DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 16, 2025) – The 67th running of the DAYTONA 500 took place on Sunday, Feb. 16 in front of a sell-out crowd. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB had a strong showing during the week at Daytona with Erik Jones finishing second in his Duel qualifier and John Hunter Nemechek clocking the fastest practice time for Toyota on Friday. The race panned out even better with all three cars in the top-12, where Jimmie Johnson finished third, Nemechek scored a career-best finish of fifth place, and Jones finished 12th.
After multiple rain showers, the DAYTONA 500 finally went green after a more than three-hour delay. William Byron claimed the victory in the end.
Below is a look at how the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries fared:
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE DAYTONA 500 RECAP:
The No. 42 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE rolled off the grid in the 18th position to start the DAYTONA 500. With the skies threatening rain, Nemechek made the most of the opening laps and made a move to the topside of the track to claim the 10th spot before the rains came and put the 67th running of the DAYTONA 500 into delay with just 11 laps on the board. Once a three-plus hour rain delay was lifted, the field once again got rolling. The No. 42 Dollar Tree team played conservatively to stay out of the hornet’s nest and to save fuel for the remaining portion of the stage, coming home with a 36th-place finish in Stage 1.
As the second stage got underway, it was just a couple of laps later, Lap 71, that the race saw its first “Big One”, collecting several cars, including Nemechek. However, the North Carolina driver did a masterful job in keeping his Camry straight and on the track — minimizing the damage to the No. 42 Dollar Tree machine. He came down to the attention of his crew to look over the car; the team didn’t find much damage and bolted on new tires and sent him on his way. While running in 22nd, Nemechek radioed to the crew, “car feels good” — a bullet dodged early in the DAYTONA 500. Putting that incident behind them, Nemechek powered to the top 10 in the running order and was one of the largest movers in the race. With the field running three-by-three throughout the field, the leaderboard was consistently changing. Nemechek eventually finished the middle stage in 17th.
Before the final stage got underway, crew chief, Travis Mack radioed into his driver, “Stage 3 is all about track position, be aggressive, let’s go win the DAYTONA 500.” The race made it to Lap 161 before a yellow came out to set up the fuel window to finish the race and cars quickly ducked down pit road for fuel for the run to the finish. The fuel-only pit stop by the Dollar Tree team vaulted Nemechek up 11 spots to restart in eighth. The 27-year-old was running the highest he had all day and found himself controlling a lane.
Another great piece of driving by Nemechek saw him slip by another “Big One” which included the No. 60, who flipped in Turn 3. By avoiding that accident, Nemechek moved up to the third position for the second-to-last restart. The 2025 DAYTONA 500 would eventually be settled by a NASCAR Overtime and Nemechek survived a wild last lap to score a career-best fifth-place finish.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTABLE:
“Well, Daytona really won’t make your season – unless you win it – but I feel like coming out of Daytona wrecked and in a hole, isn’t very good either, so that definitely sucks, when you are deep in a hole like that and you have to crawl your way out of a points deal, but having a solid run like we did, coming home fifth was a really solid day, a really solid effort, really solid Speedweeks from the whole LEGACY MOTOR CLUB group. Excited to see where 2025 goes – we already know we are better than 2024, just how much is the question. We hired a lot of good people in the offseason, so looking forward to seeing what all of the hard work, processes, procedures, personnel, everything that went into the offseason – see what it does for us in 2025.”
ERIK JONES NO. 43 ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE DAYTONA 500 RECAP:
The No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE started from the second row for the Daytona 500. After only 11 laps, there was a red flag due to rain. When it was clear to race, the No. 43 made the restart from the 19th position. The circuit of cars quickly formed three lanes, and the Michigan native chose to ride on the bottom for the majority of Stage 1. The team pitted for a fuel-only stop, no tires, and completed Stage 1 in the ninth position – earning playoff points.
When Stage 2 began, the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE was prepped in the 13th position, on the inside lane. The crew had an opportunity to pit for fuel due to a caution and moved up six spots as a result. The No. 43 made a move right before the start/finish line of the last lap of the stage to go three wide and earned a seventh-place stage result.
To begin Stage 3, the LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entry restarted 9th, on the bottom lane. The crew pitted once for fuel but only got six and a half gallons in the Toyota rather than the eight needed, so the AdventHealth car took another trip to the pit stall to finish the fuel load. It was then that crew chief Ben Beshore told the driver “we’re pretty good on gas here, hammer down.” The team advanced 20 spots from 30th on Lap 176 and stayed riding the inside lane as the AdventHealth team decided that line had been moving better. A caution flag flew when the No. 60 spun and flipped, causing some fender damage to the No. 43. The crew came down pit road to add four tires and work on the damage – they were on the DVP clock, but sent Jones out before the pace car came back around. The team restarted in the 25th position and steadily made moves to inch closer to the front. The race went into overtime and within the last two laps, another wreck occurred, but the green flag waved, and the No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE finished the DAYTONA 500 with a 13th place finish.
ERIK JONES QUOTABLE:
“We were good, and the AdventHealth Toyota Camry had speed, it was fast. Disappointing of course to run towards the front and have a fast car and not get the result you hope for and expect, but to come out at the start of the season with a top 15, it’s hopeful and shows what’s to hopefully come this season from LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.”
JIMMIE JOHNSON NO. 84 CARVANA TOYOTA CAMRY XSE DAYTONA 500 RECAP:
Jimmie Johnson started the DAYTONA 500 from the 40th position. Johnson and crew chief Chad Johnston had a strategy heading into the event that centered around fuel strategy and racing a clean race.
Stage 1 was eventful for Johnson. He was involved in a multi-car wreck midway through the stage, but after accessing the damage, the No. 84 was fairly unscathed. Johnson finished Stage 1 in 37th.
Stage 2 was more of the same. Johnson maintained track position in 34th for the majority of the Stage and Johnston made a call to bring Johnson into the pits with just two laps to go in the stage. Johnson then pitted for fuel only at the stage break after finishing 34th. He would restart the race from the sixth position as the gas-only stage break stop for the No. 84 gave them great track position.
Stage 3 began strong as Johnson gained 28 positions with the strategy call restarting sixth. He had officially entered the three-wide racing portion of the evening. Throughout the stage, Johnston reminded Johnson to save fuel. A caution flew with 38 to go and the team opted to pit for four seconds of fuel. Johnson rolled down pit lane from sixth but got blocked in the pits by the No. 47 causing Johnson to lose 23 spots. He restarted with 36 to go in 29th. With five laps remaining a red flag flew due to an accident again with the leaders. Johnson was 23rd at the time of the accident.
In a green-white-checkered finish, Johnson went from 13th to third to finish the race for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and his first top-5 since his final full-time season in 2020.
JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTABLE:
How were you able to get up to the front?
“What an experience. We tried to play it smart. Chad (Johnston, crew chief) had a great strategy for the third segment. Unfortunately, on one of the pit stops we got blocked in and lost our track position. Still had a good car and a straight car and there at the end I was able to make my way through the crash in the back. I was in a good position and here we are. This is great.”
What does it mean to get two LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Camrys in the top five?
“Yeah, two in the top five. I hate it that Erik (Jones) had some trouble. Shaq, I hope you’re listening. We got your car on the podium. Just an incredible experience. Thank you to Carvana, Toyota, Dollar Tree, AdventHealth. There are so many partners part of this program that are helping us grow as an organization and I thought we had a good night.”
How good does this one feel for you?
“This feels incredible. I have emotions that I didn’t expect to have. I’ve never been in this position as an owner, and it’s really opened up a different set of emotions, and the pride that I have in this result and the pride that I have in this company, now that we’re trying to achieve and the journey we’re on – I am so satisfied, so happy right now. Excited that we have two cars in the top five. I hope Shaq is watching. Thank you, buddy. We got your car in the top-three. A big thanks to Carvana and their continued support, Mobil 1, AdventHealth, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, It’s been an interesting couple of years, and to have our cars come out and be this strong, this Toyota was rocket ship fast. I’m just smiling inside and out.”
UP NEXT: The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday, Feb. 23. The race will take place at 3:00 p.m. ET and broadcast on FOX, PRN Radio, and SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio, CH. 90.
ABOUT LEGACY MOTOR CLUB: (LEGACY MC) is a premier auto racing organization co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, “The King”, serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.
