Denny Hamlin doubts Chevy allies might be sabotaging Jimmie Johnson’s LEGACY MC after Toyota announcement
The 2023 season so far has been catastrophic for LEGACY MC. They have just scored two Top 10 finishes from 16 races.
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Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin (Credits: nytimes.com)
Seven times Cup champion Jimmie Johnson surprised the NASCAR nation when he announced his return to the division as co-owner and part-time driver of Petty GMS Racing. The team, which Richard Petty owned, was rebranded as LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, and amidst their poor start in the 2023 season, the team announced that they would join Toyota Garage next season.
Joe Gibbs Racing, the top TRD team in NASCAR, veteran Denny Hamlin, while giving his honest take on the team’s poor performance in the 2023 season, hinted that the team might not be getting equal treatment from its allies after Toyota’s announcement. He believes that drivers aren’t the issue for the team and that it’s the car that is underperforming.
“Who knows what information they’re getting and whether that information is even reliable anymore from whoever they have an alliance with…They had the win at the Southern 500 last year with Erik Jones, and that was like their peak, and then it just went kind of downhill from there,” Denny Hamlin said in his ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast.
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How bad was the 2023 season so far has been for LEGACY MC?
The first big loss for LEGACY MC came in the off-season when Erik Jones, the team’s number-one driver, lost his primary sponsor. But with his influence and management skills, Jimmie Johnson was able to land some good replacements for the former JGR driver. Since the start of the year, LEGACY has been finding it hard to keep the positive momentum they got from Jones Southern 500-win last year.
The No:43 driver has scored just two top 10s from 16 races this season. His best runs came in Atlanta and Talladega superspeedway races. On normal tracks, his best finish is P16 at Dover. He has finished over 60% of races outside the Top 20 and was also given a 60-point deduction by NASCAR over infractions.
It’s been worse for the 2022 Xfinity Series runners-up in his rookie season. The No:42 Chevy driver Noah Gragson has just two finishes inside the Top 20 this season. He finished outside the Top 30 in 50% of races this season. He missed last week’s Sonoma Cup race due to a concussion. He was also punched in the face by Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing.
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Justin P Joy
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