Jimmie Johnson got the most out of NASCAR earning a legendary status as a driver with his seven Cup Titles. Johnson is now on the business side of things as owner of Legacy Motor Club and he aims to get the most out of the sport as an owner as well.
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Johnson’s team are breaking every norm when compared to other teams on the grid. They don’t have a paid alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, the premium Toyota team and neither do they have a tight knit ownership group where a single entity’s funds and calls dictate the direction of the team.
JJ was clear that he wants to build a team to have prolonged success and for that he wants to make his own playbook. But how do you fund it?
“At the end of the day I can’t go write a check like Mr. Hendrick can to work in a certain area to buy a new tool or whatever it might be,” said Johnson on Dale Jr Download. “And so sponsorship retention, sponsorship recruitment, building the brand, you know, the other ways that we can help monetize and bring value are going to help us in the short term.”
Since LMC and Johnson don’t have deep pockets, they are looking at sponsorships as their main funding to pull in the resources they need to make their independent team a competitive one in the long run.
Johnson sees the potential of the sport and also sees it as an opportunity for people to come and invest to make profits.
“We are at an interesting point in time when NASCAR is going to be that next sport to really explode,” said Johnson. “We’re seeing it as charter values were increasing. And when that happens you have various very serious investors coming in including private equity. We’re fortunate enough to bring in Knighthead Capital their belief in sports and entertainment.”
Johnson’s explanation was that each part of his organization needs to be funded to support the mission of racing fast without either a partnership or the ability of one individual to acquire the best and most expensive resources.
Which is why the former HMS driver took the example of his former boss. HMS’s operations have reached the point that it has because of Rick Hendrick’s ability to provide the best resources for his team on his own. To have the same ability, Johnson and LMC need sponsorship.
And what sponsors want is visibility. But visibility can be attained even beyond the race track. Dale Jr. was speaking about his experience at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami where he saw the hospitality section sprawled from miles beyond the track. That made the experience one where it went beyond sport and bordering on entertainment.
Most NASCAR teams don’t do it yet, but Legacy Motor Club has been trying to set up their own hospitality wings at races to begin entering the zone that their sponsors want to be investing in.
Hospitality isn’t just food and drinks for VIPs, it’s also unique experiences through installations and ample room for an organization to promote merchandise. Johnson believes there is potential to do that in NASCAR.
“As the sport has turned to proper franchises post settlement and the evaluation of the race teams continue to go up,” said Johnson. “There are more interested parties trying to invest. I think our sport is really kind of at the doorstep of a huge growth cycle that’s going to happen and we’re just trying to be positioned to take advantage of that opportunity. Fans and also CEOs want hospitality experiential.”
Changes incoming at Legacy Motor Club
Jimmie Johnson was clear on why he needs partners and the ability to retain sponsors but that also comes at a cost. Sponsors and partners get a say in operations, not entirely, but their needs always need to be taken into account for any decision.
While Erik Jones retained his drive in the No. 43 LMC Toyota, the team will have two new drivers in 2027 since they will be running as a three car team from next season on.
John Hunter Nemechek has found his way out the door and Josh Berry has been announced as his replacement in the No. 42 car. Riley Herbst is moving over from 23XI to drive the new LMC No. 84 Toyota.
Johnson had said that Nemechek’s axing came as a tough decision but there were partner and sponsor concerns that needed to be taken into account to get to that decision.
In conversation with Dale Jr., Johnson was describing the kind of driver line up that LMC and its sponsors want to have and its two veteran drivers and one prospect.
30-year-old Erik Jones ticks one veteran box while Berry at 35 ticks the other. Riley Herbst is 27-years-old but Johnson and LMC are still looking at him as a driver who is a prospect and hasn’t achieved his full potential.
Johnson and LMC have a clear road map planned with a destination that spells success at the end but how long it takes to reach there is something no one is certain of yet.