Legacy Motor Club is the place to be for celebrities in NASCAR, apparently.
The Cup Series team co-owned by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson announced several new additions to its strategic ownership group on Thursday, July 30 – a collection of people that include All-Stars in Major League Baseball, champions in IndyCar and legends in tennis and surfing.
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Heading the group of new investors into Legacy Motor Club are two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper, former U.S. Open winner Andy Roddick, World Series champion Chase Utley, arguably the world’s best professional surfer Kelly Slater, and a trio of former Indy 500 winners in Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti.
Other new investors include Away co-founder Jen Rubio and CrossHarbor Capital Partners co-chairman Sam Byrne. Legacy Motor Club previously announced that Grammy-winning artist Darius Rucker and Emmy-winning celebrity chef Guy Fieri were joining the ownership group, as well as businessman Maury Gallagher.
“This is not a traditional ownership group,” Johnson said in a statement. “It is a collection of people who understand competition, leadership, innovation, storytelling, and how enduring organizations are built. They come from different worlds but share a common belief: that Legacy can become something fundamentally different within motorsports and culture.”
Legacy Motor Club was formerly Petty GMS Motorsports, the team owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty. Over the course of a few years, Petty sold his controlling ownership in the company to Gallagher, and Johnson joined as an owner, rebranding the team as Legacy in 2023.
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The team currently owns two of NASCAR’s coveted charters and will add a third next season after settling a lawsuit with Rick Ware Racing. Legacy, which is aligned with manufacturer Toyota, fields cars in the Cup Series for Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek.
With four races remaining before the postseason Chase begins, Jones is two spots below the cutline in the point standings and will need to make up ground over the month of August to lock Legacy into the postseason. Of the two Legacy drivers, Jones — a 30-year-old Michigan native who has twice won the Southern 500 — has performed the best this year and has notched top-six finishes in recent weeks at Michigan, Pocono and Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Johnson — who turns 51 in November — announced last weekend that the 2027 Daytona 500 will be the final NASCAR race he drives in. The Hall of Famer has been retired from full-time racing since 2020, but has competed in a handful of NASCAR races over the past few years in the No. 84 Toyota for Legacy, most recently at the Naval Base Coronado street course where he placed 28th in June. At Daytona, Johnson will race in his iconic No. 48 for the final time in his career.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bryce Harper, Andy Roddick among superstars investing in NASCAR team
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