DARLINGTON, S.C. — On a night set up to be all about the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, Legacy Motor Club teammates Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek just about stole the show.
The at-times-forgotten Toyota teammates shined under the lights of Sunday’s (Aug. 31) Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, scoring a pair of top-five finishes at the ‘Track Too Tough To Tam.’
Put up one heck of a fight! pic.twitter.com/nL1BPtO4eo
— LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (@LEGACYMotorClub) September 1, 2025
Neither driver was particularly strong on Saturday (Aug. 30), with Jones qualifying 19th while Nemechek was way down in 30th on the qualifying time charts. Once the green flag flew Sunday, evening, both cars came to life.
By the end of stage one at lap 151, Jones had climbed inside the top 10, while Nemechek had climbed to the top 15. By the end of stage two, it was clear both cars were contenders for the win.
On the final run of the race, Jones and Nemechek kept pace with leaders Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick, with Jones hounding the top two all the way to the checkered flag.
Sure, a win would have been nice, but after both cars missed the playoffs in 2025, opening said playoffs by outrunning a majority of the postseason field is a night to be proud of.
“This is what Indy should’ve been for us a couple of months ago,” Jones said post-race. “We had good speed like this in both cars and screwed it up, didn’t have the day we should’ve. So we both executed really well, great day for John Hunter, this is a tough race. Just his second or third time doing it, to see him run up front like that is pretty awesome for him. So happy with the speed.
“Again, it’s tough when you’re racing playoff guys, they’ve got good stuff, they’re bringing good cars, their best cars right now, especially probably to this place. It says a lot, I think, about our speed.”
Jones has historically been strong at Darlington with two Southern 500 victories to his name. It’s a track he’s been comfortable at his entire career, while others have trouble finding the same feeling.
“I have a good feel for this place when the sun goes down for sure,” Jones said. “I’m not honestly great here in the daytime, but you can really move around at night, do a lot of different stuff line-wise, I think, more than in the day, where you’re kind of just stuck on the top. I think that helps for me at night.
“I enjoy the track, I enjoy racing racing the track. If you’ve got a good car and you’re smooth, and you save your stuff, you can kind of pick your way forward. That’s the part I really like about it.”
Meanwhile, Nemechek had arguably his best run of the season, mixing it up at the end with two multi-time Southern 500 winners and Reddick, who has led laps in each of the past five races at Darlington.
“I mean, two solid race cars,” Nemechek said of Legacy’s success Sunday night. “The processes and procedures that we have going for our racecars on a weekly basis, it shows. We’re doing a really good job, everyone at Legacy Motor Club is doing a really good job, it’s been solid. Proud of the effort.”
As previously mentioned, Legacy outran most of the playoff field despite both drivers failing to make the 16-car field a week ago at Daytona. Still, there were two cars to best the Legacy duo at the end, so Nemechek kept his answer simple in that regard.
“Shit, I wish we would’ve won it.”
It’s worth noting as well that Trevor Bayne, an ambassador at Legacy Motor Club, made his return to racing over the weekend. Bayne scored a top 10 in Saturday’s (Aug. 30) NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race for TRICON Garage.
It truly was a successful Labor Day weekend all around for Legacy Motor Club, who seem to have figured out how to dance with the ‘Lady In Black.’
Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com's CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase's other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.