Top Dog: John Hunter Nemechek
Legacy Motor Club is on the climb. Erik Jones, the driver of the No. 43 Toyota, has been able to get some good finishes, but due to circumstances, John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 42 Toyota Camry, hasn’t had as much success. Sure, a fourth-place finish at Pocono Raceway was the highlight of the No. 42 crew’s season so far, but outside of that, they haven’t had the same speed as Jones.
Sunday night (July 5) at Chicagoland Speedway, Nemechek ran even with his teammate for a large portion of the race. Although he finished 23rd in the end, Nemechek proved his speed, and continued the rise of Legacy Motor Club.
The Climb to the Top
Nemechek had a good qualifying run, setting the 17th-fastest time. However, it wasn’t a great start for the No. 42, with Nemechek losing a couple of spots in the opening laps. Cycling through some cautions and sets of tires, Nemechek made his way to 13th, where he finished stage one.
In stage two, it became apparent that Nemechek had a long run car. He lost spots early, but he recovered them as the laps went on. Midway through the second stage, Nemechek pitted. A few laps later, the caution came out, forcing him to take the wave-around to get back on the lead lap.
Nemechek made up ground in the sprint to the stage end. When stage two came to a close, Nemechek was 10th and picked up one stage point, which is not much of a gain in terms of the standings, but a stage top 10 is notable for this team.
Nemechek wasn’t as fast at the beginning of the final stage. During the course of the run, he dropped back outside of the top 15.
With 48 laps to go, Nemechek came into the pits due to an issue with his right front. Whatever the issue was, the No. 42 had lost a considerable amount of time, and once the cycle concluded, he was a lap down.
Nemechek came to the checkered flag in 23rd. Undoubtedly a disappointing result, but the No. 42 car’s performance was much better than what the result showed.
Looking Ahead
Realistically, Nemechek will not make The Chase sitting 27th in points, barring an incredible streak of great races, but Legacy is a team making progress. At this point, the big picture for the No. 42 is not 2026. Getting ready for 2027, learning, and setting up good results is the best thing they can do.
If Toyota maintains their speed, good results will come for Nemechek. It just takes time.
Top Dogs of the Lower Series
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: Nick Sanchez is a reminder of how fast things can change in motorsports. Seeming to be stable at Big Machine Racing in 2025, he lost his ride over the offseason and signed with AM Racing. The team eventually shut down, forcing Sanchez to search for a ride again. At the beginning of June, it was announced that Sanchez would make a few starts in the No. 87 car for Peterson Racing. Fighting for a ride, Sanchez needed to impress.
With the starting order set by NASCAR’s metric, Sanchez lined up 15th. He ran mid-pack during the first half of the race, getting incorrectly scored a lap down by NASCAR at the end of stage one but given a lap back at the end of stage two.
Sanchez began the final stage in 25th. He was running inside the top 20 when a caution came out with 68 laps to go. In the laps after the restart, Sanchez held steady in 15th and began to climb. Surviving a few more chaotic restarts, and making more passes, Sanchez finished in 12th. The result ties Peterson’s best finish ever on a non-drafting oval.
We are entering the point in the season where contracts are getting signed and moves are being made. If he wasn’t already, Sanchez has certainly appeared on teams’ radar.
Small Team Scheme of the Week
On July 4th weekend, it is only fitting that our small team scheme of the week is adorned with stars and stripes. Jordan Anderson Racing came to Chicagoland with a fantastic livery onboard Jeb Burton’s No. 27 Chevrolet. With a white front and blue end, The Bommarito Automotive Group-sponsored car had blue and white stars on their respective contrasting backgrounds. The front and back sections are separated by sharp red lines.
Burton showed speed in practice, second of all cars in terms of fastest single-lap time. He rolled off 22nd per the metric lineup, finished 27th in stage one, 23rd in stage two, and 20th at the finish. After going a lap down early in the race, while it wasn’t an amazing result, it was a decent recovery from Burton and the team.
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