LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
NEW HAMPSHIRE PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: Dollar Tree 301
DATE: August 23, 2026
Race: NASCAR Cup Series 25 of 36
TRACK: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon | 1.058-Mile Oval
DOLLAR TREE CLUB NOTES:
RACE ENTITLEMENT: In May, it was announced the Speedway Motorsports Incorporated and Dollar Tree made a deal to not only be a track partner but serve as an entitlement sponsor for this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. On top of the race sponsorship, Dollar Tree will have a large hospitality appearance this weekend along with its normal fan zone display which will showcase some driver autograph sessions.
DOLLAR TREE’S COMMITMENT: Dollar Tree’s commitment to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and NASCAR has been showcased over the years. Last July, it was announced that Dollar Tree had signed a multi-year extension with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB as a team partner. Then in April, Jimmie Johnson announced a PSA with Dollar Tree, furthering extending the depth of the relationship. Through this extensive partnership, fans have not only been able to see the iconic green paint scheme on both the No. 42 and No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE, but also one-off deals through Tricon with Dario Franchitti and now John Hunter Nemechek.
MODIFIED RACING: In addition to the race entitlement, Dollar Tree’s colors will be visible in all on-track activity this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Not only will they adorn the hoods of both LEGACY MOTOR CLUB entries and John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 5 Tricon Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, but they will also showcase a paint scheme in Saturday’s Mohegan Sun 100 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with Justin Bonsignore, a four-time Whelen Modified Tour Champion.
JJ THE LOBSTER KING: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Jimmie Johnson owns 35 Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He has a total of three wins, one pole, 10 top-fives, and 22 top-10s as well as 323 laps led. His first victory came in July 2003 when he started sixth, led 58 laps, and bested Kevin Harvick by a 1.582 second margin of victory. He defended this win when the series returned in September 2003. Johnson started eighth, led just 12 laps, and bested Ricky Rudd by 6.240 seconds. His final win at New Hampshire came in June 2010. Johnson started 10th, led nine laps, and beat Tony Stewart by .753 seconds. He has an additional two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at New Hampshire where he finished 13th in May 2000 and May 2001.
KENSETH TAKES HOME THE LOBSTER: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth has 38 Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He’s earned a total of three wins, 12 top-fives, and 21 top-10s in addition to his 414 laps led. He earned his first victory at New Hampshire in September 2013 where he started ninth, led 106 laps, and bested Kyle Busch by .533 seconds. Kenseth then earned back-to-back wins in September 2015 and July 2016. In 2015, he started 13th and led just 27 laps to best Denny Hamlin by 8.941 seconds. He defended this win in the next race there in 2016 when he started 18th and bested Tony Stewart by 1.982 second. Kenseth has an additional nine starts at New Hampshire in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series where he won in July 2004 with a 1.51 second margin of victory over Tim Fedewa.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 40 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JHN AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: John Hunter Nemechek has three NASCAR Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the first coming in August 2020. He earned his best finish of eighth at the 1.058-mile oval in his second start there in June 2024. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Nemechek has made three starts, where he earned two top-five finishes including a race win in July 2023. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he earned a total of three top-10 finishes in four career starts at New Hampshire. His best result of fifth was earned twice in September 2014 and September 2015.
WINNER AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: In July 2023, Nemechek took home the checkered flag in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting second. He led 137 of the 200 laps and won with a .424 second margin of victory over runner-up Chandler Smith. Nemechek was running a full-time season in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in 2023, and New Hampshire marked his fourth of seven wins that season.
T-MACK AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: Sunday’s race will be crew chief Travis Mack’s seventh NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire. His first outing at the track nicknamed the “Magic Mile” came in September 2017 with NASCAR superstar Dale Earnhardt Jr. Mack returned to Loudon with Daniel Suárez in the 2021 season. The duo competed in the next two New Hampshire races through the end of 2023 and earned Mack’s highest finish at the track of ninth in July 2022. In July 2024, Mack returned to New Hampshire with Ty Dillon, who finished 20th. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Mack has one start at New Hampshire with Michael Annett in 2019 where the pair finished 11th.
THURSDAY VISIT TO NOBULL AND DOLLAR TREE: On Thursday, August 20, John Hunter Nemechek and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB pit crew members made a couple of stops on their way up to Loudon. The group visited NOBULL headquarters in Boston to tour the facility and capture content. They then traveled to Connecticut to visit with Dollar Tree employees at a local distribution center.
TRUCK SERIES RACE: 13-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race winner John Hunter Nemechek will pilot the No. 5 Dollar Tree Toyota Tundra TRD Pro with Tricon Garage for a special appearance in the Team EJP 175 on Saturday, August 22. This will also be Nemechek’s 400th NASCAR start in the top-three series.
NUMBER SWAP: To celebrate Dollar Tree’s 40th anniversary, John Hunter Nemechek’s Toyota Camry XSE will sport a special livery featuring a number swap. The gold and green Dollar Tree Toyota will feature the No. 40 for Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, paying homage to the company’s four decades of success and commitment to the communities it serves.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“This weekend in New Hampshire will be special, we get to celebrate our partners at Dollar Tree their takeover weekend, as well as my 400th national series start. The truck race with Tricon will be a fun one for sure, and I’m excited to have a couple of chances to get Dollar Tree into victory lane. We’ve seen progress on our short track program at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB over the past few weeks, so hopefully that will translate into a strong finish on Sunday.”
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“We’re still working on our short track program. We’re building off our notes from Iowa and Richmond, and it’s really important that we get the No. 43 car in the best position possible as The Chase gets closer and closer. On the No. 42 side, we want to be top-20 in points by the end of the year, so we’re trying to be consistent. We want to bring home a solid finish for Dollar Tree to cap off a special weekend for them.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES LOUDON STATS: Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 will mark Erik Jones’ 11th NASCAR Cup Series career start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In his 10 prior starts, he’s earned one top-five and two top-10s at the track nicknamed “The Magic Mile.” He scored his best finish of third in July 2019 after starting third and leading four laps. He has three additional starts at New Hampshire – one in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and two in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In his lone O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start, Jones started and finished second in July 2016. Meanwhile, he earned back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the Truck Series at New Hampshire in September 2014 and September 2015.
350 NASCAR CUP SERIES STARTS: Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 will also mark Jones’ 350th start in the NASCAR Cup Series. Jones made his first start on May 9, 2015 at Kansas Speedway where he filled in for Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota. He went on to join the NASCAR Cup Series fulltime in 2017. His career tenure career is highlighted by his two Southern 500 victories at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway as he is part of an elite group who have won multiple times in the crown jewel race.So far, Jones has earned three wins, 44 top-fives, and 100 top-10s in his career.
RUNNER-UP AT THE MAGIC MILE: During his one and only O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at New Hampshire, Jones started an impressive third behind his teammate Kyle Busch. While Busch dominated a majority of the race, Jones took over the lead for three laps on Lap 93 before being forced to pit for green flag stops. He cycled through to second after his stop. Jones finished 1.499 seconds behind Busch who ultimately won the race. Prior to Loudon, Jones won the April 2016 race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, and he would go on to win just two weeks later on July 30, 2016, at Iowa Speedway.
ALEXANDER AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Dollar Tree 301 will mark crew chief Justin Alexander’s 11th NASCAR Cup Series start on top of the box at New Hampshire. In his 10 prior starts, he earned a best finish of 13th in August 2020 with Austin Dillon. He has one additional start at New Hampshire in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series in July 2019 with Kaz Grala where the duo finished 14th.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“New Hampshire is kind of a tough track – it’s a short track but it’s also a mix of an intermediate. The line has changed over the years at Loudon with all that they’ve done to the track, so you never know what to expect. It changes a lot every time we go there. We’ve had some rain races there – it’s always a possibility this time of year in the Northeast. It’ll be interesting to see what this race brings us and how it’s all going to play out, but it’s usually ends up being somewhat of a wild card race. While we have an uphill battle to make the Chase, we’re still going to try out best to put the best races together over the next few weeks. Hopefully we can start this Sunday in the Dollar Tree 301 driving the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota Camry XSE.”
JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
“I’m looking forward to Loudon this weekend. Loudon is a very unique track, unlike any other on the circuit. It’s a short track but speeds are fast and its super flat in the corners. There is a lot of emphasis on aero but with flat corners and back stretch bumps, you really have to build a lot of mechanical grip into the car. We will take what we’ve learned this year on short tracks and apply those things this weekend. We lost a little ground in points last week at Richmond but were not out of it yet. We plan to go to Loudon this weekend, max out points and continue to push to get into the Chase.”
SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT:
CLUB APPEARANCES:
Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek kick off Sunday’s race day with a Q&A session moderated by LEGACY MOTOR CLUB ambassador Trevor Bayne at the Dollar Tree display in the fan zone at 10 a.m. local time on Sunday.
Erik Jones will visit the Dollar Tree display in the fan zone for an autograph session on Sunday, August 23 at 10:20 a.m. local time.
John Hunter Nemechek will visit the trackside merchandise trailer for an autograph session on Sunday, August 23 at 11 a.m. local time.
TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, August 23 at 3 p.m. EDT on USA Sports, HBO MAX, PRN, 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.
