Report: LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to Part Ways with Nemechek at End of 2026

It seems that John Hunter Nemechek will not reach a fourth season as the driver of the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota. According to a report from The Athletic, Nemechek, who had agreed to the terms of a contract extension to remain with LMC for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season, was informed on Monday that the team would be going in a different direction next season.

According to the report from The Athletic, Josh Berry, who revealed in June that he will not return to Wood Brothers Racing next season, is seen as the leading candidate to replace Nemechek in the No. 42 machine.

This is a significant development in a 2027 silly season cycle, which was expected to be wild but has been tamer than expected thus far. On the surface, it seems shocking to see a team in the Cup Series make a move, but when you dig into Nemechek's 2026 campaign, the reported move makes a lot of sense.

Heading into the 2026 season, Nemechek had gained momentum and was seen as a potential fringe Chase contender following a late-season surge in 2025, which saw the driver reach career highs in top-five finishes (2) and top-10s (8).

However, Nemechek, who finished 25th in the championship standings in 2025, never seriously contended for a Chase berth this season, despite Erik Jones, his teammate, being above the cutline as late as the 20th race of the season.

Nemechek, who has just one top-five finish and two top-10s this season, has never been higher than 18th in the championship standings this season, a position he held over the first two races of the season at Daytona International Speedway and EchoPark Speedway, superspeedway drafting-style tracks.

After three years of mostly down results, it was time for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to shake things up in an effort to try to reach its maximum potential in 2027 and beyond.

Now, the question will become: If he's ultimately hired, is Berry the right guy for the job?

That answer is also a loaded one, as Berry has struggled immensely in his own right for the majority of the 2026 season, driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. However, Berry, unlike Nemechek, has finally worked himself into a consistent stretch of finishes.

Heading into the opening race of The Chase, Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Berry is riding the wave of momentum from five consecutive top-10 finishes, a streak that no driver of the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team has accomplished since Morgan Shepherd in 1994.

Berry also has a winning history in the NASCAR Cup Series, as he took his first career win last season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Nemechek, through 139 starts, remains winless in the top division of the NASCAR National Series ranks.

It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out, but LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, a team with seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson as its principal owner, cannot continue to tolerate mediocre results, especially as the team transitions to three full-time entries in 2027.

In addition to Johnson, the team's ownership ranks now include a "strategic ownership group" including influential members of the entertainment industry such as Darius Rucker and Guy Fieri, as well as major names from the world of sports like Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper and former tennis great Andy Roddick.

The foundation is built for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB to take off, and if the report of Nemechek not returning is true, the team felt its odds of taking off in 2027 were better with a new driver behind the wheel of the No. 42 Toyota.

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