EVENT: Shriners Children’s 500
DATE: March 9, 2025
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series | Race 4 of 36
TRACK: Phoenix Raceway Avondale, Ariz. | 1.0-mile oval
RACE LENGTH: Stage 1: 60 laps | Stage 2: 185 laps | Stage 3: 312 laps
CLUB MINUTES:
FOUR WINS FOR JJ: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB co-owner Jimmie Johnson has a strong history at Phoenix Raceway, earning four NASCAR Cup Series victories at the track. His wins came in consecutive years from 2007 to 2010, showcasing his dominance on the one-mile oval. This run came during his historic championship run from 2006-2010 where he won five races in a row.
“NEVER SETTLE” GUEST: Country music artist Kip Moore is this week’s guest on the Never Settle podcast with Johnson and Marty Smith. Singer and songwriter Kip Moore explores his own experiences of growing up in a small Georgia town and working diligently for years to achieve his musical dreams. Weekly episodes drop on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. ET on SIRIUS XM NASCAR Channel 90 and wherever fans download their podcasts.
LOCAL TIES: Born in nearby Mesa, pit crew jackman Kellen Mills is a former Arizona State football defensive end who has emerged as one of the top talents in the current pit crew lineup with the No. 43 Dollar Tree team. Before his NASCAR career, he played defensive end for Arizona State University in the early 2000s and was an all-state fullback at Mesa Mountain View High School. After college, Mills moved to North Carolina, where he has spent the last six years as a pit crew member beginning his career as a fueler before transitioning to a jackman in 2019, gaining experience with powerhouse teams like Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing. Along the way, he contributed to championship pursuits alongside drivers such as Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr.
42 NOTES AND QUOTES:
JHN IN THE DESERT: Nemechek has made 22 NASCAR starts at Phoenix Raceway across all three of NASCAR’s national series. While five of those starts have been in the Cup Series, he has excelled in the Xfinity Series, earning two runner-up finishes to his credit.
2024 SPRING PHX: Nemechek showed strong speed in practice for the 2024 Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway, demonstrating his potential for a solid race. However, handling issues plagued his car during the event, leading to him falling a lap down. Despite the setback, his team continued to fight ultimately resulting in a 25th place finish.
QUOTING JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK:
“I’m excited to get behind the wheel of the No. 42 Pye-Barker Toyota Camry for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB at Phoenix Raceway. This will be our first non-drafting oval race of the season, making it a great opportunity to see how we stack up after all the changes made in the off-season. The team has been putting in a lot of work, and I’m looking forward to this next phase of the season. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has shown speed at Phoenix in the past, and I’m confident that Travis [Mack] and the No. 42 Pye-Barker team will bring a strong car this weekend.”
QUOTING TRAVIS MACK
“We have had three weeks to work on our communication and get to know each other as a team. We are excited to get to a traditional oval and see what type of improvements we have made with our cars this off-season. Looking for a solid weekend.”
43 NOTES AND QUOTES:
EJ STATS AT PHX: Erik Jones has made 17 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix Raceway, earning three top 10 and four top 15 finishes. His best finish at the track was seventh in 2019, with an average finish of 19.875. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Jones has seven starts and has never finished outside the top 10. Additionally, he has three Truck Series starts at Phoenix, highlighted by back-to-back victories in 2013 and 2014.
2024 PHX RECAP: During the 2024 Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway, Jones qualified inside the top five and ran near the front for most of the race. However, following a final restart with 92 laps to go, Jones was battling Chase Briscoe in a four-wide situation when he made contact with the outside wall. The damage to his car affected its performance for the remainder of the race, resulting in a 31st-place finish, seven laps down.
JONES’S FIRST NASCAR TRUCK WIN: Jones captured his first career NASCAR Truck Series victory at Phoenix Raceway in 2013 at age 16 and followed it up with another win the following season in 2014. Across his three Truck Series starts at the track, he boasted an impressive average start of 1.3 and an average finish of 3.7 by either winning the race or starting on the pole each time.
QUOTING ERIK JONES:
“It will be good to get to a ‘traditional’ oval for Phoenix this week. I enjoy the speedway races, but starting the season out with three non-traditional races has been interesting. We have done a lot of work at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to get better on the ovals, so I am looking forward to seeing where we are when we unload with the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry.”
QUOTING BEN BESHORE:
How does the track change throughout the race?
“Generally, as the track takes a lot of rubber it just gets slick and starts losing grip. You must chase the conditions late in the race as the sun sets behind the grandstands and you have one end in shade and one end baking in the sun.”
How do you overtake on a track like Phoenix, is track position important to maintain?
“Coming through the field is tough at Phoenix. You either have to be good at restarts or good on the long run to pass once the field strings out and you can attack cars one at a time.”
CLUB APPEARANCES
JHN APPEARANCES: Nemechek will be a guest at the NASCAR Experience Stage on Saturday, March 8 at 10 a.m. local time as he sits down for a question-and-answer session.
HOW TO WATCH:
The Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway is scheduled for Sunday, March 9 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Fans can watch on FOX Sports 1, MAX, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Channel 90. Prior to Sunday’s race, the NASCAR Cup Series will have practice on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. and qualifying at 4:00 p.m. ET.
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.
