Founded as a Petty GMS operation in 2021, the team became Legacy Motor Club, moved to Toyota and now runs under Jimmie Johnson and a strategic ownership group.
Known as Petty GMS Motorsports until 2023, this Cup team has Jimmie Johnson as majority holder, with minority shares held by Richard Petty, Maury Gallagher and Knighthead Capital Management. It switched to Toyota in 2024 and runs No. 42, No. 43 and part-time No. 84 cars.
Legacy Motor Club, formerly Petty GMS Motorsports, is an American stock car team owned by Jimmie Johnson, with minority stakes held by Richard Petty, Maury Gallagher, Knighthead Capital Management and a strategic ownership group. The team races in the NASCAR Cup Series with Toyota Camrys, and it took its present name in January 2023.
How did the team begin as Petty GMS Motorsports?
On 1 December 2021 Maury Gallagher acquired control of the former Richard Petty Motorsports, paying US$19 million. Both of RPM's charters came with the purchase. The No. 43 kept its charter, while the second charter, which had been leased to Rick Ware Racing for the No. 51 from 2019 to 2021, was moved to a second car, the No. 42. The team was renamed Petty GMS Motorsports after the purchase.
The team's first Cup season was 2022. GMS Racing had announced in June 2021 that it would move up to the top series, and in October it named Ty Dillon to drive the then-No. 94 car. After the RPM purchase that car was renumbered 42. In September 2022 the team said it would use Joe Gibbs Racing pit crews in 2023.
Jimmie Johnson bought an ownership stake on 4 November 2022. Richard Petty then sold all of his shares in Petty GMS to majority owner Gallagher after the 2022 season, ending the family's direct role in the team.
A team that began as the Petty family's name on a Cup car and became Legacy Motor Club, run by Jimmie Johnson and a broad ownership group.
Why did the team change its name in 2023?
On 11 January 2023 the organisation rebranded as Legacy Motor Club. It was the first time since NASCAR was founded in 1949 that the Petty family's name had not been on a team in the sport's top series. Johnson took control of day-to-day operations on 18 February, leaving Petty without decision-making power.
The team announced on 3 May 2023 that it would switch from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2024. Leadership changes followed through the year. Cal Wells became chief executive on 26 July, Bill Scott moved up from executive vice president and general counsel to chief operating officer on 25 August, and Matt Kenseth was named competition advisor on 10 October.
| Date | Change | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2021 | Gallagher buys majority interest in RPM | US$19 million, both charters |
| 11 January 2023 | Team renamed Legacy Motor Club | Petty name off the top-series team |
| 3 May 2023 | Manufacturer switch to Toyota | Effective 2024 |
| 27 January 2025 | Johnson named majority owner | Knighthead buys minority stake |
| 30 July 2026 | Strategic ownership group announced | Co-owners and strategic owners named |
Who runs the team now?
On 27 January 2025 Johnson was named majority owner, with Knighthead Capital Management buying a minority stake and Gallagher stepping back into an ambassador role. On 14 July 2024 Bobby Kennedy had been named general manager, while competition director Joey Cohen left the team. Trevor Bayne was named competition advisor on 25 January 2024.
In 2026 the ownership picture widened. Darius Rucker was named co-owner on 25 March, and Guy Fieri was named strategic owner on 25 June. On 30 July the team announced that it would be owned by a strategic ownership group that includes Chase Utley, Jen Rubio, Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Sam Byrne, Andy Roddick, Kelly Slater, Bryce Harper, Fieri and Rucker.
What was the charter lawsuit with Rick Ware Racing?
On 1 April 2025 Legacy Motor Club sued Rick Ware Racing over the sale of a charter. The two teams had signed a deal in March for Rick Ware Racing to sell a charter to Legacy, but the other team allegedly backed out, saying the agreement would take effect in 2027 while Legacy had changed the terms to 2026 without telling it.
Legacy obtained a temporary restraining order on 9 April that stopped Rick Ware Racing from selling, leasing or otherwise encumbering the charter for at least ten days. A North Carolina judge later denied the injunction. The dispute turned on which charter was in the deal. The agreement named Charter 36, used by the No. 51 car, for US$45 million, but Legacy's lawyer contended that the contract pointed to Charter 27, which RFK Racing had leased for the No. 60 in 2025.
Rick Ware Racing argued that Legacy had offered an extra US$5 million for Charter 27 for 2026, and that RFK already had an agreement to lease Charter 36 that year. Teams are allowed to lease charters once every seven years. The fight widened in June, when Rick Ware Racing filed a countersuit, and in July when Legacy sued T.J. Puchyr over his attempt to buy the team for alleged interference.
On 19 September 2025 the two sides ended their lawsuit under a settlement, with Rick Ware Racing selling the charter to Legacy. The remaining terms of the settlement were not public.
How did the No. 42 car run under Legacy?
Ty Dillon drove the No. 42 in 2022 and finished 11th at the Daytona 500. His only top-10 that year came at the Bristol dirt race. He ended the year 29th in points and then left the team at the end of the season. Noah Gragson took over for 2023 and finished 24th at Daytona. He was suspended indefinitely in August 2023 over a social media post and asked to be released from his contract.
The No. 42 then used several drivers. Grant Enfinger finished 26th at Sonoma, Josh Berry 34th at Michigan, and Mike Rockenfeller took the car to 24th at Indianapolis, 19th at Watkins Glen and 29th at the Charlotte Roval. Carson Hocevar, who had run 17th at Darlington and 11th at the Bristol night race, was signed for the final four races of the season. The No. 42 finished 32nd in owners' points.
John Hunter Nemechek drove the car from 2024. He finished fifth at the 2025 Daytona 500, his career best, and tenth at Atlanta. He started 2026 with a 26th-place retirement at the Daytona 500, but he finished fourth at Pocono after leading most of the race on alternate strategy.
On 20 August 2026 the team temporarily renumbered the car No. 40 for the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire, celebrating 40 years of Dollar Tree. On 1 September 2026 the team confirmed Nemechek's departure for 2027, and Josh Berry was named for the No. 42 on 8 September.
What did Erik Jones and the No. 43 achieve?
Erik Jones was signed to drive the 43 under Richard Petty Motorsports in 2020 and stayed when GMS bought the team. He started 2022 with a 29th-place finish at the Daytona 500 and scored thirteen top-10 finishes that year, including a third at Fontana and a fourth at Atlanta.
Jones won at Darlington in 2022, the first victory for the Petty GMS organisation. It was the No. 43's first win since the 2014 Coke Zero 400 and the car's 200th overall win. He ended 2022 eighteenth in points.
In 2023 the car ran Guns N' Roses sponsorship at Daytona, where Jones finished 37th after an early wreck. A penalty at Gateway that June cost the team 60 driver and owner points and five playoff points, and crew chief Dave Elenz was hit with a US$75,000 fine and a two-race ban. Jones finished third at Kansas, the team's only top-five of the season, and ended 27th in points.
Jones was involved in a hard crash at Talladega in 2024 and was later found to have a compression fracture in a lower vertebra, which kept him out of the Dover race. Corey Heim, the reserve driver, took the car there and at Kansas. Elenz parted ways with the team in October 2024.
Jones finished 24th in points in 2025, after twelfth at the Daytona 500 and a later disqualification at Martinsville for failing to meet the minimum weight. In 2026 he finished 21st at Daytona and won his first career stage at Texas.
What role did Jimmie Johnson play?
Jimmie Johnson drove the No. 84 part-time from 2023, starting with the Daytona 500, where he finished 31st after a wreck in the first overtime attempt. He ran 38th at COTA and 37th at the Coca-Cola 600 that year, and his in-laws' family tragedy led the team to withdraw him from the Chicago street race. He announced in September 2023 that he would not run more races that season.
Johnson returned for select races in 2024, when the team switched to Toyota, and finished 28th at Daytona. He then ran Texas, Dover, Kansas, Charlotte and Indianapolis. In 2025 he finished third at the Daytona 500, his highest finish as an owner-driver, and he made his 700th career start at the Coca-Cola 600. He also made the 2026 Daytona 500 field through the open exemption provisional.
On 26 July 2026 the team said Johnson will drive the No. 48, which Hendrick Motorsports is lending, in his final Cup start at the 2027 Daytona 500. Riley Herbst was named to drive the No. 84 from 2027.
Did the team race outside NASCAR?
Yes. In February 2024 Legacy joined Extreme E, the electric off-road series, with Johnson as lead driver. Travis Pastrana substituted for him in the first two rounds with Gray Leadbetter, and the team finished sixth in rounds one and two at the Desert X-Prix, scoring its first Super Sector in round two. Patrick O'Donovan partnered Leadbetter in the third and fourth rounds.
The Sardinia and Phoenix rounds were cancelled in September 2024, and the team did not return when the series became Extreme H in 2025. The team also announced in April 2026 that it would join Arrow McLaren to field the No. 31 IndyCar, driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay, in the 2026 Indianapolis 500.
What is the legacy of Legacy Motor Club?
The team's legacy is a change of identity. It began as the Petty family's team, became Petty GMS and then Legacy Motor Club, and by 2026 was run under a broad group of owners that included Johnson, Rucker and Fieri.
Its results have been modest, with one Cup win, from Erik Jones at Darlington, but its legal disputes and ownership changes have been as notable as its racing. The Toyota switch and Johnson's return give it a fresh direction for the years ahead.
