John Hunter Nemechek will strap into the driver's seat of the No. 42 Chevrolet for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the organization announced on Monday.
The 25-year-old driver is currently in the midst of a championship fight in the NASCAR Xfinity Series where he competes for Joe Gibbs Racing, but will utilize this weekend's event to get acclimated to working with the No. 42 team.
Earlier this year, it was announced that Nemechek would be promoted to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024, where he'd partner with LEGACY MOTOR CLUB - as the organization navigated its first season as a partner of Toyota Racing Development.
According to Jimmie Johnson, co-owner of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, the opportunity to have Nemechek drive the No. 42 at Homestead-Miami Speedway was the result of an understanding between Chevrolet and Toyota.
"Thanks to our long-term partners at Chevrolet, and our future partners at Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing, we have the opportunity to run one race this season with our future driver, John Hunter Nemechek in the No. 42 car," Johnson said in a social media video.
Sunday's 400-mile event at the 1.5-mile facility in Homestead, Florida, will mark just the second-ever start for Nemechek in the NextGen start, the first of which also came at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Serving as a fill-in driver for a suspended Bubba Wallace, Nemechek had a stellar fourth-place qualifying run in the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD, before getting involved in an early accident and finishing 27th.
Per Johnson, Carson Hocevar - who was announced to round out the season for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB in the No. 42 - will return for the season-finale at Phoenix Raceway. Hocevar has recorded four top-20 finishes in his six runs with the organization.
Image Credit: Craig White, Racing America
