, the new Next Gen race car, ignited the organization, resulting in 13 top-10s and a win for Jones in the Southern 500 in September. Having been let go by Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2020 season, Jones grabbed hold of the lifeboat thrown to him by Petty Motorsports. He said the promise of what came to fruition a year ago helped in that decision.

“I liked their vision, liked what they wanted to do in the future and knew the Next Gen car was coming down the pipeline,” Jones said. “I don’t want to say I felt like I was forfeiting 2021 — I didn’t as a driver, I was doing as much as I could to try and run well — but I knew it was going to be a trying year in a lot of ways. But as soon as Maury came in the offseason, I kind of saw the tides start to turn.”

With another rebrand, Gragson coming in after eight Xfinity Series wins last year, and Johnson signing on in November, that tide seems to now be hurtling toward shore. And even though the parties involved are in drastically different parts of their lives and careers, the overwhelming feeling of optimism is shared by all.

“It’s very rewarding,” Johnson said. “I feel like we’re a hungry group of people. It’s a very young race team – it’s really only 13 months old and of the new structure, it’s probably only four months old. So, we’re learning, we’re growing, we’re maturing and certainly enjoying the process.”

“That Jones boy”

Amazingly enough, the nickname given to him by longtime sportscaster Ken Squier still applies.

It seems impossible to believe but Jones is still only 26 years old as he prepares to enter his seventh season in the Cup Series. That makes him younger than the likes of Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace, among others.

He’s also just two years the senior of Gragson.

“Isn’t that crazy?” Gragson observed.

So crazy in fact, Jones has trouble remembering.

“Somebody asked me what year I started in Cup and Noah actually knew before me,” Jones said.

Squeezed in that short window of time has been a career’s worth of ups and downs. Jones remains the only driver to win the Rookie of the Year Award across all three major series (Trucks, Xfinity and Cup) and did it in consecutive years (2015-2017). He won a truck championship in 2015 and he’s won twice at Darlington and once at Daytona in a Cup car.

Yet, despite those high points, his age and his promise, Jones was on the short end of the stick at JGR as Bell climbed the ranks and into the JGR No. 20 car after the 2020 season. At just 24 years old, Jones found himself without a ride.

Enter Petty, a year later Gallagher, and now Johnson, and Jones has a new lease on life and the resources to climb to the summit in which his career once seemed predestined.

So, a boy? To a middle-aged adult man, yes. But that sells his appreciation and maturity well short.

“I’ve probably learned more the last three-and-a-half years of my career than I did the first three-and-a-half,” Jones said. “It’s just been a process through time.

“Last year was probably the most fun I’ve had in the Cup Series, probably since my rookie year. I just kind of enjoy what we’ve got going on at Legacy. But I’ve definitely been well-versed in a lot of different areas in the last six years at the Cup level.”

The kid

Garnering 10 starts for Kaulig Racing last year and five more for Hendrick Motorsports in relief of Bowman, who was out due to a concussion, Gragson picked up some valuable experience in the Next-Gen car last year.

As he recalls, the transition from the Xfinity Series into the brand new hot rods wasn't exactly seamless.

“We were at Atlanta and I went around the track three laps straight and I was like, ‘Why is the dash all lit up red?’ The RPMs were screaming at like 9,000,” Gragson said. “And then I’m like, ‘Oh shoot, these cars have five gears.’

“They’re so much different on the inside. I’m out here thinking, ‘Dang, this thing is hauling ass. It’s screaming.’ No, I just needed to shift gears.”

Despite the inauspicious start, there’s plenty to like about Gragson, who strung together his best stretch as a professional over the last 15 Xfinity Series races last season. Despite finishing as the points runner-up to Ty Gibbs, Gragson won six races, with 12 top-five finishes and 14 top 10s in that time.

“He stands on the gas,” Johnson observed. “He makes it seem like he’s just out there screwing around and having fun and that’s great, but he’s very serious about his craft and it’s been nice to see.”

Indeed, Gragson has all the skill and personality to become a fan favorite at the Cup level. He hopes developing a healthy, competitive relationship with Jones can help get him there.

“Yesterday, I was stalking to some of the guys and I was like, Erik is going to kick my ass this year,” Gragson said. “I know that. He’s really good and he’s got a lot of experience, but I always need a rabbit or something to go catch. And hopefully, one day I can be kicking his ass and he’ll want to chase me and we can work together and keep pushing each other to be better.

"Whether it’s working out or if it’s racing, whatever it may be, I feel like we have a great relationship where we can always push each other to be the best version of ourselves. Me personally, I’m relying on Erik to push me to be better and that’s right where I need to be right now.”

The champ

While Jones is taking advantage of a second chance and Gragson plans to seize his first, Johnson sees Legacy Motor Club as yet another opportunity for growth in racing.

After a two-year attempt at IndyCar, Johnson is seemingly back at home with a little added responsibility this time around.

“I was talking to Mr. (Rick) Hendrick yesterday, and I said, ‘Boss, you’ve made (being an owner) look so easy all these years and I knew it wasn’t, but now being on the other side, I have a better appreciation for it,” Johnson said.

“I think everybody is excited to have him back," Jones added, "and I think he’s excited to be back in what feels a little more comfortable and at home for him as well. He just brings a new insight and outlook on everything.”

While Johnson will drive just a select handful of races, including the Daytona 500, the competitive fire rages just as fiercely as it always has. Asked what he would do in a last-lap scenario on Feb. 19 between the team’s three cars at the front?

“I wouldn’t want to mess our cars up, but I’d like to get my 84^th win,” he said with a smile.

When asked where he’d go with a run on the last lap on Feb. 19 if Johnson and Jones were running side-by-side for the win ahead of him, Gragson, who needn’t worry about expenses like cars and parts, had a much more direct response.

“Three wide,” he said. “Or I'm hooking one of them into the other.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR: Johnson, Jones, Gragson pleased with direction of Legacy Motor Club