Friday 5: A conversation with Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson nears completion of his first full season as co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, a time that has seen the organization hire John Hunter Nemechek to be a teammate to Erik Jones in 2024, move from Chevrolet to Toyota next season and add various personnel, including former Cup champion Matt Kenseth.

Johnson, a seven-time Cup champion and his family are spending time in London. He’s commuted to North Carolina when needed and attended last weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That’s likely to be the final race he attends this season.

Johnson has made it clear he plans to race about 10 times in Cup next season. Expect Johnson, who will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Jan. 19, 2024, to enter next year’s Daytona 500, the Chicago street race and Indianapolis, which will have cars back on the oval.

Johnson, who was announced as co-owner of the organization on Nov., 4, 2022, spoke this past weekend at Las Vegas to NBC Sports and The Associated Press.

The following conversation has been edited.

Q: Why did you add Matt Kenseth as a competition advisor?

JOHNSON: “I think from a competition standpoint and putting systems in place, building a team connection at Toyota, there’s just time and attention needed. I thought I would be spending a lot more time in that space, but I’ve been very busy with other aspects of the business on top of the fact I’m in London for a short period of time. So I think Matt’s experience, knowledge and understanding of race teams, driver-crew chief relationships, drivers getting prepared, note taking, just all these little elements and putting it together, he’s done it so well. All the years we spent riding bicycles, I realized how much time, effort and energy he put into all of that. He never really talked about it and didn’t seem like he was doing much, but he was.”

Q: How much will Kenseth work for the team?

JOHNSON: “It’s not an every-weekend race type of thing. His excitement to be back and be involved, I think you’ll see a fair amount of him, but our expectations, it’s not that he travels to every race, is at the shop five, six days a week, but really just kind of getting the systems in place and then (maintaining) the program from there on.”

Q: What has this year been like as an owner?

JOHNSON: “I have a better sense of the sport a year later. Being gone two years (while racing in IndyCar), with the new car coming in, the way the (manufacturers) have such an influence on team development, data and all that stuff, last November, I didn’t really grasp in totality. To live it this year and understand where you need to race, how you race, it’s just a much different NASCAR than it was my final year in 2020.”

Q: What type of owner are you? A dreamer who is thinking about three or more years down the road? Or a doer, who is rolling up their sleeves and getting involved in every aspect?

JOHNSON: “I’d say more the dreamer phase. I really thought I would be deep in the competition department, in the world that I lived in. I’ve been more in the front office and more on the business side, on the branding side, new partners. That whole aspect, which is new territory for me.”

Q: Why are doing spending more time in the front office if your expertise is on the competition side?

JOHNSON: “The history I’ve had in this sport, the brand I’ve created, there is a big need on the business side, especially as a growing team. When I’m sitting in meetings with sponsors and partners, it makes a difference. Our competition department, they do a fantastic job. There hasn’t been a ton of pressure to be in any one space. The two years I had in IndyCar, I saw more of the front office side and was inspired by it and enjoyed it.”

Q: When do you get into more of the competition side of matters?

JOHNSON: “It becomes more hands-on I think (next year when he competes in select Cup races). Having Matt as an addition and the role he can fill helps cover some of that. The need to find partners and revenue and to keep partners happy, I don’t know that that’s ever going to wane. It’s just going to continue to be a push forward and then to try to grow the company. There are various layers to (Legacy) Motor Club that I would love to see someday and being a dreamer, thinking about other forms of motorsports we might be able to compete in. What other car-related experiences can we create? Wild ideas I have going on right now. I’m trying to not only utilize the space we have here, the relationships we have here, but other contacts I’ve made in other walks of life and try to put together something bigger than just a NASCAR program.”

Q: How confident are you about changes to the economic model taking place for teams after next season?

JOHNSON: “I think it’s getting closer, and I do think there will be an improvement in that (financial) gap that the teams have to find (through sponsorship). It will shrink, just a matter of how much. Ultimately, the stronger the sport is, the stronger that financial situation is going to be for all. I think the product on track is important. I like seeing some of the changes to make sure that we’re putting on a good show at all races. … I think NASCAR and the teams, drivers working together to continue to grow the sport is really, really important. That’s a common thing that I continue to hear as these negotiations (between teams and NASCAR on the charter system) take place. We’ve got to do this together. I think the harder everyone leans into that, we’ll end up where we need to.”

2. Matt Kenseth on his new role

Matt Kenseth made his first appearance for Legacy Motor Club last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Class of 2023 NASCAR Hall of Fame member and former Cup champion spoke to NBC Sports and The Associated Press about his role with the team and moving forward.

The following conversation has been edited.

Q: What made you want to get back in the sport?

KENSETH: “I would say after a year or two probably of not driving, I’ve kind of wanted to get back in and go do something. I didn’t know what it was going to be or what it was going to look like. It really just came up and just made a lot of sense. … I had several conversations with (Jimmie) and a couple with (Cal Wells, who became Legacy Motor Club’s chief executive officer on July 26), and we kind of laid out what it would be to just kind of get started and see where it goes from there.”

Q: You raced for Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing. What can you bring from your relationship with Toyota as Legacy Motor Club moves to that manufacturer after this season?

KENSETH: “Obviously, I’m not a technical guy, I’m not going to really be helping (with) necessarily the nuts and bolts and making the cars faster. I’m more of an advisory role and kind of see what’s going on and be able to help the drivers … and make the team strong.”

Q: What has it been like to be away from the sport since your last Cup race in 2020?

KENSETH: “We’re fairly busy. I’ve been really, really content. It’s not like I was really looking to do a lot different. I say the biggest thing for me is the timing all worked out really well. Like I said, it’s not really a full-time gig, which I wasn’t looking for a full-time gig. I’m very busy with the girls and all their sports. But this year is the first year that all four of them have been in school all day long. So, I think the timing for that is good because you’re getting dropped off at school and I got pretty quiet (time) for four or five hours, six hours, whatever it is, pretty much every day of the week and I’ve never really had that.”

Q: What is your role in this position?

KENSETH: “I think it will probably evolve. I’ll be honest, I don’t know exactly what my role is going to morph into at the moment. I think it’s starting off being more consulting, try to get plugged in and try to get up to speed, which I’m certainly not. … This is the first time I’ve ever stood in this truck (Legacy Motor Club hauler). I’ve met a lot of people. I’m really just trying to get up to speed a little bit this year and see what it kind of morphs into. The plan wasn’t really to start until next year. I just kind of showed up (the week before Las Vegas) just to kind of see what was going on. They announced it this (past) week. Jimmie happened to be coming out here anyway. I haven’t really had any face-to-face time with him really since we talked about this, so I thought it was a good opportunity to do that and meet some of the people and sit on the pit box and just kind of observe.”

3. Savoring the moment

While Kevin Harvick will retire from full-time Cup racing after next month’s race at Phoenix, Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC) is providing a big send-off.

It was at this track that Harvick won the 2014 Cup title. The name of Sunday’s race is the 4EVER 400 in honor of Harvick. Budweiser returns with a scheme identical to what Harvick’s car had for that 2014 championship race.

Rodney Childers, who has been Harvick’s crew chief since 2014, and Childers’ family will give the command to start engines. Also, Mike Helton, senior advisor to NASCAR and someone who has a close bond with Harvick, will wave the green flag.

As Harvick closes out his career, tracks have put signs up that honored him and provided special recognition ahead of the races.

Harvick is savoring these moments and his final races with his team.

“I think as I go to each racetrack it’s fun to be able to celebrate and do the things that you need to do, and I’m enjoying the time that I have with the guys and seeing and hearing what they’re going to do next and how things are going to shake out,” Harvick said.

“It’s a very interesting process just because of going to the racetrack and competing, but everybody – a lot of the guys have been there for 10 years and some of them have been there for five years, so it’s just an interesting process to go through.

“I think you want to run well and do the things that you do on the racetrack — and everybody is doing fine at that — and it’s just a matter of getting through these next (few) weeks and enjoying it.

“That’s really, for me, what it’s about, is enjoying each week for different reasons. We’re going to be heavily involved in the sport and the industry for a long time to come with several different aspects of it, so you try to take the driving thing and do what you’ve done for the last however many years – 22 years at the Cup level – and enjoy that part of it.”

4. A championship-winning save?

Shortly past halfway in last weekend’s race at Las Vegas, Kyle Larson was running second when slid in Turn 2 and slapped the wall with the right rear before continuing.

NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton said on this week’s NASCAR on NBC podcast with Nate Ryan how Larson’s move to avoid further damage was instinctive.

“When I say instinctive, it is from lessons learned of all the years of racing, right?” Burton said. “And it just was a response. And it was awesome to watch.”

Burton broke down all that Larson did to keep the car from hitting the wall further — a move that allowed Larson to go on to win and clinch a spot in next month’s championship race at Phoenix.

“There are a lot of things going on right there,” Burton said. “Obviously, the car is starting to spin out. He said he thought it was going to spin out, so you’re … turning the wheel to the right, the same way you would do on an icy road. You would turn the wheel to the right to steer into the spin.

“So you turn into the right and the second that the right rear hit the wall, now that’s trying to stop the right rear and shove the front back into the wall. If he’s got too much wheel in it and he’s turned the car to the right and the right rear hits. It’s ricochet! Pow! It happens quick.

“So he had the right amount of wheel into it before he hit the wall. That’s to me what was the impressive thing about it. This car is very sensitive to right wheel input. We’ve seen it over and over and over where a guy just thinks he’s got a little bit of right wheel in it and it’s a lot more than he realizes. … I don’t know what it is, but it just swings to the right quickly.

“He just timed it all right. He got the car slowed down. … Potentially, if he does spin and hits the inside wall, think about where he would be in points. … So that could have been a championship-winning save. I mean it really could have been.”

5. Lesson learned

William Byron looks to join Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson in the championship race at Phoenix. Byron could clinch his spot Sunday at Homestead.

Last year, Byron won the pole at that track but faded in the last stage and had a slow pit stop, finishing 12th. He said this week that he’s learned from that experience.

“Homestead, last year, we didn’t keep up with the racetrack, and we were a little bit behind there and just had a bad final run of the race,” said Byron, who failed to advance beyond the Round of 8 last year. “It’s really just trying to make sure that I communicate the best that I can to give my crew chief and my team the best information so we have a good car at the end of the race.”

Byron comes into Sunday’s race second in the playoff standings. He’s nine points ahead of the first driver outside a transfer spot. As the winner of a series-high six races, it’s easy to view Byron as the favorite among the remaining seven playoff drivers to advance, but he doesn’t view it that way.

“I do think in terms of being a favorite, I think all that stuff goes out the window now when you look at the points and how close we all are,” he said. “Everyone’s pretty much on equal footing right now, so it’s not really about who is the favorite … it’s about who can perform in the next two races and who has the best cars at those two tracks.”