Joey Logano’s victory at Phoenix catapulted him into the elite ranks of drivers with at least three NASCAR Cup Championship wins. While Logano has a way to go to match Johnson’s seven titles, the owner of Legacy Motor Club was quick to praise the Team Penske driver for mastering the challenging Next Gen car.
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Reflecting on his own performance after his ninth and final race of the season at Phoenix, where he placed 26th starting from 23rd, Johnson remarked in his post-race interview, “It’s impressive in this format it is so tough to make the playoffs and to go rounds and put yourself in position. So, hats off to him and that team it’s just extremely impressive.”
He attributed Logano’s success not just to his innate talent, but also to the timing of his team’s performance. According to the Legacy Motor Club racing team owner,
“He’s [Logano] in that highest percentile of talent… We see it year in and year out his abilities his drive, his focus, his performance. And then a lot of it has to do with timing, and timing of your manufacturer, timing of your team. A track that’s strong for you and we certainly know this track has been strong for Penske and Ford over the last couple of years,” opined the former Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Meanwhile, it’s been a challenging season for Legacy Motor Club, as none of its drivers managed to break into the playoffs. John Hunter Nemechek, behind the wheel of the #42, only secured four top-10 finishes, with his teammate Erik Jones just barely finishing two races in the top-10 and one in the top-5.
“He’s going to have more looks at it, for sure”
Jimmie Johnson on Joey Logano’s third championship.
Johnson also announced that he and Carvana will return for some races in 2025.
📹 @TheBryanNolen#NASCAR pic.twitter.com/gPRj1aL0ZP
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) November 11, 2024
Johnson shares an update on his itinerary for 2025
The Hall of Famer, Johnson, took the wheel in nine Cup races this season — his busiest schedule since retiring from full-time racing — including races at Daytona, Texas, Dover, Kansas, Charlotte, Indianapolis, a second showing at Kansas, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. Despite his efforts, breaking into the top 26 has eluded him in these recent outings.
Looking ahead, Johnson shared his plans for the coming year, “Yep, I’ll definitely be in the car next year, just don’t know how many (races)… Still to be determined! Talking with Carvana now. Looks like we’ll have at least a couple of races with them and we should have that out here pretty soon.”
In other team news, Erik Jones is set to continue his tenure driving the esteemed #43 Toyota Camry XSE for the 2025 NASCAR season and beyond. Meanwhile, the future remains uncertain for Nemechek’s ride in 2025.
