NASCAR team announces name change for 2023
By Asher Fair
With Jimmie Johnson coming on as a team co-owner, the NASCAR team once known as Petty GMS Motorsports now has a new name.
When Petty GMS Motorsports announced that seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson had signed with the team to become not only a part-time driver in 2023 but a co-owner, joining co-owners Richard Petty and Maury Gallagher, majority owner Gallagher mentioned that the team would be considering alternative names to reflect his arrival.
What many had long wanted to know was what number Johnson would be running on his Chevrolet in entry in 2023, considering the fact that all 686 of his starts during his 20 previous seasons in the Cup Series came behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Rick Hendrick’s team opted to keep the No. 48 for Alex Bowman in 2023.
It was announced on Wednesday that Johnson would be driving the No. 84 Chevrolet in his select starts throughout the 2023 season, a number decided upon due to the fact that it is simply No. 48 in reverse (and perhaps the fact that Johnson is sitting on 83 career Cup Series victories).
In addition, it was confirmed that the NASCAR team had been renamed Legacy Motor Club.
It would have been difficult to add a third name to Petty GMS Motorsports without getting “clunky and clumsy”, according to Johnson, so the team opted to completely rebrand as a way to honor the history of the team’s owners while also driving the organization forward.
Legacy Motor Club are one of six full-time Cup Series teams whose names do not directly include the names of any team owners. The other five are Front Row Motorsports, Live Fast Motorsports, Spire Motorsports, Trackhouse Racing Team, and 23XI Racing.
Erik Jones is set for a third season with the team behind the wheel of the No. 43 Chevrolet after joining in 2021 when they were still known as Richard Petty Motorsports. Rookie Noah Gragson is set to replace Ty Dillon behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevrolet.
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This marks the second consecutive offseason featuring some sort of name change for this organization. Richard Petty Motorsports and GMS Racing were both set to field one-car teams in 2022 before forming a partnership to create Petty GMS Motorsports. After just one season as Petty GMS Motorsports, they are now formally known as Legacy Motor Club.