DARLINGTON, S.C. — Erik Jones had mixed emotions after scoring his second consecutive top-five finish, something he last did in 2020.
“It’s disappointing, number one, to be that close,” Jones told NBC Sports after his third-place run in Sunday’s Southern 500, “but, number two, it’s encouraging to have that speed.”
His teammate also was fast. John Hunter Nemechek finished a fourth — a career-best result in Cup.
“I wish we had more laps,” Nemechek said after the 367-lap race, which lasted 3 hours, 51 minutes. “The more that I ran, the better that I was.”
Sunday night marked the first time since this year’s Daytona 500 that Legacy Motor Club placed both of its cars in the top five.
“Proud of the effort from everyone at Legacy Motor Club,” Nemechek said. “We continue to get better. It is pretty cool to have the 42 and 43 (Jones) to finish in third and fourth at the Southern 500. I know I’m proud of the drive for myself. I’m proud of the effort. I’m proud of Travis (Mack, crew chief), and everyone that has been putting a lot into our Pye Barker Toyotas and making them faster.”
It has been a long journey for the organization, which made key personnel changes about a year ago.
“I think it’s just a statement, a testament to this team and this group and what we’re building,” Jacob Canter, Legacy MC’s director of competition, told NBC Sports.
“ … It’s all about our group, our team, our people and trying to empower them to be the best version of themselves. (Team owner) Jimmie (Johnson) has his podcast ‘Never Settle.’ We kind of take that mantra of just always trying to get better and just really building this team in a methodical fashion.”
While many playoff drivers had problems in Sunday’s race, Legacy Motor Club’s two non-playoff teams avoided any pitfalls.
Jones showed speed at Indianapolis, qualifying third. His race came to an end when the right front wheel came off his car and crashed. His crew was good over nine pit stops Sunday.
“It was nice to come here with similar speed (to Indy) and have a smooth night, a good night,” Jones said. “We needed to qualify probably a little better to really contend, but we did everything else really well. So, hopefully that’s a good sign.”