“Focusing on the Wrong Stuff”: Jimmie Johnson’s Team Gets Slammed After New Reveal, Fans Beg LMC to Improve on Race Track

Neha Dwivedi | 20/12/2024
Nov 9, 2024; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (84) during qualifying for the Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

After a season marked by underwhelming results from his drivers, including himself, particularly following the switch from Chevy to Toyota, Jimmie Johnson is leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to turn the tide for the upcoming season. In a bid to revitalize the team, he’s made sweeping changes from crew chiefs to technical directors and more, gearing up for another adjustment.

In November 2022, Jimmie Johnson acquired an ownership stake in the team, which led to its rebranding from Petty GMS Motorsports to Legacy Motor Club in January 2023.

The rebranding marked the first time the Petty family name was not associated with a team in NASCAR’s top series. Now, nearly two years post-rebranding, Johnson’s team is introducing a new logo.

The logo features a revamped font style, moving away from the traditional Petty-style font that fans have cherished for years. Johnson announced the latest update on his X handle by resharing a post from Legacy Motor Club, stating, “Ready to define the next chapter of our Legacy.” Additionally, Toby Christie shared the news on Twitter, spreading the word to his followers.

However, Fans are not happy with the changes, prioritizing performance over aesthetic updates. One fan pointedly remarked, “Think they’re focusing on the wrong stuff.”

Echoing this sentiment, another added, “I’d focus on performance and less on logos but.”

Meanwhile, another fan expressed a desire for improvements to the cars themselves, saying, “I’m begging them to slightly revamp their cars.”

Another fan injected a touch of sarcasm with their query, “Is this more aerodynamic and will it give them more speed? As a Petty and Jimmie fan, I’m not seeing the Legacy of those two in this team.”

In reality, the changes to the branding are relatively subtle. The modifications to the logo mainly involve bolding the fonts and realigning the shadows on the car number fonts, which had been off-center for years under the Petty name.

Johnson’s team exudes optimism despite a challenging year

Last season, the driver trio of Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, and Johnson collectively secured just one top-5 finish — Jones’ noteworthy performance at Talladega — and managed 6 top-10 finishes. Their positions in the final standings were 28th, 34th, and 37th, respectively. However,

Johnson maintains a positive outlook for the team’s future following a strategic overhaul of team personnel. Speaking on SiriusXM NASCAR, Johnson expressed his hopeful stance, saying,

“It took us a while to get up to speed with the manufacturer change there, maybe longer than we wanted it to, but I think We got a lot of the pieces in place now where we can start the year all strong. Brought on a lot of new people with a technical director and added Chad Johnson, Travis Mack from Kaulig.”

With sweeping changes across the board — from manufacturers to the team logo, and team members — Legacy Motor Club is eager to stage a strong comeback. It remains to be seen how these adjustments will translate into performance improvements in the 2025 season.

Post Edited By: Srijan Mandal
Erik Jones Jimmie Johnson John Hunter Nemechek

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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