Legacy Motor Club confirmed that John Hunter Nemechek will not be returning to the organization at the conclusion of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The news, which was made on Wednesday, September 2, occurred a day after The Athletic received the news from sources of Nemechek’s departure from Legacy Motor Club following this season. It also comes as the 29-year-old Nemechek from Mooresville, North Carolina, is currently campaigning in his third consecutive full-time season in the Cup Series division with Legacy.
Nemechek was announced to drive Legacy Motor Club’s No. 42 entry on a full-time basis for the 2024 Cup Series season in September 2023. By then, it marked his second entrance to the Cup level after he previously drove for Front Row Motorsports in 2020, but scaled back down to the Craftsman Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series divisions with Kyle Busch Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, respectively, to regain his race-winning craft and competitiveness.
Nemechek made an early one-race debut with Legacy Motor Club at Homestead-Miami Speedway in mid-October 2023, where he finished 32nd. Since the start of the 2024 season through this past weekend at Daytona International Speedway, Nemechek has accumulated a trio of top-five results, 14 top-10 results and 137 laps led, with his current best points result being 25th in 2025 and his best on-track results being a pair of fourth-place runs at Darlington Raceway in September 2025 and Pocono Raceway this past June.
This season, Nemechek has recorded a pair of top-10 results, led 64 laps, and averaged 22.1 through 26 scheduled events. He is currently ranked in 27th place in the 2026 drivers’ standings as he continues the pursuit of his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series.
Following the announcement of Nemechek’s departure from Legacy Motor Club at the conclusion of this season, Legacy Motor Club, which has to decide on a new competitor for the No. 42 entry, released a statement that recognizes Nemechek’s contributions towards the organization and the goal to cap off the 2026 season on a strong note before the departure.
Nemechek also took to social media to release his statement of his departure from Legacy Motor Club, during which he expressed his gratitude for competing for the organization as he assesses his plans for the future.
Amid an uncertain future, John Hunter Nemechek’s 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season resumes this upcoming Sunday, September 6, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, for the Cook Out Southern 500. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.
