LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
WATKINS GLEN PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: Go Bowling at The Glen
DATE: May 10, 2026
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series 12 of 36
TRACK: Watkins Glen International | 7-Turn, 2.45-Mile Road Course
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 PYE-BARKER FIRE & SAFETY TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JHN AT WATKINS GLEN: John Hunter Nemechek has two NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International, with his highest finish of 21st coming in August 2024. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, he has two career starts at the road course, with his best finish of sixth coming in the August 2023 race. Nemechek also has one start at The Glen in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series where he started sixth and finished second under caution.
T-MACK AT WATKINS GLEN: Sunday’s race will be crew chief Travis Mack’s fifth NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen. His first outing came with Daniel Suarez in 2021, and the duo competed there together for three years in a row, earning a highest finish of fifth in August 2022. In 2024 at The Glen, he earned the pole and a second-place finish with Shane van Gisbergen. He returned in 2025 with Nemechek. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Mack has two starts at Watkins Glen with Michael Annett, earning a 17th-place finish in 2018 and an eighth-place finish in 2019.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“Watkins Glen is one of my favorite road courses on the schedule. We showed some speed there last year until we got some damage at the end of Stage 2, so I feel like we can build off of that and have a solid showing this weekend.”
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“Road courses are a never-ending fight, and we’re always looking to get better. COTA was our highest finish of the year so far, so hopefully we can build off that for this weekend.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES WATKINS GLEN STATS: Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen will mark Erik Jones’ ninth NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International. In his prior seven starts at the track, Jones earned two top-fives and four top-10s. His best finish came in August 2019 when Jones started 14th and earned a solid fourth-place result. Jones has an additional four starts outside of the Cup Series at The Glen – three in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and one in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. In his three O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts, Jones earned a best finish of eighth in August 2017 after starting sixth. In his only NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start at the track, Jones started 25th and finished 19th after leading seven laps in the August 2018 race.
STAGE WINNER AT TEXAS: In last Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, Jones not only had a solid day to finish 12th, but also earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series stage win. As a caution came out with just a handful of laps to go in Stage 1, crew chief Justin Alexander made a bold call to stay out when leaders pitted to have Jones inherit the lead. He battled for the No. 47 on the restart to keep the lead and pull away to earn the stage win. This was also the first stage win for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.
ALEXANDER AT THE GLEN: This Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International will be crew chief Justin Alexander’s eighth race on top of the box at the road course in New York. He earned a best finish of 13th with Paul Menard in August 2015.
THE OSCAR PLUSH: The Oscar Jones collectible plush is back in stock! Modeled after his eight-year-old German Shepherd, the Oscar plush started to be sold at Indianapolis last year and has been in such high demand that they sold out online. A portion of the sale of the plush will go back to the Erik Jones Foundation to support the funding of grants for its animal welfare pillar of giving. Since its launch in 2021, the Erik Jones Foundation has gifted more than $40,000 in grants to organizations promoting animal welfare and supporting the training of working animals. Fans can still purchase their own Oscar plush at ErikJonesRacing.com.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Watkins Glen should be good. As far as road courses go, it hasn’t been the smoothest part of our program the last handful of years, but Watkins Glen is one that has stood out. We’ve been able to run well at it. We came home with a decent finish last year, and this year I feel like we could run top-10 there with a good day. Hopefully, we can also have some opportunities for some stage points based on strategy or just running well enough to earn some. Watkins Glen is a unique road course. It’s one that I have a lot of experience on and somewhere that fits a lot of drivers’ styles that grew up racing ovals. You see more guys running well there. Hope to keep that momentum rolling from Texas.”
JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
“Road courses have been a place where LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has needed some work in the past. COTA had a lot of obstacles thrown our way, so I don’t know if that was an accurate depiction for the No. 43 team of what we have for road courses after the work we put in during the off season. Watkins Glen is a little bit different style of road course from the others though. I think there’s some more speed and strategy at play. Hopefully our hard work on our road course program will have paid off, but I’m excited to get to Watkins Glen this weekend.”
CLUB MINUTES:
FAST PIT STOPS: The LEGACY MOTOR CLUB pit crews are continuing to impress as the season continues on. Per Asphalt Analytics, the No. 43 team ran the CLUB’s fastest pit stop ever last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway with a time of 8.365 seconds. They were also top-five in pit crew rankings for the race with an average of 8.690 seconds, which was also a LEGACY MOTOR CLUB best.
JJ AT THE GLEN: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson has 18 Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International. He earned a best finish of third twice in his career at The Glen – August 2007 and August 2012. In total, Johnson earned four top-fives, eight top-10s, and led 18 laps on the road course in New York. He has an additional four starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen where he earned a best finish of second in his final start there in August 2011. Johnson started sixth and finished just .974 of a second behind race winner Kurt Busch.
KENSETH GLEN STATS: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth has a total of 19 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen. In his career, he earned two top-fives, eight top-10s, and led three laps at The Glen. His best finish of second came in August 2017 when he started 15th. He ended up finishing .414 of a second behind race winner Martin Truex Jr. Kenseth has an additional six NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at The Glen. He earned two top-fives and three top-10s with a best finish of third in August 2008 after starting 16th.
THE KING AT THE GLEN: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB ambassador Richard Petty owns eight Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen. He earned a best finish of ninth in August 1991 at the track after starting 31st for the 90-lap race.
SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT:
CLUB APPEARANCES:
John Hunter Nemechek will visit the NASCAR Experience Stage on Saturday, May 9 for NASCAR Family Fued at 11:15 a.m. local time. On Sunday, May 10, he will be at Pit Inn for a Q&A session at 11:30 a.m. local time and follow that with an autograph session at the trackside merchandise trailer at 12 p.m. local time.
TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International on Sunday, May 10 at 3 p.m. EDT on FS1, MAX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (LEGACY MC) 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.
