“It Says a Lot”: Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek Deliver Statement Finish for Legacy Motor Club at Darlington

Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek finally gave Jimmie Johnson a reason to smile at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. The Legacy Motor Club duo finished third and fourth in the highly coveted Crown Jewel race and signaled to the world that they are on the right path towards making their team a powerhouse.

Jones, who started the race in 19th place, finished third and expressed happiness with the speed of his No. 43 Toyota post-race. He said, “Happy with the speed, and it’s tough when you’re racing the playoff guys. They got good stuff. They’re bringing good cars, their best cars right now, especially probably to this place. So says a lot, I think, about our speed.” 

Being the first race of the Cup Series playoffs, the common expectation was that the Southern 500 would be dominated by drivers who were racing for the championship.

Erik Jones on the difference at the end pic.twitter.com/jRGG2RpS8b

— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) September 1, 2025

But the fact that Jones, Nemechek, and AJ Allmendinger found spots in the top-five was a complete shocker. For Jones, this was his second consecutive top-five finish after a fifth-place finish at Daytona last week.

Nemechek, on the other hand, started the race even further back in 30th place. Following a string of frustrating races marred by wrecks, he delivered a Cup Series career-best fourth-place in the Southern 500.

He told the press, “Felt really good about the driveability of our car. The driver didn’t do a very good job of qualifying. So, I had to come from the back. But we executed really well.”

The gamble that Jones took has begun paying off

In August 2024, Jones had the chance to move on to a different outfit that would help him move towards his goals quickly. His contract with Legacy Motor Club was almost at an end, and he had no obligation to stay. The only criterion that he had for his future destination was that it would push him towards being a Cup Series champion.

But the lack of seats in such high-quality teams forced Jones to stay with Legacy. What also led him to stay was the intention that the team owners, including Johnson, displayed to him.

Jones spoke of it last year, “We don’t ignore the fact and how we are going to get where we want to be. It was laid out to me, well enough, that I felt good about coming back. There is a plan in place.”

After several changes and much effort, the results are finally beginning to show. Safe to say, the plan is working.