LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
PHOENIX PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: Straight Talk Wireless 500
DATE: March 8, 2026
RACE: NASCAR Cup Series 4 of 36
TRACK: Phoenix Raceway | 1-Mile Oval
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 MOBIL 1 TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JHN AT PHOENIX: John Hunter Nemechek has seven NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix, with a highest finish of 14th coming in March 2025. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Nemechek has made eight starts, where he earned one pole in November 2018, six top-10 finishes, and two top-fives. He earned a best finish of fourth in November 2019. In his nine starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Phoenix, he earned six top-10 finishes, including three top-five finishes. He earned a best finish of second twice in November 2015 and November 2017.
T-MACK AT PHOENIX: Sunday’s race at Phoenix will mark crew chief Travis Mack’s 11th NASCAR Cup Series race at the track. His first outing came in 2018 with Kasey Kahne. Mack returned to Phoenix with Daniel Suárez in the 2021 season. The duo competed in six races together through the end of 2023 and earned a highest finish of ninth in March 2022. In 2024, Mack competed with Derek Kraus in the March race. He then returned in March 2025 with Nemechek, where the duo finished 14th. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Mack has five starts with Michael Annett, where the pair earned three top-10 finishes and a best finish of fourth in November 2020.
MOBIL 1 IS BACK: Mobil 1 returns to the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE this weekend, continuing its long-standing presence in motorsports. As a global leader in advanced synthetic motor oil technology, Mobil 1 is trusted by drivers and teams around the world to deliver performance and protection under the toughest conditions. The No. 42 will feature Mobil 1’s signature red and blue colors, representing the brand’s commitment to innovation and high-performance excellence on and off the track.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“We learned a lot in the off-season, so I’m ready to see how it plays out for our No. 42 Mobil 1 Toyota Camry XSE on our first non-drafting oval race of the season. We’ve shown good speed in Phoenix in the past, so I’m looking forward to kicking off our west coast swing this weekend.”
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“We’ve put in a lot of hard work this offseason getting our program dialed in, and I feel really good about what we’re bringing to Phoenix. Our guys have done an excellent job preparing this race car, and we’re focused and ready to go out there and compete. John Hunter is fired up, the team is locked in, and we’re looking forward to a strong weekend.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES PHOENIX STATS: Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway will mark Erik Jones’ 20th Cup Series start at the mile oval in the desert of Arizona. In his career, he’s collected one top-five, four top-10s, and led 25 laps at the track. He earned his best finish of fourth in November 2017 after starting 11th. He has an additional 10 starts outside of the Cup Series at Phoenix – three in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and seven in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He won twice in the Truck Series in November 2013 and November 2014. He never finished worse than ninth in all three of those starts. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Jones also never finished outside the top-10 with five top-fives and seven top-10s. He earned a best finish of second after starting from the pole in March 2016, finishing just 2.285 seconds behind race winner Kyle Busch.
JONES’ FIRST NASCAR WIN: In November 2013, Jones captured his first career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory and his first win in NASCAR’s top-three series at Phoenix when he was just 16 years old. The Michigan native was running a limited five-race schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2013 and never finished worse than ninth in those starts. Jones qualified second for the race at Phoenix and led 84 laps en route to a 1.616 second margin of victory over Ross Chastain. He defended that win the following season in November 2014 with another victory at the track while once again running a part-time schedule. Jones started from the pole and led 114 of the 150 laps to best Matt Crafton. Across his three Truck Series starts at the track, he boasted an impressive average start of 1.3 and an average finish of 3.7.
450 NASCAR STARTS: Sunday’s race at Phoenix Raceway will mark Erik Jones’ 450th NASCAR start in the top-three series. He made his first career start in NASCAR’s top-three series on April 6, 2013 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Jones started 19th and finished an impressive ninth in his debut. Despite not even being 30 years old, Jones has made a name for him in NASCAR over the past 13 years. In his career, he won the 2015 Championship in the NASCAR Truck Series and two Southern 500 “Crown Jewel” races at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (September 2019 and September 2022).
ALEXANDER AT PHOENIX: Crew chief Justin Alexander has been on top of the box for 13 NASCAR Cup Series races at Phoenix. He earned a best finish of eighth in November 2018 with Austin Dillon. He has an additional two starts as crew chief in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for Dillon in 2016 and 2017. He earned a best finish of second in November 2016 after starting eighth. He returned in March 2017 with Dillon. The duo started third and led 31 laps until a crash took him out on Lap 190.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Phoenix will be good. It’ll be nice to get on our first traditional oval of the year, and just getting to a short track will be good. This is a track where I think we saw a good bit of improvement in the November race. We ran a little bit better than we had in years past. We would qualify well and have good speed, but we just couldn’t get the long run and race setup quite where we wanted it. I’m excited to get there with added horsepower and see what that’s all about on an oval. Hopefully, it’ll be a bit better on racing versus years past of going there. Looking forward to it. I’ve always liked this track. We’ll see where we stack up on some traditional ovals.”
JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
“Phoenix is the first weekend where it really feels like we’re getting back to our normal type of racing. LEGACY MOTOR CLUB made some good gains on the shorter tracks toward the end of last season, and I feel like we learned a lot about the direction we need to go in this year. Hopefully, we can carry that over and start off solid at Phoenix. It’s a good early test for us to see where we really stack up and what we still need to clean up.”
CLUB MINUTES:
JJ AT PHOENIX: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson owns 36 Cup Series starts at Phoenix Raceway. In his career, he has collected four victories, 16 top-fives, and 22 top-10s, and led 998 laps. Johnson scored three back-to-back wins at Phoenix between 2007 to 2008. His first victory came in November 2007 when he started sixth, led 55 laps, and finished .870 of second ahead of Greg Biffle. He followed that up in April 2008 where he started seventh and led 120 laps en route to besting Clint Bowyer by 7.002 seconds. The series returned in November 2008 and saw Johnson as the victor for the third straight race. He started on the pole, led 217 of the 312 laps and finished .295 of a second ahead of Kurt Busch. Johnson scored his final win at Phoenix in November 2009 after starting third, leading 238 of 312 laps, and beating Jeff Burton by 1.033 seconds. He owns four additional starts at Phoenix in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series where he earned a best finish of 12th in March 2013.
KENSETH PHOENIX STATS: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth has 32 career Cup Series starts at Phoenix where he scored two wins, seven top-fives, and 13 top-10s as well as led 29 laps. Kenseth scored his first win at Phoenix early in his career in November 2002 in just his third start at Phoenix. He started 28th, led 55 laps, and bested Rusty Wallace by 1.344 seconds. His second victory came in November 2017 where Kenseth started seventh, led 62 laps and beat runner-up Chase Elliott by 1.207 seconds. He has an additional 15 starts at Phoenix in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series where he scored a total of one win, six top-fives, and 13 top-10s. From November 2004 to his final Xfinity Series start in March 2015, Kenseth never finished outside the top-10 at Phoenix. He won from the pole in November 2006 after leading 125 of 200 laps and besting Kevin Harvick by .337 of a second.
THE KING AT PHOENIX: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB ambassador and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Richard Petty owns five NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix Raceway in his career between 1988 and 1992. He earned a best finish of 23rd in his November 1990 start after starting 36th.
GOING BACK TO HIS ROOTS: While the NASCAR world heads to Phoenix this weekend, Jimmie Johnson will be racing in Las Vegas to check off another race from his bucket list with the 2026 BF Goodrich Mint 400 on March 4-8. Alongside Carvana, Johnson will return to the discipline that launched his racing career in one of the most iconic events in American motorsports. He’ll pilot the No. 84 Carvana 1Nine Industries built Trick Truck for Terrible Herbst Motorsports, one of the most respected organizations in off-road racing. The event will broadcast live on SPEED SPORT 1 with additional streaming options, with coverage including drone, helicopter, and vehicle-mounted cameras.
LOCAL TIES: Born in nearby Mesa, pit crew jackman Kellen Mills is a former Arizona State football defensive end who has emerged as one of the top talents in the current pit crew lineup with the No. 43 Dollar Tree team. Before his NASCAR career, he played defensive end for Arizona State University in the early 2000s and was an all-state fullback at Mesa Mountain View High School. After college, Mills moved to North Carolina, where he has spent the last six years as a pit crew member beginning his career as a fueler before transitioning to a jackman in 2019, gaining experience with powerhouse teams like Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing. Along the way, he contributed to championship pursuits alongside drivers such as Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr. In January, it was announced that Mills was the inaugural recipient of the Richard Petty Award of Excellence, a LEGACY MOTOR CLUB honor meant to recognize individuals who embody the values and enduring spirit of Richard Petty, “The King.”
CLUB APPEARANCES:
On Saturday, March 7, John Hunter Nemechek will be at the NASCAR Experience Stage for a Q&A session at 2 p.m. local time. On Sunday, March 8, he will sign autographs at the trackside merchandise hauler at 10 a.m. local time.
Erik Jones will make a pit stop at the NASCAR Experience stage for a Q&A session on Sunday, March 8 at 9:15 a.m. local time.
TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 8 at 3:30 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.
