LEGACY MOTOR CLUB:
RICHMOND PRE-RACE ADVANCE
EVENT: Cook Out 400
DATE: August 15, 2026
Race: NASCAR Cup Series 24 of 36
TRACK: Richmond Raceway | .75-Mile Oval
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
NO. 42 REXEL TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JHN AT RICHMOND: John Hunter Nemechek has four starts at Richmond Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series, with his highest finish being 25th in March 2024. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, he has made six starts at the track, earning three top-three finishes and a best finish of second earned in his last two races at the rack in April 2022 and April 2023. Nemechek also has two starts at Richmond in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series where he won in April 2021 and finished second in August 2022. He has led a total of 115 of the 500 total laps he’s run at Richmond in the series.
WINNER AT RICHMOND: Nemechek knows how to find victory lane at the short track of Richmond. In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he never finished worse than second at the .75-mile oval. In his first start at the track in April 2021, Nemechek started 18th after the lineup was set per the NASCAR rulebook. Nemechek first took the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 100 and did so an additional two times to lead a total of 114 of 250 laps in the race. He passed Chandler Smith for the lead one final time on Lap 234 to capture the checkered flag by .307 seconds ahead of his team owner Kyle Busch.
T-MACK AT RICHMOND: Saturday’s race under the lights will be crew chief Travis Mack’s 12th NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond. His first outing came in September 2017 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. who finished 13th, Mack’s best finish at the track. He returned the following year in April 2018 with Kasey Kahne. After a short gap, Mack was back at Richmond in April 2021 with Daniel Suárez, where the duo competed for six total races between 2021 and 2023, with their highest finish being 16th, earned twice in April 2021 and April 2022. In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Mack has five starts at Richmond with Michael Annett, where they duo never finished worse than 14th and earned a best finish of seventh in the September 2020 doubleheader.
JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK QUOTE:
“I feel like we’ve made gains in our short track program based off Iowa and the long run speed we had there. I’ve had a lot of success at Richmond in the Truck series, and I feel like I should’ve won my fair share of O’Reilly series races too. I’m excited to see what we can do this weekend with our No. 42 Rexel Toyota Camry XSE.”
TRAVIS MACK QUOTE:
“We’re constantly working on our short track program. We learned a lot in Iowa that I think we can bring to Richmond, and I feel good about where we’re heading. We want to redeem ourselves from last year and show the progress we’ve been making.”
ERIK JONES
NO. 43 DOLLAR TREE TOYOTA CAMRY XSE
JONES RICHMOND STATS: Saturday night’s Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway will mark Erik Jones’ 17th NASCAR Cup Series start at the .75-mile oval. In his prior 16 starts, Jones earned a best finish of sixth in September 2017 after starting 10th. He has an additional four starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Richmond where he earned three top-five finishes. He never started worse than seventh in his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career at Richmond, earning the pole in April 2016. His best finish of second came in September 2016 where he finished 6.453 seconds behind Kyle Busch after starting fourth.
ALEXANDER AT RICHMOND: The Cook Out 400 will mark Justin Alexander’s 15th NASCAR Cup Series start on top of the box at Richmond. In total, he has one win, two top-fives, and five top-10s in his career. His win came with Austin Dillon in August 2024 where the duo started sixth and led 35 laps. Alexander has an additional three starts as crew chief at Richmond in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He earned a best finish of fourth in April 2017 with Austin Dillon.
ERIK JONES QUOTE:
“Richmond has always been an interesting place for the No. 43 Dollar Tree Toyota team. It’s a very difficult short track that is very slick and really worn out, so it’s not easy to get your car driving good. It’s always a challenge, but we’ve also struggled to find some speed on short tracks. I think we were able to find some in Iowa last week, but our day was cut too short to really know if the changes we made helped during the race. We needed a few good weeks to help us in our battle for the Chase, but we didn’t get started on the best foot last weekend. We’ve got an uphill battle but we’re going to keep racing and trying to have the best days possible.”
JUSTIN ALEXANDER QUOTE:
“Really looking forward to Richmond this weekend. We made some good gains at Iowa this past weekend on our short track program, and the plan is to carry that into Richmond. Obviously with the big tire fall off at Richmond, we will have to adjust the setup some but were putting a lot of focus into this weekend so that we can optimize and execute every last detail to a high level. We still have three races left to get into the Chase, and we plan to start chipping away at the deficit in Richmond.”
CLUB MINUTES:
JJ WINS AT RICHMOND: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson has 37 Cup Series starts under his belt at Richmond Raceway. In these starts, he has secured three victories, seven top-fives, and 16 top-10s as well at leading 461 laps. His first win came in May 2007 when Johnson started fourth and won with a .732 second margin of victory over Kyle Busch. He followed that up a couple months later in September 2007 when he started on the pole and led 104 laps to his second win where he beat Tony Stewart by 3.007 seconds. His final win at Richmond came in September 2008 when Johnson started third, led 32 laps, and bested Stewart once again by .365 seconds. Johnson has an additional five starts at Richmond in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series where he earned a best finish of 12th in May 2000 and May 2001.
KENSETH RICHMOND SUCCESS: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB competition advisor and 2003 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth is also a winner at Richmond Raceway in the Cup Series. He has a total of 38 starts in the series at Richmond which resulted in two wins, six top-fives, and 16 top-10s. Kenseth led a total of 1,013 laps throughout his career. His first win came in September 2002 when he started 25th, led 134 laps, and bested Ryan Newman by 6.184 seconds. His next victory came in September 2015 when he started second, led 352 laps, and bested Kyle Busch by .951 seconds. Kenseth has an additional 21 starts at Richmond in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series where he collected 12 top-fives and 16 top-10s. He earned a best finish of second three times – May 2000, September 2001, and May 2007.
THE KING OF RICHMOND: Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and LEGACY MOTOR CLUB ambassador Richard Petty owns 63 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Richmond Raceway in his career. The King earned a total of 13 wins, 34 top-fives, and 41 top-10s in his career at the short track. His first victory at Richmond came in April 1961 where he started on the pole and led 182 of 200 laps. His final win at the .75-mile track came in February 1975 where he once again started on the pole and led 444 of 500 laps to find victory lane.
TOYOTA DOMINATES AT RICHMOND: Toyota has a winning history at the short track of Richmond Raceway. Since 2015, Toyota has won 10 of the 20 NASCAR Cup Series races at Richmond. In total, Toyota has won 17 Cup Series races at the .75-mile oval.
SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT:
CLUB APPEARANCES:
John Hunter Nemechek will visit the trackside merchandise hauler for an autograph session on Friday, August 14 at 1:30 p.m. local time.
Erik Jones will stop by the NASCAR Kids Zone in the fan zone on Saturday, August 15 at 3:15 p.m. local time for a Q&A session with young fans.
TUNE IN:
Fans can tune in to watch the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 15 at 7 p.m. EDT on USA Sports, HBO 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.
