LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
DARLINGTON PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: Goodyear 400
DATE: March 22, 2026
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series 6 of 36
TRACK: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway | 1.366-Mile Oval
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JOHN AT DARLINGTON: John Hunter Nemechek has seven starts at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series. He earned his highest finish of fourth in last year’s Southern 500. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, he has six starts at Darlington, earning three top-five finishes and two poles, earned in May 2023 and September 2023. He also earned his highest finish of third in the May 2023 race. Nemechek also has three starts at Darlington in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he won in May 2022, earned two poles in May 2021 and 2022, and never finished lower than eighth, including two top-two finishes.
TRUCK SERIES WINNER AT DARLINGTON: In May 2022, Nemechek took home the checkered flag in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race after starting on the pole. He led 69 out of 147 laps and won with a .552 margin of victory over Carson Hocevar. Nemechek was running a fulltime season in the Truck Series in 2022, and Darlington marked his first of two wins that season.
T-MACK AT DARLINGTON: Sunday afternoon’s race will be crew chief Travis Mack’s 11th NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington. His first outing at the 1.366-mile oval came in May 2021 with Daniel Suárez, and the duo competed for six total races between 2021 and 2023. Mack’s highest finish of fourth came with John Hunter Nemechek in the pair’s second Darlington race together in August 2025. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Mack made four starts at Darlington with Michael Annett between 2018 and 2020, earning two top-10 finishes and a best result of eighth in September 2020.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“I’m looking forward to it. Obviously tire wear is going to play a huge role at Darlington this year, but I enjoy being able to manage tires. I think our LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camrys have been better for that, especially when looking back at how we did at Phoenix. We were able to pass under green and carry speed through the long runs and work our way forward. I’m looking forward to the higher horsepower package and the higher tire degradation. Should be a fun one.”
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“It’s tough to run really well last year and have to come back this year with a different aero package. It’s going to be a challenge to hit that balance and have a similar car to what we brought last year in the fall, but LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is strong at intermediate tracks, so we’re ready to adapt to the new packages and have a solid showing at Darlington this weekend.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
“THAT JONES BOY” DARLINGTON STATS: Sunday afternoon’s Goodyear 400 will mark Erik Jones’ 17th NASCAR Cup Series start at historic Darlington Raceway. Jones made a name for himself at the 1.366-mile oval where he owns two Southern 500 victories, six top-fives, and nine top-10s. He has led 132 laps in his career at Darlington, the second-most of any track in his career behind his 293 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Between his first start in the 2017 Southern 500 and the 2020 Southern 500, Jones never finished worse than eighth in the Cup Series. He has an additional two starts at Darlington in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series where he never started worse than sixth. In his first start there in September 2016, Jones started 10th and finished an impressive sixth. He followed that up in September 2017 when he started 11th and earned a fourth-place result.
TWO-TIME SOUTHERN 500 WINNER: Jones is not only a winner at Darlington, but a two-time Southern 500 winner. The crown jewel race has been kind to the Byron, Michigan native in his career. His first Southern 500 victory came in September 2019. Jones started 15th and led 79 laps en route to a 4.058 second victory over Kyle Larson. After a couple of top-10s, Jones found victory lane at Darlington once again in the September 2022 Southern 500. He once again started 15th and led a total of 23 laps to find victory lane with a .252 second margin of victory over Denny Hamlin.
ALEXANDER AT DARLINGTON: Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington will mark Justin Alexander’s 14th race on top of the box in the NASCAR Cup Series at the 1.366-mile track. In his prior 13 starts, he earned two top-fives and four top-10s at the track. His best finish of second came in the 2020 Southern 500 with Austin Dillon, where the duo finished just .434 seconds behind race winner Kevin Harvick.
THROWBACK TO WALLY: Despite there being no official NASCAR Throwback weekend this year at Darlington, AdventHealth and Erik Jones will bringing back some familiar colors from the 1994 NASCAR Cup Series season. Jones’ No. 43 AdventHealth Toyota Camry XSE will throw it back to Wally Dallenbach Jr.’s 1994 No. 43 STP car. Dallenbach Jr. drove the historic No. 43 car for 20 races during the 1994 season where he earned a best finish of fourth at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“I’ve always been comfortable at Darlington in my career, and I think my stats there show that. It’s a place where I’ve done well and had a lot of speed in the past, no matter what team I was with. It reminds me of a lot of the tracks I grew up racing on which helps. I’ve been lucky to be able to not only win two Southern 500s in my career, but also just have really strong runs at this track. That includes last year’s Southern 500. There are some places that you just get that feeling and Darlington is one of them for me. I know the No. 43 team will bring me another strong car, and I’m excited to get to Darlington and build off of what we did last fall.”
JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
“I’m really looking forward to Darlington with the high tire falloff and the new aero and engine package this year. Erik has had a lot of success there and really understands how to manage that track. Intermediates were a strong area for us at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB last year and we’re hoping to build on that. The new package may throw everyone a bit of a curveball, but we feel prepared for it and have high expectations going into the weekend.”
CLUB MINUTES:
JJ – TWO-TIME SOUTHERN 500 CHAMP: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson has 24 Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway. In his career, Johnson is a two-time Southern 500 champion and a three-time winner at Darlington. He has earned nine top-fives and 13 top-10s at the track nicknamed “The Lady in Black” as well as led 563 laps. His first win at Darlington came in March 2004 when Johnson started 11th and led 69 laps en route to a .132 second margin of victory over Bobby Labonte. He followed that up in the November 2004 Southern 500 when he started fourth, led 124 laps, and bested Mark Martin by .959 seconds. His final win at Darlington came in the 2012 Southern 500 when he started second, led 134 laps, and beat Denny Hamlin seconds.
KENSETH WINS AT DARLINGTON: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth owns 28 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway. He earned one win, three top-fives, and 13 top-10s in these starts and led 193 laps. Kenseth is also a Southern 500 winner. A year after Johnson’s win in 2012, Kenseth started seventh and led 17 laps en route to a 3.155 seconds margins of victory over Denny Hamlin.
THE KING AT DARLINGTON: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB ambassador Richard Petty owns 65 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway and is also a Southern 500 champion. In total, he accumulated three wins, 25 top-fives, and 34 top-10s at Darlington. He also led 2,391 laps at the 1.366-mile oval. His first victory came in April 1966 where Petty started on the pole and led 281 of 291 laps to find victory lane. He found victory lane again in May 1967 when he started second behind David Pearson and led 266 laps to win his second race at the track. His final win came in the September 1967 Southern 500 where Petty once again started on the pole and led a total of 345 laps to best David Pearson once again.
LAST YEAR’S SOUTHERN 500: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB had a strong outing last September at Darlington Raceway that the team is hoping to build off of this time around. Jones and Nemechek finished third and fourth respectively in the 2025 Southern 500. Jones started the Southern 500 in 19th and earned stage points with a third-place finish in Stage 2. In the final stage, he ran solidly inside the top-10 to earn his best finish of the 2025 season. Nemechek start 30th but made moves early in the race. The No. 42 team used strategy to earn stage points in both of the opening stages and bring home a fourth-place finish.
CLUB APPEARANCES:
Nemechek will be at the trackside merchandise trailer for an autograph session at 11:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, March 21.
Jones will visit the trackside merchandise trailer to sign autographs at 12:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 21.
TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, March 22 at 3 p.m. EDT on FS1, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is a premier auto racing organization 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 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.
