John Hunter Nemechek will have a familiar structure in place as he returns to the NASCAR Cup Series with Legacy Motor Club as he will continue to be paired with crew chief Ben Beshore.
This continues a successful relationship that started this past season in the Xfinity Series at Joe Gibbs Racing and produced a five-win season. Legacy Motor Club makes the transition to Toyota this offseason and this is a sign of the synergy between all the teams under that umbrella.
“The partnership between driver and crew chief requires a type of chemistry that is hard to find,” said Nemechek in a press release. “As a driver, if you’re lucky enough to find a crew chief that you mesh with as well as Ben and I do, you do everything possible to stick together. I look forward to building on our competitive partnership and fighting for more wins and championships.”
Nemechek will also be reunited with car chief Austin Pollak, a mechanic he worked with in Late Models and the Truck Series, early in their respective careers.
For his part, Beshore has enjoyed success at every level, a career that started at Roush Fenway Racing in 2007 and then moved to Joe Gibbs Racing where he has competed in both Xfinity and Cup in a variety of roles. He worked as crew chief at the Cup level with Kyle Busch at Gibbs where they won three times, earning 23 top-5s and 39 top-10s.
Team co-owner Jimmie Johnson, of all people, can speak to the importance of a driver-chief dynamic given the success he enjoyed with Chad Knaus at Hendrick Motorsports.
“The driver-crew chief relationship is something I know well and it’s such an important part of the performance foundation,” said Johnson in a press release. “We are so thankful to see Ben join the Club. His experience with John Hunter and Toyota will help us with the transition and his on-track experience will elevate us in so many ways. I have learned that Ben is a highly focused person and that he believes in the future potential of an organization that is going through a lot of change. He’s a great fit.”
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.