Dale Earnhardt Jr. credits Jimmie Johnson for Legacy rise in NASCAR, explains his struggle as driver

Legacy Motor Club is finally starting to show improvement in the NASCAR Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has taken notice and contributes a lot of its success this season to majority owner Jimmie Johnson.

Legacy made a series of hires last year, notably naming Brian Campe as the team’s new technical director. The results have picked up in 2025, which Earnhardt didn’t see coming, he said on Tuesday’s “Dale Jr. Download.”

“I would say similar to Kaulig, Legacy Motor Club has made a massive gain, and I think that gain has happened during the season, not so much the offseason,” Earnhardt said. “Jimmie Johnson is now the majority owner of that team. We saw a ton of interesting hires over there the last six months. Jimmie is retooling that organization and you don’t know, some of those hires were retreads who had been in other organizations. They had success but if they’re not at these other organizations anymore, why would you want to put them here?

“But he’s made it work and it’s really impressive because Jimmie is spread thin as a human. He’s all over the place, but he’s plugged in enough to understand to put the right people in the right places to succeed in every department going in the right direction and it’s starting to show up on the racetrack. It’s fascinating. Incredible job. I would have bet against it.”

Jimmie Johnson’s struggles continue in Next Gen car

This past Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was a good example of Legacy’s progression. John Hunter Nemechek started sixth and though he finished 27th, raced inside the top-10. Erik Jones, meanwhile, picked up a solid P13 finish. Nemechek has four top 10s in 13 starts and Jones has run better of late.

Johnson, however, has struggled in his 10 starts with Legacy. The Coca-Cola 600 was the seven-time champion’s 700th start in Cup competition. He went for a spin on Lap 111 and finished 40th. Earnhardt said that the lack of consistent time in the Next Gen car is hurting the Hall of Famer in races.

“Jimmie had a great qualifying effort, struggled in the race, he finds himself in bad situations because he doesn’t drive the car enough. He just doesn’t,” Earnhardt said. “It’s crazy to say that, but this Next Gen car, the way the air works and how it goes under the car. Drivers know going through the corner, alright, I’ve got to do this and that to avoid the bad air situation I can find myself in on exit.

“They know that because they’ve done that enough and he’s not. So, he’ll find himself in some situations and he said it flat out, ‘Yep, I put myself in a bad spot.’ Ended up busting his ass. Not that anybody else didn’t bust their ass all night long. There were guys in bad shape and getting into the wall.”