John Hunter Nemechek to drive No. 42 car for Legacy Motor Club at Homestead-Miami

For one race, John Hunter Nemechek is going to be a Chevy driver. You heard that right, Nemechek is joining Legacy Motor Club next week. Of course, next season, the 42 car will be all Nemechek’s after the swap to Toyota. This is a special one-off that the NASCAR driver will get to do.

Carson Hocevar has held it down in the 42 car. Honestly, he has probably given it the best stretch of races it has seen since 2021. He’s competing for the Truck Series championship, though. He will also be going to Spire Motorsports, staying with Chevy in 2024.

Working with Chevy and Toyota, Legacy Motor Club got the green light to put John Hunter Nemechek in the car early. It’s a one-off at Homestead-Miami and then Hocevar takes over for Martinsville and the Phoenix finale.

Hocevar just has one more race, Homestead, to make the championship race for the Truck Series. This lets him focus on that completely. Nemechek has Homestead and Martinsville to go, he won at Martinsville earlier this season.

Here’s team owner Jimmie Johnson making the announcement.

Important Message from team co-owner, Jimmie Johnson: pic.twitter.com/LoueUbjkID

— LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (@LEGACYMotorClub) October 16, 2023

This is really cool for Chevy and Toyota to let this happen. John Hunter Nemechek has worked hard to get back to the Cup Series. He went all the way back to the Truck Series, won seven races in two years and almost won a championship. Now he’s poised to claim an Xfinity Series title.

Then, back to the big show! NASCAR Cup Series racing in 2024.

John Hunter Nemechek returns to Cup Series

Look, the 2020 season didn’t go great for John Hunter Nemechek. He was in a Front Row Motorsports car that is far from what the team is now. The capabilities of the group back then just didn’t stack up with where Michael McDowell has helped take the organization.

Three top-10 finishes in that rookie season and then, he was out. No one wanted him behind the wheel of their Cup Series ride. Nemechek is still only 26 years old. When he first gave the Xfinity Series a shot he was an up-and-coming 21-year-old.

Managing two wins in the Xfinity Series between 2018 and 2021, Nemechek had to get back in the lab, so to speak. This year for 2023, he’s been lights out. Seven wins this year alone, nine additional top-10s, and Nemechek is staring the Xfinity Series championship right in the eyes.

Three more races separate JHN from that trophy in Phoenix. Right now, he’s up 32 points on the cutline. In two starts at Homestead-Miami in the Xfinity Series, Nemechek has finishes of P6 and P3. As I mentioned earlier, he won at Martinsville earlier this season – I’d almost guarantee we see the 20-car in the championship race.

For now, John Hunter Nemechek is stepping up to the Cup Series to get a taste of what next season will be like. It will be a formal affair as Nemechek puts on the bowtie for one race. We haven’t seen him in a Chevy since his GMS Racing/NEMCO Motorsports days.