Story By: COLBY GORNIEWICZ / LEGACY MOTOR CLUB – STATESVILLE, NC
CLUB ENTRY LIST
- JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK – POINT STANDINGS: 25th
- ERIK JONES – POINT STANDINGS: 26th
CLUB NOTES
West Coast Hall of Fame: El Cajon, Calif., native Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and co-owner of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, is among this year’s five honorees that will be inducted into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s class of 2024. In addition to Johnson, Cal Wells III, a 10-time Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) winner, Indianapolis 500 co-owner champion, 2023 IMSA GTD championship co-owner; and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB C.E.O. will also be inducted into this years class. The event takes place Thursday, June 6, during the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame’s induction gala, at Sonoma Raceway’s Turn 11 Club VIP/Hospitality complex at 6 p.m. local time.
Going to School: In April, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB teammates, Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek went to school at Sonoma Raceway in April through Skip Barber Racing School. The duo made laps around the track with driving instructors to help sharpen their road course skills for this weekend’s event.
JHN Past History at Sonoma: Nemechek will be making his first NASCAR Cup Series start at the 12-turn Sonoma road course. Most recently in 2023, the 26-year-old North Carolina native did have a chance to race there in the NXS where he started ninth, finished 16th, and led a lap.
Jones Past History at Sonoma: Jones will be making his seventh NASCAR Cup Series start at Sonoma Raceway this coming weekend. His first start came back in 2017. The Michigan native’s best finish at the 12-turn road course is seventh-place and has led one lap.
Double Duty for JHN: For the seventh time this season, John Hunter Nemechek will run both the NXS and the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) events. On Saturday for the NXS race, Nemechek will be behind the wheel of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Safeway Toyota Supra, while on Sunday, he will pilot the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB’S No. 42 Save Mart Toyota Camry XSE.
Safeway Store Appearance: On Friday, June 7 from 4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. local time, Nemechek will make a Safeway store appearance to sign autographs and visit with fans. Safeway store is located at 389 S. McDowell Road, Petaluma, Calif., 94954.
Going for G.O.L.D.: Partners Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will honor store #3014 this weekend as a part of the company’s “Go for G.O.L.D.” (Grand Opening Look Daily) program. The Dollar Tree and Family Dollar primaries will highlight these stores on the deck lid of all three LEGACY M.C. entries throughout the race season. Store #3014 is located in Dublin, California.
CLUB QUOTES
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver of the No. 42 SaveMart Toyota Camry XSE:
“I feel like Sonoma with the repave that’s gonna be a lot of fun and I feel like it’s gonna be some really great racing, should be on the [NASCAR] Xfinity side and the [NASCAR] Cup side so, looking forward to going back out there — beautiful scenery, beautiful place, and a lot elevation change, it’s a really fun race track. I think track position is going to be key, I think speed is going to be key and managing your day and staying on course.”
Ben Beshore, Crew chief of the No. 42 SaveMart Toyota Camry XSE:
With several road course races on the NASCAR Cup Schedule, how much emphasis is put into this package knowing that it makes up a big portion of the schedule?
“With five road course races, we do put emphasis on this package. We spend quite a bit of time on the simulators and John Hunter has done a track day out at Sonoma in preparation for this event.”
Sonoma has new pavement down on the surface, do you see this now being a higher grip track and if so, how do you think that will affect the handling of the car vs. previous years?
“I think the new pavement will make quite a difference when it comes to handling. Previously this track was very low grip and you put a lot of emphasis on forward drive, I don’t think that will be as much of an issue now that the track has been repaved. Typically, repaved tracks have a very narrow groove but hopefully there has been enough events on the new surface that it is in good shape for this event.”
How much do you feel pit strategy will play into this weekend’s race? Is that something that is game planned earlier in the week or is that a in the moment decision based off how the race is playing out?
“We’ll have a gameplan for several different scenarios going into the weekend. We’ll have to see how much tire fall-off, if any, we have in practice and use that to adjust our game plan on Saturday night. Unplanned cautions can always alter your plan as well if you get a caution at a particular point in the race. If there isn’t much tire fall-off we’ll want to spend as little time on pit road as possible.”
Erik Jones, Driver of the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE:
Talk about your experience at Skip Barber Racing School in April at Sonoma.
“It was really valuable to go to Sonoma a few months ago with the repave through the Skip Barber Racing School. It was good to see what the track looked like and to test the grip level, and move around and try different stuff. Seeing the track at a non-competitive state with a much slower pace was really helpful. Hopefully we can transfer that over to this weekend.”
Will there be a big learning curve for those who haven’t seen the repave?
“Yes, with the repave the pace is going to be a lot higher. Sonoma was always really slick and wore out as far as road courses go so there will be a decent learning curve with this track and the pace; it’s going to be seconds faster. The layout is the same but with the pace being that much higher there will be a period you have to adapt to.”
Dave Elenz, Crew chief of the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE:
“It’s going to be very interesting going to Sonoma with the repave. Sonoma used to be so slick it was always a challenge to dial in the handling, but with this repave, there will be very little tire fall off and track position will be a big factor. There will be a lot of excited drivers trying to get track positions making for an interesting race. Erik had a preview of the new pavement when he went out there for Skip Barber, and we will see some fast laps and pace and lots of strategy as the race plays out.”
PETTY 75TH ANNIVERSARY
ABOUT PETTY 75th: The 2024 season marks a significant milestone in the history of the Petty family as they have helped define stock car racing for 75 years. Their commitment to the sport and the people who make it possible – behind the wheel, under the hood, in the back office, and beyond – has shaped the growth and success of NASCAR. Their LEGACY lives on with the countless fans, drivers, technicians, and team members they touched. Throughout 2024, LEGACY M.C. will celebrate the Petty family and share countless memories with friends and fans at race tracks across the country.
The King’s Hat: Richard Petty will appear in the Sonoma Raceway media center at 9:30 am local time on Sunday, June 9. The King’s Hat unveiling will take place at 10:15 am local at the old victory lane location between the media center and the front stretch grandstands.
RP History “The King” Richard Petty made four career starts at the track located in Wine Country. Surprisingly none of his 200 career NASCAR Cup Series wins came at Sonoma Raceway.
KP History: Of Kyle Petty’s 829 NASCAR Cup Series starts, 17 came at Sonoma Raceway.