“I Have a Fire Lit Under My A**”- Axed Cup Star Breaks Silence on Shock Legacy MC Exit 

It’s never easy to lose a Cup Series contract. It’s even more difficult when the decision comes as a shock. That’s exactly what happened to John Hunter Nemechek when he was called for a meeting with the decision-makers at Legacy Motor Club. 

Less than two days after he finished 15th in the No.42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota at Daytona during the final race of the regular season, John Hunter Nemechek was informed that he would not drive for the team in 2027. The shock came because Nemechek’s contract had an auto-renewal clause that came into play over the summer to keep his contract with the team valid through 2027. 

With a Cup drive hard to find in the eleventh hour, Nemechek is weighing all his options in order to get back to the top-tier NASCAR series at the earliest possible, with 2027 looking more unlikely with each passing day. 

“I don’t think this one will be another reset,” Nemechek told NASCAR.com. “I do feel like if I do have to take a step back, going and winning races is the number one priority. I have a fire lit underneath my a** right now, and we’re going to prove all parties involved that helped make this decision that they are going to regret it.”

While the fire has been lit, the circumstances in which it came about have left the 29-year-old driver baffled. Having seen the team through the transition to Toyota, all while LMC went about creating their own playbook, Nemechek expected to stay on as the team starts another transition into a three-car team. 

“I said OK and walked out the door,” revealed Nemechek, describing his reaction to the news. “It was definitely very surprising to me and shocking news. Like Jimmie had said on ‘The (Dale Jr) Download,’ my contract had gotten renewed for another year. It was definitely surprising. I was still under contract for another year.”

Nemechek spent time with his family and reflected on the day trying to figure out just what went down. 

“Not knowing that there’s a change coming or you are being sat down and being told you are out of the car for 2027, in that moment, you take it all in,” said Nemechek. “It was one of those moments where you look back and reflect, and you’re like, ‘What went wrong? What did I do wrong? What is this, what is that?’ You move on from it, continue on and keep pushing as hard as I can every single day.”

Although he wanted an answer on what went wrong, all he was told was why his seat was being emptied for another driver to take over. 

“I wish I truly did know the full extent of it,” Nemechek said. “I was told they wanted to make a change, and they felt like the timing was necessary for them to do that with Josh being available, and that’s where it went from there.”

Josh Berry is coming in to replace Nemechek from Wood Brothers Racing, having himself been replaced by Jesse Love. Berry is currently 25th, with two top-five and eight top-ten finishes despite five DNFs. 

Nemechek, on the other hand, has two top-ten finishes, including a best of fourth at Pocono, his only top-five of the season. Nemechek sits 28th in points and has had only one DNF to Berry’s five. 

For Legacy and Nemechek, it was a constant failure to execute their races well this season, which has been a recurring problem. 

While Nemechek has an average starting and finishing position that is exactly the same at 22.1, Josh Berry has been on a run unlike anything anyone has seen in a Wood Brothers car in 50 years. Berry has six straight top-ten finishes, which is the first time anyone has done it in a Wood Brothers Racing car since David Pearson back in 1976.

What’s next for John Hunter Nemechek?

It’s not unheard of for drivers to drop down to the lower series after failing to keep their Cup seat. In fact, few will know that down-and-up transition as well as John Hunter Nemechek himself. 

Nemechek was a Cup rookie for Front Row Motorsports in 2020 and didn’t really get his foot in. Nemechek made a judgement call and chose to take three steps back by driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the Truck Series in 2021 and 2022. 

After winning seven truck races for KBM, Nemechek had made enough of a case to be picked up by Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023 in the Xfinity Series. Nemechek proved his mettle and drove a strong season, getting seven wins. He finished fourth in the championship but with more wins than any other driver in the series. 

Legacy Motor Club ran under that banner for the first time in 2023 with Chevrolet as their manufacturer and decided to switch to Toyota in 2024. The timing matched up perfectly for Nemechek to return to the Cup Series, having shown that he was the best driver in the Toyota pipeline without a Cup drive. 

While it was a three-year detour the last time around, this time Nemechek wants to bounce back quickly. But before he bounces back, he wants to leave an unforgettable impression on those who decided to axe him. 

“I want to go win. I want to go perform the best that I can the last nine weeks,” said Nemechek. “It doesn’t matter what is happening behind the scenes or whatever it may be; I’m here to race, I’m here to do my job. I’m going to show up the best that I can prepare, and to prove the decision-makers wrong.”

How long it takes for Nemechek to get a Cup driver and whether at all he can find one is what we will have to wait and see.

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