EVENT: Goodyear 400
DATE: April 6, 2025
RACE: Goodyear 400 | Race 8 of 36
TRACK: Darlington Raceway, Darlington S.C. | 1.366-mile Speedway
CLUB MINUTES
THE LADY AND THE KING’S HAT: “The Kings Hat” at Darlington Raceway is located in the Fan Zone in the Midway. Fans are encouraged to pay homage to the Petty family by taking photos with the landmark at each track.
LEGACIES ARE MADE AT DARLINGTON: LEGACY MC co-owner Jimmie Johnson and competition advisor Matt Kenseth have both found success at Darlington Raceway. Johnson, in 24 starts, swept both races in 2004, leading a combined 193 laps. He returned to victory lane in 2012 after leading 134 laps from the second starting position, securing Hendrick Motorsports’ 250th NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) win. The seven-time champion boasts three Darlington victories, including two prestigious Southern 500 wins, along with nine top five and 13 top 10 finishes, leading a total of 563 laps. Kenseth, meanwhile, claimed victory in the 2013 spring race and holds a record of three top five and 13 top 10 finishes, leading 193 laps over 28 starts.
PETTY AT DARLINGTON: The Petty family raced at the Darlington Raceway since the inaugural Southern 500 in 1950. Lee Petty qualified 35th for the 400-lap marathon and entered the top 10. Of the 75 cars that qualified for the race, only 28 made it to the finish line, living up to the nickname “Too Tough to Tame.” Lee Petty crossed the line in 6th position at the first running of one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks. Richard Petty has tangled with the “Lady in Black” 65 times throughout his career and has amassed over 23,000 miles of on-track experience. “The King” conquered Darlington Raceway three times; the wins came in the spring of 1966 and during both contests during the 1967 season. Petty led 2,391 laps while earning 25 top five and 34 top 10 finishes at Darlington Raceway.
HOW OLD WERE THE DRIVERS IN 1998? How old were the LEGACY MC drivers when the throwback schemes that you will see on the track this weekend hit the track at Darlington’s race on March 22, 1998? Nemechek was under 1 year old coming in at just 284 days old (born June 11, 1997). Jones wasn’t much older, coming in at 661 days or 1 year 9 months, and 27 days old. (May 30, 1996).
NEVER SETTLE: This week on Never Settle, the podcast with Johnson and Marty Smith, the duo sits down with Lyn St. James. St. James is a former racecar driver who competed in the IndyCar series. She is one of nine women who have qualified for the Indianapolis 500 and became the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award. The new episode drops on Wednesdays at 2 p.m. ET on SIRIUS XM and then is available for download wherever you source your podcasts.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
DARLINGTON NOTES AND QUOTES:
THROWBACK TO DAD: This weekend, John Hunter will throwback to his father, Joe who ran various colorful schemes during the 1998 season. The BellSouth scheme was something that certainly popped at each track and was iconic to the era.
JOE NEMECHEK HISTORY: “Front Row Joe” Nemechek earned the nickname from then teammate, Wally Dallenbach for his knack of qualifying on the front row of the starting grid. In his 674 NCS starts, Joe earned 10 pole starts. He has four victories in the NCS with his first coming at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 1999.
LEAD LAP STREAK: After seven races of 2025, Nemechek’s streak for finishing on the lead lap has come to an end when he finished 25th, one lap down this past weekend at Martinsville. Six races is the longest streak for Nemechek in his early NCS career.
NEMECHEK AT DARLINGTON: Nemechek returns to the Lady in Black for his 15th career start in NASCAR’s top-three touring series, marking his sixth Cup Series race at Darlington. Over 14 previous starts, he has earned one victory in the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and five top-five finishes across the Truck and Xfinity Series.
T-MACK AT DARLINGTON: Crew chief Travis Mack has eight NCS starts and four NXS starts under his belt at the track Too Tough to Tame. Of those starts, he has two total top-10 finishes, one in each of the series.
QUOTING JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK:
“The throwback scheme looks great, black base, bright green neon colors, thank you to Dollar Tree for bringing the idea to us and being able to execute that. As a kid growing up and being able to watch my Dad race – it’s really neat to be able to throwback to an old BellSouth scheme. [Joe] was able to get his first win in the 42 in a BellSouth scheme which is super neat and hopefully, we can continue that tradition. As a kid growing up, it was one of my favorite schemes growing up and still one of my favorite schemes to this day.”
QUOTING TRAVIS MACK:
“The Spring race is a little quicker, Darlington is a tough place, trying to make it to the end and not having any issues. We’re trying to build off Homestead, I felt our car was really good at Homestead. We qualified in the top 10 (seventh), so we’re going to build off that setup and work towards Darlington a little bit. We’ve been pretty good in practice and qualifying, so now we need to carry that over into the race – the start of the race and get that balance correct. The start of the race is going to be key for here.”
“This race is one my favorites. I think our scheme looks awesome – the black and neon green, our LEGACY MC cars are going to stand out this weekend.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
DARLINGTON NOTES AND QUOTES:
“CHECK IT 4 ANDRETTI”: This year for the throwback scheme, partner AdventHealth decided to honor the 1998 No. 43 paint scheme driven by the late John Andretti. The rear bumper of the No. 43 will have a special message this week for Andretti which simply states, “Check It 4 Andretti”. The Check It 4 Andretti Charitable Foundation, Inc.’s mission is to save lives by increasing awareness of the importance of screenings in hopes of the prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer, and by providing funding to high-risk, low-income patients who are uninsured, underinsured, or too young for insurance to cover the cost of screening. For more information: www.checkit4andretti.org/
1998 NO. 43 STATS: Andretti, who drove the familiar STP entry for Petty Enterprises and crew chief Robbie Loomis, had 33 Cup Series starts in 1998. On track he accumulated three top five and 10 top 10 finishes, leading 137 laps that season.
JONES BOY AT DARLINGTON: With two victories in the crown jewel Southern 500 in 2019 and 2022, Jones has enjoyed remarkable success at the South Carolina track. Since joining the Cup Series full-time in 2016, he has secured two wins, three top five finishes, and three top 10 finishes at Darlington.
BESHORE AT DARLINGTON: Beshore has an impressive record when it comes to calling races at Darlington Raceway. With 10 trips to a 1.5-mile oval, across the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, Beshore has amassed seven total top 10 finishes. In 2023, Beshore teamed up with Nemechek, the duo swept the pole positions at Darlington and brought home two-five finishes as a result. Beshore has coached his NXS drivers to 183-laps led around the place they call Too Tough to Tame.
ANDRETTI NASCAR HISTORY: Andretti won two times in his NASCAR Cup Series career, one of which was at Martinsville for Petty Enterprises. At Darlington he raced 19 times, with one top five and four top 10 finishes and had one pole position.
QUOTING ERIK JONES:
“I always look forward to Darlington, I look forward more to the fall race because we always run well there. The spring and fall races are so different. Darlington is similar to Homestead where there is a lot of tire fall of, and you have to set yourself up for the long run. You still get to race the track and that is how I grew up racing.”
QUOTING BEN BESHORE:
“Going to Darlington with Erik is always fun. He has a knack for the track and it’s such a tough event. Every morning when you walk into the shop, you walk past that Southern 500 trophy he won in 2022, so it’s a constant reminder of how bad we want to be back in contention for wins.”
CLUB APPEARANCES
PARADE: Prior to racing on Sunday afternoon, LEGACY MC teammates Jones and Nemechek, along with other NASCAR stars and legends, will participate in the Darlington Raceway Throwback Parade. The parade takes place on Saturday, April 5 following the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at approximately 6:30 p.m. The parade will begin at the South of Pearl restaurant in downtown Darlington and will end in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage.
SIGNING FOR THE FANS: This weekend, Nemechek will stop out at the NASCAR Classics merchandise rig and sign autographs for the NASCAR fans on race day morning at 11:00 a.m.
HOW TO WATCH
The Goodyear 400 will take place on Sunday, April 6 at 3 pm ET. The racing action is set to broadcast on Fox Sports 1, MRN Radio, SIRIUS XM NASCAR Ch. 90, and through the NASCAR Driver Cam on MAX.
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 and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC. 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.
