Race Information
- Round: NASCAR Cup Series race No. 13 of 36
- Track Location: Darlington Raceway, Darlington, S.C.
- Race Name: Goodyear 400
- Broadcast: Sunday, May 14th at 3:00 PM ET live on FS1 (TV), MRN (Radio) Sirius XM NASCAR Ch. 90
- Team Entrants:
No. 42 | Noah Gragson & Luke Lambert – Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet Camaro Zl1
No. 43 | Erik Jones & Dave Elenz – Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL
Noah Gragson, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Darlington Raceway Stats
- NXS Starts: – Starts: 7; Best start: 1st Best finish: 1st (2021 & 2022) Top 5s: 5, Top 10s: 7; Laps led: 253
2023 NCS Season Stats
- Starts: 12, Best start: 10th; Best finish: 12th (Atlanta); Laps led: 2; Current points position: 32nd
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Win Races, Climb Fences: Noah Gragson hasn’t competed at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series, but he and crew chief Luke Lambert have a very good track record in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at the 1.366-mile speedway. Gragson’s first win at the South Carolina track came on Sept. 4, 2021, when he snapped a 49-race winless streak with a wild overtime finish. To commemorate the breakthrough win, Gragson and the team climbed the catchfence to celebrate the victory with the fans. Gragson followed it up by dominating the same race one year later on Sept. 3, 2022, by leading 85 laps and once again celebrating with the fans and team by climbing the fence.
Darlington Throwback Inspiration: The paint scheme Gragson chose for this weekend’s Goodyear 400 is the same red-white-and blue livery driven by LEGACY MOTOR CLUB co-owner Jimmie Johnson in the 2014 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Johnson started that race on the pole and led 164 laps en route to his first win of the 2014 season, and his fourth win in NASCAR’s longest race. This dominating performance and iconic paint scheme led to the inspiration behind Gragson’s decision for the tribute paint scheme on the No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet.
Tribute Decal: Gragson was only three years old when LEGACY M.C. co-owner Jimmie Johnson made his NASCAR Cup Series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 7, 2001. Johnson did so with the heaviest of hearts, as he mourned the loss of his best friend, Blaise Alexander, who had lost his life at the track just three days before. Alexander, who was 25 at the time, suffered fatal injuries in an on-track accident in the ARCA Series event on Oct. 4, 2001. One of Johnson’s crew members, who was also friends with Alexander, drew flames and Alexander’s initials (BR for Blaise Racing) on the front left bumper of Johnson’s car. Johnson made the next 686 starts of his Cup Series career with the decal on his racecar, winning 83 times. Years later, Johnson would add tail number “501RH” inside the flame, to honor the 10 members of the Hendrick Motorsports family lost on Oct. 24. 2004, in a tragic plane crash. Gragson wanted the throwback to be special for Johnson, and the addition of the decal made it even more meaningful.
JJ Is Also ‘Too Tough to Tame’: Seven-time Cup Series champion Johnson knows a thing or two about Darlington Raceway. He has three wins after sweeping both events in the 2004 season and then scored a third win eight years later. In 24 starts at Darlington, Johnson qualified second three times, has nine top-five, 13 top-10 finishes, and has 563 laps led. Johnson and NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Herb Thomas are the only drivers to win at least three times at Darlington without ever winning a pole there.
Quoting Noah Gragson: “I’m really excited for Darlington this weekend, I’ve had some success there in the past and the throwback paint scheme honoring Jimmie Johnson is going to be really special . It’s a great track for this team, Luke and I really had some good runs there in Xfinity and Erik (Jones) is really strong there. It should be a solid weekend for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.”
Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Darlington Raceway Stats
- NCS Starts: 10; Best start: 7th; Best finish: 1st (2019 & 2022); Top 5s: 5; Top 10s: 7; Laps led: 132
- NXS Starts: 2; Best start: 10th; Best finish: 4th
2023 NCS Season Stats
- Starts: 12; Best start: 8th; Best finish: 6th; Top 10s: 2, Laps led: 17, Current points position: 24th
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Stage points in Kansas: After starting 19th, Erik Jones had a roller coaster of a day at Kansas Speedway. He recovered from two spins, collected points by finishing fourth in Stage 2 and battled until the end to finish 21st. Jones remains 24th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings.
‘Petty’ like it’s 1968: In 1968, Richard Petty drove the iconic black-top Plymouth to victory lane 16 times. That season, Petty won 12 pole positions, while scoring 25 top-five, and 34 top-10 finishes in 49 starts.
Throwback Inspiration: A key highlight of that 1968 season came when Petty was leading the Daytona 500 and sustained damage to the top of the windshield, causing the roof to separate from the windshield. Petty brought the No. 43 to the pits and the attention of his crew chief Dale Inman to fix. To everyone’s surprise, Petty jumped out of the car, grabbed a hammer and began hitting the roof of the car in an effort to fix the damage. Inman and crew brought out duct tape, and taped the windshield in place, sending the No. 43 back into the race. Petty and Inman finished eighth on the day, despite the major disruption to their race.
The Lady and The King: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB team ambassador Richard Petty leads all drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway with 65 starts. ‘The King’, who holds the all-time wins record with 200, won just three times at “The Lady in Black’. He has 25 top-five and 34 top-10 finishes and has led 2,391 laps at the South Carolina egg-shaped track. All three of Petty’s wins came in a stretch of four races from 1966-1967.
Dave knows Darlington: Crew chief Dave Elenz has 11 starts at Darlington in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Cup Series combined. He won the 2021 Xfinity Series race with Noah Gragson and most recently won the 2022 Southern 500 with Jones, ending a 110-race drought for the driver and giving team owner Maury Gallagher his first NASCAR Cup Series win. Additionally, Elenz was the lead engineer on the No. 48 team of Jimmie Johnson when they won the Southern 500 on May 11, 2012. Johnson started second, finished first leading 134 laps, and scored the historic 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports that night.
Jones is “Too Tough To Tame”: Jones is a two-time winner at Darlington Raceway. The 26-year old has 10 starts at the Darlington, S.C., track throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career, scoring two historic wins, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes with 132 laps led.
Erik in the FOX Booth: Jones will be in the FOX broadcast booth on Saturday, May 13th for the NASCAR Xfinity Series coverage of the Shriners Children’s 200. Coverage begins at 1:30 pm ET on FOX.
May is Melanoma Awareness Month: The month of May is Melanoma and Skin Care awareness – a cause very dear to the Jones family, as early cancer detection and care is one of the three pillars of the Erik Jones Foundation (EJF). Cancer detection and care have been a priority for Jones since his father, Dave, succumbed to the disease in 2016. Last October, Jones and his family attended the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) Gala in New York City, where Jones accepted the 2022 Courage Award on behalf of his late father. For more information visit: www.erikjonesracing.com/foundation/.
Quoting Erik Jones: “Darlington will be a cool weekend. The ‘throwback’ weekend is always fun especially with the No. 43 Chevrolet the last few seasons. Just being able to run that car with the “Petty Blue” on it is an honor. I always love going there, Darlington has been a good track for me, been a good track for our team. So, hopefully we can get there, have the same kind of speed that we had last year, put a good race together, and contend. I look forward to it and hopefully we will have a great race.”
ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a professional auto racing club owned by businessman and entrepreneur Maurice J. Gallagher and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion (NCS) Jimmie Johnson. The club competes full-time in the NCS fielding the Nos. 42 and 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for drivers Noah Gragson and Erik Jones, respectively, along with the No. 84 part-time entry for Johnson in 2023. Richard Petty “The King” serves as team ambassador.
In 2021, Gallagher acquired Richard Petty Motorsports and renamed the team to Petty GMS. With the addition of Johnson to the ownership structure in 2023, the organization rebranded to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (LEGACY M.C.). With a unique title signifying a nod to car clubs of past eras, LEGACY M.C. is an inclusive club for all motorsport enthusiasts to celebrate the past and future legacies of its members, while competing for wins and championships at NASCAR’s elite level.
Based in Statesville, N.C., LEGACY M.C. operates alongside GMS Racing (GMS), which currently fields three full-time entries in the NASCAR Truck Series. Since the formation of GMS in 2012, Gallagher and Mike Beam, team president, have shared incredible success. GMS Racing captured the 2015 ARCA Racing Series championship, the 2016 and 2020 NASCAR Truck Series championships and the 2019 and 2020 ARCA East championships, accumulating over 65 wins across six national racing circuits.
To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.
