Information By: COLBY GORNIEWICZ / LEGACY MOTOR CLUB – STATESVILLE, NC – The NASCAR Cup Series speeds along to its next stop – Michigan International Speedway (MIS). FireKeepers Casino 400 which will ignite on Sunday, August 18, at 2:30pm EST on USA Network.
The LEGACY Continues: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB announced Tuesday, August 13, that NASCAR Cup Series veteran, Erik Jones has entered into a multi-year contract renewal. Jones will continue to pilot the coveted No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season and beyond.
There’s No Place Like Home: A Byron, Mich. native, Jones will look for a win at his home track. The NASCAR Cup driver will begin the day with a send-off in downtown Byron, Mich. supported by friends, family, and fans – a tradition now at every Michigan International Speedway (MIS) visit. Upon arrival, Jones will host an “Erik Jones Experience” outside of the track. This private tailgate will include a DJ, fun and games, and participants will even get to have a “fireside chat” with both Jones and The King himself, Richard Petty. Jones grew up going to races with his family and enjoys coming back to MIS. The second part of the No. 43 duo – Dave Elenz, also calls Michigan home. Although there is some distance between Elenz’s hometown and Jones’, the two look to add a win at MIS to their accomplishments.
Pulling a Double: Nemechek will make his final scheduled start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Michigan this weekend. He enters this week’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race as the defending winner. During his 10 starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this year, he has accumulated two victories, three top-five’s and five top-10’s, plus led a total of 214 laps.
JHN History at MIS: John Hunter Nemechek comes into Michigan International Speedway with two previous NASCAR Cup Series starts, both coming during the 2020 season. In addition to his NASCAR Cup Series starts, the 27-year-old has seven additional starts across the NASCAR Truck Series (5) and the NASCAR Xfinity Series (4).
EJ at Michigan: Jones has a reputable stat sheet regarding finishes at MIS. Out of ten starts, he has acquired six top-15’s, his best finish being 3rd in 2017 – his first full-time Cup series season. He has not finished outside the top-10 at the previous two trips to the Michigan track. The No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE wheelman is determined to add a Sunoco black and white checkered flag to his collection.
Elenz at Michigan: Crew chief of the coveted No. 43 car, Elenz has spent the majority of his crew chief days in the Xfinity series. However, out of full-time season starts in both the Xfinity and Cup series, Elenz has never finished outside of the top 10 at MIS.
Guest Designer: This week’s King’s Hat design was partly created by Erik Jones alongside Richard Petty. Jones wanted to commemorate memories he had growing up with family at his home track. The King’s Hat will be in the Fan Zone at Michigan International Speedway.
Partner Spotlight: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB partner, Blue Compass RV has over 100 full-service RV dealerships and more than 1,000 service bays across America from coast to coast. To find a location closest to the track, visit www.bluecompassrv.com.
Going for G.O.L.D.: Partners Dollar Tree and Family Dollar will honor store #6936 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 #6936 is located in Brooklyn, Mich.
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 racetracks across the country.
This Week in Petty History: It was Aug. 12, 1967, when “The King’s” 10 race win streak started; this was also his 66th career victory. Petty has three additional victories during this week coming at Bowman Gray Stadium, West Virginia International Speedway and Starkey Speedway.
CLUB QUOTES
John Hunter Nemechek, Driver of the No. 42 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE:
“I am optimistic going into Michigan this weekend. It’s not only a track that I have had success at, but our No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team has shown some speed over the last several weeks, particularly at the larger speedway’s. Qualifying is going to be very important for us to get that track position and hopefully get our Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE up front and contend like we know we can. Running in the [NASCAR] Xfinity race on Saturday, I am hopeful that I can learn a little bit about the track that will help us on Sunday.”
Ben Beshore, Crew chief of the No. 42 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE:
“Hopefully we can take some of the positives we learned at Pocono (Raceway) and Indy (Motor Speedway) and transfer those to Michigan (International Speedway). In practice we’ll work on getting the balance of the car as good as we can get it in multiple lanes on the track. Qualifying will be big since Michigan tends to be heavy on strategy, so you’ll want to be as close to the front as possible to give yourself more options from a strategy standpoint.”
“I think it always helps getting more laps and figuring out the best places to pass. The track is another year older and figuring out the grip level and where on the track to make speed usually transfers to the NASCAR Cup Series car.”
Erik Jones, Driver of the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE:
“Racing at home is always pretty fun. Getting to come back and spend some time at home is nice. When we get the good turnouts down at the track with friends and family down there has been fun for a lot of years. It’s always kind of a busy weekend but getting to be down there and racing with everybody there and have everyone come out, which they don’t always get to come to a lot of races, is pretty fun.
Michigan is pretty different as far as intermediates go. Kind of unique to itself, being two miles, it’s now the only two mile real speedway that we go to so it’s kind of different but it makes it pretty fun. It’s a fast place, been pretty fast since the repave and still continues to be fast. It started to widen out here in the last few years and have some more options as far as what we can do, as far as lane choice and where we can run. I think that’s been really good for the racetrack, being able to have some better races.
The strategy always changes quite a bit each week and each year at Michigan with being two and four tires. I think tires have become more and more important here as the years have started to age on the track a little bit, but you also have to be mindful of what you need to take as far as fuel getting to the end. Last year we saw some strategy play out with the leaders coming in and how much fuel they had to take and who was able to get out in front at the end of the day to be in contention to win. It makes it fun, that strategy is always makes it exciting and how you can call these races a little differently than the next guy to be in contention to win and in a spot to be leading at the end of the day and play offense and defense and where you want to be in position.”
Dave Elenz, Crew chief of the No. 43 Family Dollar Toyota Camry XSE:
“Excited to get back to Michigan, be back at home. We ran good there last year. Had a lot of speed at the last couple intermediate tracks. Hopefully, that translates over to Michigan. I know Erik is going to be excited to perform in front of his hometown, friends and family. It’s a big weekend for us.”