Rumor Mill: Are These the Top Candidates For Legacy Motor Club’s Expansion?
What’s Happening? The NASCAR rumor mill is heating up as a new rumor suggests that a former series champion and an…
When the NASCAR Cup Series visits Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway in June for The Great American Getaway 400 Presented by VISITPA.COM, the race itself won’t be the only marquee attraction.
Before the green flag waves on Sunday, June 22, fans at the “Tricky Triangle” are invited to spend time at Veterans Village – a two-to-three-acre area just outside the race track within Pocono Raceway’s Fan Fair where approximately 45 veteran-serving organizations will be represented.
Current and former members of the U.S. military along with high-flying national assets, including an array of sophisticated military equipment and gear, will be on hand to bolster recruitment efforts for each branch of the Armed Forces.
A breakfast and a special ceremony for Gold Star families are among the headline events scheduled at Veterans Village during race weekend.
Last year, 240 Gold Star families attended the breakfast and around 30 veterans’ organizations had a presence at Veterans Village throughout the weekend.
The event has grown every year since its 2022 inception, which was the brainchild of retired Sergeant Major Kevin Bittenbender, the director of military affairs at Pocono Raceway.
Bittenbender retired from the Army in 2018 after 34 years of service that included an 18-month deployment in Afghanistan that stretched from 2006-2008. Despite health challenges from exposure to burn pits resulting in the amputation of his left leg, his passion for outdoor activities remains unabated. He has embraced adaptive sports, competing at the paralympic level in Skeleton and Bobsled, and participated in marathons nationwide. Alongside personal pursuits, he mentors fellow amputees at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
In December 2022, Kevin was officially matched with his service dog from America’s VetDogs named Kirby, a familiar furry face at Pocono Raceway who will be, as always, by Bittenbender’s side at Veterans Village. Trained as both a PTSD and mobility service dog, Kirby’s journey to Bittenbender was sponsored by the NFL’s Houston Texans and their corporate partner, Kroger, as part of America’s VetDogs Puppy With a Purpose program. The experience of growing up in an NFL stadium and attending games and community events, combined with the expert training provided by America’s VetDogs, helped Kirby become a calm and confident service dog. Kirby is also well-known for this title of “MVP” — Most Valuable Pup — at the 2022 Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl.
The 2025 edition of Veterans Village promises to be bigger and better than ever.
“This year, we’ll have not just our national assets but the Army Rock band playing, as well as the Navy Rock band,” Bittenbender said. “We’ll have some aerial aesthetic displays. We had two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters on display last year amongst other wheeled assets. This year, we expect the same if not more, which will aid with our recruiting efforts for the National Guard and active-duty components. Potential recruits can talk with soldiers and sailors and Marines about what they do, and we’ll have some demonstrations with the equipment on display.”
Coming out to Veterans Village during the Pocono NASCAR weekend is a must for anyone interested in learning more about a specialized role in the military.
“It provides an avenue if someone is looking to get into, let’s say, the medical side of the house,” Bittenbender said. “We’ll have a bunch of medics, doctors and nurses, as well as aviators, if folks are looking to get into the aviation aspect of it. Last year, we had part of a Navy Seal team, and we’ll have some Special Operators from the Special Operations side of the house there, as well, to talk about what they do and some of the skills they’ve learned and applied in the military.”
Bittenbender considers outreach to veterans and their families a major part of his life’s work, and he couldn’t be more thankful that Pocono Raceway has afforded him the opportunity to carry out his mission.
“The administration at Pocono gives me flexibility and says, ‘Here’s the football. Run with it,” Bittenbender said. “And it really takes me back to the time when I was in the military – I always tried to put myself outside of my comfort zone, and Pocono definitely allows me to do so. With that, it helps me be a better person but also give back to my community – my veterans community and my Gold Star community – to try to do well for them and live a life worthy of the sacrifice of the guys that I lost in Afghanistan.
“I’m able to do this in their memory. Anything and everything that I do, I do in their memory and in honor of them.”
Bittenbender approaches his job at Pocono Raceway with a simple philosophy that gives it special meaning.
“Any good recipe has ingredients, and if you’re missing an ingredient, the recipe doesn’t come out as planned. As director of military affairs at Pocono, my ingredients are three ‘Ps,’ an ‘A’ and a ‘C,’” Bittenbender said. “The three ‘Ps’ are having a purpose, a passion and being a part of something bigger than myself. Doing this Veterans Village and having a Gold Star breakfast applies to all those ingredients.
“The ‘A’ is for attitude. I can’t have a poor attitude going to a NASCAR race, nor being involved with NASCAR. It just makes me feel good about what I do, especially when I have other veterans coming up to me and saying how much they’ve enjoyed spending the time there with their families and making a memory for themselves.
“The ‘C’ is comfort zone. I’ve always tried to put myself outside of the comfort zone area. You can’t grow spiritually, mentally or physically without putting yourself outside of that comfort zone.”
In this post, we’re breaking down the top 10 all-time lap leaders at Circuit of the Americas, along with key stats, besides reviewing the top 15 active drivers with the most laps led at the track. And that’s not all; we’re also examining some of COTA’s historic track records and the names still holding them, so stick around until the end to check them out
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 361 | 1 | 2 | 6.2 | 9.2 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 361 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 | 10.4 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 361 | 1 | 2 | 4.6 | 2.2 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 361 | 1 | 0 | 5.6 | 12.6 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 163 | 0 | 0 | 13.0 | 9.0 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 323 | 1 | 0 | 15.0 | 10.8 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 361 | 0 | 0 | 19.4 | 17.0 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 361 | 0 | 0 | 16.4 | 12.6 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 308 | 0 | 0 | 30.2 | 9.2 |
| Races | Laps Run | Wins | Poles | Avg. Finish | Avg. Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 344 | 0 | 0 | 16.2 | 22.6 |
Let us know your thoughts on this list. Are there any drivers that surprise you? What track record do you think is never being broken? Join the discussion on Discord or X, and remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for more updates.
With the NASCAR team Legacy Motor Club set to expand, there are many names in the rumor mill as to who will drive the team’s third car in 2027, but one new name entering the rumor mill could be the biggest surprise yet.
What’s Happening? The NASCAR rumor mill is heating up as a new rumor suggests that a former series champion and an…
During the 2025 season, Legacy Motor Club, which missed the opening to buy one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s three Charters for sale at the end of the 2024 season, was aggressively pursuing a third charter for its NASCAR Cup Series team.
This mission took the team to court, where it battled Rick Ware Racing over a Charter sale gone awry, with hopes of getting this charter ahead of the 2026 season.
While this goal never came to fruition, per a settlement between the two parties, LMC will have a third Charter for 2027, as RWR will sell the charter currently leased to RFK for their No. 60 at year’s end.
Now that all the excitement has leveled off, it’s decision time for LMC, as they search for a driver to fill this new seat ahead of the 2027 season.
The rumor mill concerning this third seat is heating up, as two names floated through the NASCAR community earlier this week, when a post from a well-known rumor mill account listed Riley Herbst and Jesse Love as potential candidates to drive for LMC in 2026.
Herbst, for one, is facing the loss of his ride at 23XI Racing with the rumored (and all but confirmed) promotion of top prospect and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Corey Heim to full-time status in 2027.
Love, on the other hand, seems destined for a Cup Series ride as the reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion, alongside this rumored spot at LMC, could see a spot open up at his current home, Richard Childress Racing, depending on how Kyle Busch’s 2026 season shapes out.
But, not even three races into the 2026 season, the rumor mill is still spitting out potential candidates for this third car.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Seven-Time Champion Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club is suing Rick Ware Racing over a…
This time, the online rumor mill is heating up for a potential return to the Cup Series, with rumors pointing to former Wood Brothers Racing driver Harrison Burton as another potential candidate to join LMC in 2026.
Burton, the son of former Cup Series standout turned NBC Sports analyst Jeff Burton, most recently raced full-time with WBR in the Cup Series in 2024 before losing his ride at year’s end, moving to AM Racing for the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and eventually jumping to Sam Hunt Racing (and Toyota) for the 2026 NASCAR OAP Series season.
While Burton’s return to NASCAR’s second-highest division has not produced any wins, the 25-year-old still maintained a solid effort in 2025, granting AM Racing its first-ever run in the playoffs on points alone.
Much like Herbst, Burton has a winning resume in the OAP Series, and, most important of all, loyal sponsorship, with brands like Dex Imaging sticking with him throughout most of his development, time in the Cup Series, and his return to the OAP Series.
Burton is the type of driver that fits the LMC mold, as, if he were to return to Cup, he would have taken a similar path back to the top that fellow second-generation driver and LMC Cup Series talent John Hunter Nemechek took before landing with LMC in 2024.
A potential return to the Cup Series would also mark an ironic turn in Burton’s career, as he was once a top prospect for Toyota, even making a Cup Series start with the manufacturer before jumping ship to Ford in 2022.
Of course, many fans would say that, given a choice, they would pick Love over Burton, but, then again, LMC may not have a choice, and a driver as experienced as Burton could be a safe bet to get this third team off the ground at the very least.
As always, these are just rumors, and it’s important to note that neither party has expressed plans for the still very, very far away 2027 season. Furthermore, as most NASCAR fans know, even rumors that may seem like a done deal can change at the very last second.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
An email sent by former Joe Gibbs Racing Competition Director Chris Gabehart claims that resentment towards him from members of the Gibbs family made him feel that the future of JGR was a “no-win situation.”
Last week, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a lawsuit against former Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart, claiming that the former Daytona 500 Champion had schemed to steal vital information from the team in the lead-up to his departure from JGR for Spire Motorsports.
Not even ten days since JGR filed this lawsuit, the two have continued to trade barbs and accusations back and forth through the court system.
In a filing earlier this week, Gabehart accused the team of misleading him in his duties as competition director in 2025, and specifically calling out JGR’s No. 54 team, driven by Joe Gibbs’ grandson Ty, alleging that the team received “differential treatment.”
Friday, an email sent to JGR CFO Tim Carmichael by Gabehart in November 2025 (released as part of this lawsuit) showed just how uncomfortable he had grown working at JGR during his tenure as Competition Director, with the industry veteran stating that Ty Gibbs and his mother, Heather, held “resentment” towards Gabehart.
The now former Competition Director went on to say in this email that, as the two were the future bosses of JGR, “I’m afraid that leaves me in a no-win situation.”
These exchanges, including the claims made by Gibbs in his filing earlier this week, have swept fans into a whirlwind of sorts, with the two sides even meeting in court today for the lawsuit’s first official hearing.
Of course, Gabehart’s claims about the state of operations at JGR pale in comparison to the accusations made by the Gibbs team in their initial lawsuit.
On Tuesday, the team even added Spire Motorsports, Gabehart’s current employer, as a co-defendant, and requested the court force Gabehart to sit out at least the 18 months since his termination before doing any work in NASCAR similar to his role at JGR.
The team is also asking that any information procured by Spire from Gabehart be returned, though the CEO of TWG Motorsports, which owns Spire, Dan Towriss, told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports Friday that “Spire doesn’t want data from Joe Gibbs Racing. It doesn’t have data from Joe Gibbs Racing. No point in time has it had data from Joe Gibbs Racing.”
Alongside Spire, Gabehart adamantly denied any wrongdoing in a post to social media last week, saying, “I feel compelled to speak out today and forcefully and emphatically deny these frivolous and retaliatory claims.”
What’s Happening? Former Joe Gibbs Racing Crew Chief and Competition Director Chris Gabehart has filed a new response slamming JGR as…
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