As whispers of rebranding circulate in Jimmie Johnson’s team, you can almost hear the collective raise of eyebrows and the clattering keyboards of social media enthusiasts. Amidst the backdrop of tireless engines and the scent of burning rubber, the team finds itself navigating not just the asphalt but also the expectations riding on its shoulders. With fresh decisions on the horizon and a history that echoes through the lanes, the story of this team is about to take another twist.
However, like fans, Dale Jr. has hopped on the roasting bandwagon. Read on to know all about it.
Legacy Motor Club and new non-racing revamps
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After a slew of changes this year, Legacy Motorclup has come with one more. Well, the news is that Legacy Motor Club’s new logo is out, and fans are not having it. Some went as far as to say the change in logo is not gonna get them speed.
But the worst burn might have come from Dale Earnhardt Jr. Replying to a comment that said, “Definite Piston Cup vibes,” he said, “I see it too.” Jimmie Johnson is the co-owner of the team and operates full time at NASCAR. It has two cars marked for the races. However, the team has a long history. It started in 2000 as Evernham Motorsports and became Petty GMS Racing in 2022. However, last year, it was taken over by Jimmie Johnson, and it was then rebranded as Legacy Motor Club.
The North Carolina-based team has not performed well over the last few seasons. However, the organization is undergoing various changes to improve its situation.
It might be worth noting here, though, that this year, the team has brought in a new crew chief, Travis Mack, for number 42, driven by John Hunter Nemechek. The 41-year-old crew chief will complete the crew chief lineup for the two full-time Legacy Motor Club teams in 2025. He will team up with Ben Beshore, who will keep his role as crew chief for Erik Jones and the No. 43 team.
Mack has a strong track record in his roles within the Clement Racing team in the ARCA Menards Series, where he secured three championships alongside Frank Kimmel. His career continued to flourish at Hendrick Motorsports, where he contributed to numerous successes from 2004 until he took on the position of crew chief for Daniel Suarez at Trackhouse Racing in 2021. Notably, over his 156 races as a crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, Mack has achieved one victory, 11 top-five finishes, and 31 top-10 finishes.
Additionally, as far as race engineering goes, the team has hired a new manager, Chad Johnston. He will work alongside Brian Campe, the technical director, and Jacob Canter from the competition team. The new hires might be able to inject more speed into the cars, as Johnston has worked with Kyle Larson, Tony Stewart, and Martin Truex Jr. in the past. He has been behind 400 races in 13 seasons.
There is also some ongoing speculation regarding Martin Truex Jr. himself joining the team to drive its number 84.
Fans demand more from the team
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Though this update isn’t a dramatic overhaul, fans are kind of tired of another non-racing-related announcement. Essentially, the new Legacy Motor Club logo looks like the team pressed CTRL+B on the words.
Additionally, they’ve made adjustments to the shadows on the number fonts, ensuring they align properly rather than staying off-centered as they have for many years under the Petty branding.
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So, when the logo was shared, a fan said sarcastically on Reddit, “That’s it. They’ve done it. They’ve cracked the code and found the secret to more speed.” Another didn’t mince words, echoing the same sentiment: “This feels like a pointless rebrand from last year, and I hope this turns out differently.”
It might be that people are wondering about the purpose of the move from Legacy Motor Club, which has the sound effect of a car swiftly passing by when clearly the team needs faster cars. One fan wrote, “Well, that’s an extra 5 MPH right there. Glad they’re addressing the big issues,” displaying his frustration with the move. Furthermore, there’s a need to preserve the legacy of Richard Petty, which some feel is being diluted with moves such as this. As one fan aptly said, “They threw away the legacy of the Petty name for this? I mean, this is an improvement in terms of the logo, but not by much.”
Adding to the frustration regarding the logo is the fact that this rebranding was heavily promoted for an entire day despite the team’s struggles in the past two seasons. When a fan pointed out that it’s been just a year since the last rebrand, another noted, “Two years, really? They announced the rebrand 1 year, 11 months, and 8 days ago.” And, as far as a logo is concerned, this was just year 3 with a new logo.
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Do you think Jimmie Johnson and Co are doing everything they can to improve performance and move ahead in the right direction? If fans are to believed: It’s not enough!