Toyota Racing Focuses on ‘Family’ Aspect of Legacy MC Deal

Getty Legacy Motor Club will be part of the Toyota Racing family.

Legacy Motor Club surprised many in NASCAR on May 2 by announcing a partnership with Toyota Racing Development that begins in 2024. There are many benefits for both sides, but one that particularly stands out is the opportunity to embrace the “family” part of the business.

TRD President David Wilson provided the insight during a May 2 media session while expressing excitement about his reunion with Erik Jones and Noah Gragson, who both spent time in the TRD family before moving to Chevrolet. Losing both drivers was not what Wilson wanted to happen, but he now gets another opportunity to keep building relationships while helping them pursue wins.

“You all have cornered me in the past about questioning our methodology and our investment in young drivers,” Wilson explained during the media session. “And you’ve heard me say that we accept that we’ll lose more than we’ll keep. We just don’t have the seats, and that’s okay because this is still the right thing to do. Because in the process we develop personal relationships with them and their families.

“Erik Jones is a very special person to Toyota — and his mother Carol and his sister. We bonded over those years together, and I love reunion stories. We were able to do that with Martin Truex Jr., and we’ve had tremendous success in that story.

“Noah is a tremendous character, and it’s been great for our sport. He was brilliant last year in the Xfinity Series, and he is a talent. I love the personality, but he can wheel a race car and that’s what I love even more. And we look forward again to getting them back behind the wheel of a Toyota next year.”

Gragson Has Seen That ‘Family’ Atmosphere

GettyNoah Gragson waves to fans at Circuit of the Americas.

It’s one thing for an executive to explain that there is a family atmosphere and that relationships are very important. It’s another for someone who left the program a long time ago to make the same comments.

Gragson did just that once he joined the media session. His time with TRD was fairly limited considering that he ran full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series for two seasons before moving up to the Xfinity Series to join JR Motorsports and Chevrolet. However, that time had an impact on the Las Vegas native.

“I know a little bit. I was in the [Kyle Busch Motorsports] stable with Toyota in the Truck Series,” Gragson said. “So I might not know the full extent of what it’s like in the Cup Series, but I know that Toyota truly is a family. And I still have stayed in touch with you guys throughout the years.

“…So there hasn’t been any love lost throughout the past few years in the meantime,” Gragson added. “But at the same time, it’s exciting to see where this relationship’s gonna go and what we can build on.”

Jones Will Embrace This Reunion With Toyota Racing

GettyErik Jones prepares for a race at Dover Motor Speedway.

A former Truck Series champion, Jones began his Cup Series career with Furniture Row Racing, but he moved over to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2018. He drove the No. 20 Toyota from 2018 until 2020, and he celebrated two wins. He moved on to Richard Petty Motorsports — now Legacy Motor Club — in 2021, where he has remained ever since.

Jones will now have an opportunity to reunite with some familiar faces as Legacy MC becomes the third full-time TRD-affiliated organization in the NASCAR Cup Series. This is something about which he is particularly excited.

“It’s going to be me really going and working with a lot of people I know pretty well and worked with for a lot of years,” Jones said during the media session. “So I’m excited about it. For me going in, I guess I kind of already know Toyota’s commitment and how things work and how things run.

“And it makes me excited as a driver just knowing going in, I think, some of the resources we’re going to have going forward to continue to build the program. It’s been fun for me with the 43 car. Three years now, and I’ve seen a lot of changes in three years. I think we’re ready to settle in and really start to build the program that we want to see.”

The No. 43 team has not always had the best funding or the resources required to contend for wins on a weekly basis. However, he has still delivered some strong performances for Richard Petty Motorsports, Petty GMS, and Legacy Motor Club. This includes a Crown Jewel win at Darlington Raceway.

With the No. 43 moving to the Toyota family, Jones has an opportunity to turn in even more strong performances with the iconic number on the doors. He will just do so with a different engine in the compartment and a different badge on the body.

“I think the history of the 43 is obviously important, but I think the future is shining pretty bright as well for it,” Jones continued. “I wanted to come in and kind of make my own chapter in the 43. I mean, obviously, Richard [Petty] had quite a run of his own in the 43 car, but I’d like to sure make a nice mark on here as well over the next course of my career, which has quite a few years left, I hope.

“So I’m excited about it. We think we’re joining up with a great group in Toyota, and I really think it’s going to help us take the next step that our whole group has been looking to make.”

Wilson Has Previously Addressed the Changing Toyota Racing Lineup

GettyDavid Wilson (right) talks to Denny Hamlin (left).

Wilson has regularly focused on the relationship side of the business, and he has dealt with some surprising departures. This is something that he addressed after the Xfinity Series championship race in 2022.

Wilson met with media members and covered a variety of topics. One, in particular, was Kyle Busch’s impending departure from the Toyota Racing family. This was a significant loss for the company, but Wilson explained that he would be able to push through by keeping everything in perspective.

“Wow. Yeah, this whole year has been a roller coaster for me personally, for Toyota, for TRD,” Wilson said during his post-race press conference in November 2022. “I don’t like being in the news cycle like we have been every week it seems like.

“But this is just one of those years where a lot of things are going on, and in the end, I’m able to find perspective. I’ve got a two-and-a-half-year-old at home that keeps me grounded. I find peace with that.”

Months later, Wilson has two new members of the Toyota Racing family, albeit ones with whom he is very familiar. He has a proven winner in Jones who will only contend for more trips to Victory Lane, and he has a larger-than-life personality in Gragson who has the talent to succeed at the top level of NASCAR while bringing in numerous fans.