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Ahead of NASCAR's trip to Richmond Raceway, Jimmie Johnson's co-owned Legacy Motor Club has announced key changes to its technical hierarchy. The team has welcomed longtime Joe Gibbs Racing engineer Jacob Canter as its new Director of Competition.
Having switched alliances from Chevrolet to Toyota before the 2024 season, Johnson's Cup Series team has largely struggled relative to other Toyota teams. Amidst the lackluster on-track performances, the team has made various personnel changes in the first half of the season.
On August 9, Legacy Motor Club announced that former JGR race engineer Jacob Canter will fill in the role of Competition Director. Earlier in July, the team announced the arrival of long-time motorsports executive Bobby Kennedy as the General Manager of the team.
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Canter will lead the competition department, overseeing the crew chiefs and pit crews across all the organization's teams. Kennedy, on the other hand, will oversee the day-to-day operations at LMC. Both Canter and Kennedy have officially joined the team and will report directly to the CEO, Cal Wells III.
A University of Washington graduate, Canter began his career at Rusty Wallace Racing in 2006. The following year, Canter began his 16-year journey with Joe Gibbs Racing, initially as a race engineer before transitioning to lead the Research & Development team. Most recently, he worked for General Motors before joining forces with Jimmie Johnson at LMC.
Kennedy, meanwhile, has decades of experience as a crew chief in NASCAR, having previously worked with teams like Michael Waltrip Racing, Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, and Ultra Motorsports
Wells III recently said that he was honored to have Canter and Kennedy join the team. Wells elaborated that the long-term relationship of the new hires with Toyota Racing Development will be invaluable to the team.
Jimmie Johnson addresses leadership reshuffle at Legacy Motor Club
NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson recently addressed Legacy Motor Club's struggles since switching to Toyota. He admitted that their 2024 campaign has been a difficult one but insisted that hiring industry veterans Jacob Canter and Bobby Kennedy will help the team correct its course and become a competitive force.
Here's what the seven-time Cup champion said in a press release:
"Bringing in people like Jacob and Bobby is what we need at this stage in the game. This has been a difficult season and performance hasn’t been where we want it to be, so moves like this are necessary. We want to show up, be competitive, and win races. That’s the main goal."
Since acquiring ownership of Legacy Motor Club, Johnson's journey as a Cup Series team owner has been marked by challenges. There have been plenty of personnel changes over the past year, including the addition of NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth as a competition advisor.
Midway through the 2024 season, Johnson and LMC parted ways with crew chief Jason Burdett, which was one of many changes made to the crew during the Olympic break. Despite the changes, Johnson will complete his nine-race schedule this season.
