LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
CHICAGOLAND PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: eero 400
DATE: July 5, 2026
Race: NASCAR Cup Series 19 of 36
TRACK: Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. | 1.5-Mile Oval
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 RAID/DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JHN AT CHICAGOLAND: John Hunter Nemechek has made five NASCAR national series starts at Chicagoland Speedway. In the 2019 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, he started 15th and finished 11th. In his four starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he has earned three top-10 finishes, including a race win in September 2015.
FIRST WIN AT CHICAGOLAND: Nemechek took home the checkered flag in the 2015 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Chicagoland, earning his first ever NASCAR national series win. He led two of 150 laps and won with an impressive 12.014 second margin of victory over Tyler Reddick.
JHN ON INTERMEDIATES: John Hunter Nemechek has 66 starts on intermediate tracks throughout his NASCAR Cup Series career. He has recorded eight top-10 finishes, with his best result of fourth coming from September 2025’s race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
T-MACK AT CHICAGOLAND: Crew Chief Travis Mack has one NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series start at Chicagoland with Michael Annett. The duo started 16th and brought home a third-place finish and 25 laps led.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“I’m excited to get back to an intermediate track, and I feel like Chicagoland will be a fun one. This place has always had a special place in my heart since it’s where I got my first Truck Series win in 2015. It will be interesting to see how things go with how rough the track is, but it will be good to have a full practice session on Friday. I’m ready to get back to an oval, and I feel like our intermediate program at LEGACY MOTOR CLUB is our bread and butter. Looking forward to a good weekend in our Raid/Dollar Tree takeover No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE.”
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“We’re coming off of a fourth-place finish at Pocono and a fast car in Michigan, so I’m super pumped about Chicagoland. No one has run the Next-Gen car here, so I feel like it’s an even-playing field this weekend. We’re continuing to build off of our intermediate program, and I’m feeling really good about what we can do come Sunday.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 UCHICAGO MEDICINE/ADVENTHEALTH TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES CHICAGOLAND STATS: Erik Jones owns three NASCAR Cup Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway, where he earned two top-10 finishes. In July 2018, Jones started ninth and finished sixth to earn his best start at the 1.5-mile oval. He followed that up in June 2019 with a seventh-place finish after starting 21st. Jones has an additional five starts outside of the Cup Series – four in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and one in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Jones has two wins and three top-10s at Chicagoland. Meanwhile in his one and only Craftsman Truck Series start at the track, Jones started eighth and finished sixth in September 2015.
WINNER AT CHICAGOLAND: Jones already knows how to win at Chicagoland Speedway. In his impressive O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career, Jones earned two victories at the 1.5-mile oval. In June 2016, Jones started 11th and led 94 laps en route to a 1.958 second margin of victory over Ryan Blaney. He defended his win in September 2016 where he started fifth, led 10 laps, and bested Kyle Larson by .392 seconds.
ADVENTHEALTH AT BOLINGBROOK: On Wednesday evening prior to the Chicagoland race weekend, Jones joined AdventHealth in the Village of Bolingbrook just over an hour outside of downtown Chicago. UChicago Medicine and AdventHealth brought Jones out to meet the fans in a Fourth of July celebration. He signed autographs for over 200 fans to help promote the race.
JONES PROMOTES SKIN CANCER AWARENESS: Last weekend at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, the Erik Jones Foundation and Dollar Tree teamed up to pass out sunscreen to fans on property. Jones and his organization handed out over 4,000 units of sunscreen provided by Dollar Tree throughout the entire race weekend. Early cancer prevention is one of the three pillars of the Erik Jones Foundation. In years prior, Jones has passed out sunscreen samples to fans and industry members in addition to bringing skin checks to the track.
IN-SEASON CHALLENGE: By besting Joey Logano in last weekend’s race at Sonoma, Jones has advanced to the second round of the TNT In-Season Challenge. With just 13 laps to go in the race, the driver of the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE successfully passed his opponent and held him off in the final laps of the race. This weekend at Chicagoland, Jones will face off against the No. 11 of Denny Hamlin.
ALEXANDER AT CHICAGOLAND: Crew chief Justin Alexander has been on top of the box for three Cup Series races at Chicagoland Speedway. He earned a best finished of 16th in September 2017 with Austin Dillon after the duo started ninth. Alexander has one additional start in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Paul Menard where they finished ninth in September 2016.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“I’m looking forward to Chicagoland. When we went there years ago, I felt like I ran good there as a driver, and I think for us just as a team where we’re at and where we run well, a track like Chicagoland with a lot of character and roughness and high wear will be good for us. I hope it is, and also having a full practice is good for us having a real practice session as a two-car team is a big deal. Hopefully, it’s a place we’re going to perform well. We put ourselves in a decent spot after two road course races, and we’re looking forward to this next stretch of eight races on from Chicago to have a good shot trying to get in the Chase.”
JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
“It’s great to be heading back to Chicagoland and back to an intermediate track. We’ve seen a lot of growth from our 43 team this season, and having a full practice session gives us a chance to fine tune the car and maximize what we’ve brought to the track. We haven’t been back to Chicagoland in many years, so the track surface will be a little bit of a curveball for everyone but with our performance on intermediates this year, we feel like we have a good starting point and plan to be fast off the truck. Now the west coast road course swing is over, I look forward to getting this team back into the rhythm we had so that we can continue to accumulate points and secure our spot in the Chase.”
CLUB MINUTES:
JJ AT CHICAGOLAND: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson owns 18 Cup Series starts at Chicagoland Speedway. While he never won there, he did earn eight top-fives and 12 top-10s. Johnson led a total of 705 laps at the 1.5-mile oval with a best finish of second, which he earned twice – July 2004 and September 2012. He has an additional two starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series where he won in July 2001 after starting sixth and leading 43 laps. He bested Mike Skinner by 4.932 seconds.
KENSETH CHICAGOLAND STATS: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth has 17 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Chicagoland Speedway. In total, he earned one win in September 2013, four top-fives, and nine top-10s. In 2013, he started 10th, led 89 laps, and crossed the finish line .749 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch. Kenseth has an additional nine starts at Chicagoland in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He earned a best finish of second three times – July 2003, July 2007, and September 2015.
SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT:
Take a full walkthrough of the 2027 Newmar Essex used by Legacy Motor Club during the NASCAR season!
CLUB APPEARANCES:
On Saturday, July 4, John Hunter Nemechek will visit the trackside merchandise trailer for an autograph session at 12 p.m. local time. On Sunday, July 5, he will visit the Toyota merchandise trailer at 1:30 p.m. local time.
On Sunday, July 5, Erik Jones will visit the AdventHealth display in the fan zone at 1:45 p.m. local time for a Q&A session with the fans.
TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, July 5 at 6 p.m. EDT on TNT Sports, 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.
