Now that the dust has settled on a busy NASCAR offseason, the teams appear ready to hit the high banks of Daytona for the first official race of the 2026 Cup Series season.
As such, Jey and I reconvened to discuss our expectations for each team in a new column titled From Ceiling to Floor where each of us will write down what we think each team’s highest (but reasonable) expectations should be while the other takes a stab at each team’s lowest (but also reasonable) expectations.
The two of us will convene at the end to decipher what each team’s most likely outcomes will be when the season draws to a close at Homestead.
We released the first part of this series talking about Hendrick Motorsports and followed it up with our entry covering Team Penske. We have since added entries covering 23XI Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Trackhouse Racing, RFK Racing, and Spire Motorsports.
Now, we’ll be moving on to Legacy Motor Club, a team with legendary ancestry and legendary ambitions.
Ceiling – Jey
Legacy Motor Club spent all of 2025 continuing to build their program up from scratch for the second time in its short existence. With no outside support the team struggled mightily with pace especially on road courses and short tracks.
The team has made moves in the offseason to improve these weaknesses and looks poised to see a significant uptick in performance in 2026. Erik Jones has already proven that he can win on the biggest of stages with this group and I expect to see him do it again in 2026. Both cars should be fringe playoff contenders if everything goes well for this group.
Verdict: 1 win, Jones makes the Chase
Floor – Tanner
The brainchild of seven-time champions Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty spent much of 2023 and 2024 trying to get to grips with a team in flux, leading to a lot more consistent success for Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek in 2025. As for 2026, I expect to see them continue to make gradual strides without visiting victory lane or making the postseason.
While Jones seems capable of winning, I worry that Nemechek’s reckless nature (that he did seem to tame a bit last season) will continue to hold them back. In addition, their speed on short ovals has been lacking, which can only be exacerbated by the move to 750 horsepower.
Verdict: 0 wins, Erik Jones top-20 in points
Most Likely Outcome – 1 win, Jones makes Chase
Now that Legacy Motor Club has clawed themselves out of the basement, their new alliance with JGR should be what pushes the needle for them to get back into victory lane. Erik Jones seems primed to win another race as he continues to be one of the most underrated talents in the sport.
Jones possesses the talent to carry this team to a Chase spot while we do suspect John Hunter Nemechek will have another year similar to last season. Whether that will be enough to keep him in the 42 car next season or not remains to be seen.
(Top Photo Credit: Legacy Motor Club on Twitter)
pitboxpress.com 