John Hunter Nemechek reveals message from Jimmie Johnson ahead of Darlington NASCAR race

A pair of top-five finishes for Legacy Motor Club last night has John Hunter Nemechek feeling good about the direction of the team. LMC has been through a lot of rough patches. Recently, it seems Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR team ownership is starting to come together.

There have been a lot of front office hirings and firings in the last few years. There hasn’t been a lot, on the surface anyway, of changes to making the cars faster. That is until 2025. The group that Johnson has brought in, along with investment from private equity, has this group looking the part now.

John Hunter Nemechek had four top-10s last year and no top-five finishes. He now has seven top-10s and two top-fives this season. The growth is obvious in both driver and team.

Following the finish at Darlington, Nemechek was asked if he received any advice going into the weekend. When your boss is Superman, advice is usually less technical and more inspirational and uplifting.

“To be honest, not a lot. Jimmie, next to me this morning, and said, ‘Be yourself. Remember why we’re here.’ So I guess that was good advice,” Nemechek said, via Frontstretch. “But I’ve had a really good feeling about coming to this place for quite some time. I love coming to Darlington, it’s one of my favorite race tracks.

“Feel like we made some really good notes earlier in the Spring, and kind of figured the direction we wanted to go to make our cars even better when we came back. We continue to progress as an organization, as a team. Some weeks it’s hit or miss, right? But with Jimmie’s vision and where he wants to take this, this is a step in the right direction.”

John Hunter Nemechek earned his career-best finish with his P4 result. It was an impressive showing from both him and Erik Jones. For a moment, it looked like Jones could possibly win his third career Southern 500. Instead, Chase Briscoe joined him as a two-time winner.

Legacy Motor Club is making strides. Both Jones and Nemechek are top-25 in points. While that doesn’t sound like much, that is a much-improved result after what this organization has seen over the last few years.

I will admit I was skeptical whether John Hunter Nemechek was the answer for Legacy Motor Club. He rebuilt his career from the ground up after flaming out in the Cup Series during the pandemic. But Nemechek proved himself in Truck and Xfinity Series races. Now, he’s starting to prove himself in the Cup Series and showing why Jimmie Johnson wanted to invest in him to help develop Legacy into its next chapter.