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…
Unlike most sports, NASCAR has an odd venue-ownership arrangement. While most stadiums in other sports are owned either by the team or the city, NASCAR’s tracks are owned, with few exceptions, by two main entities.
Darlington Raceway is one of NASCAR’s Classic Tracks. It hosts the Southern 500 and NASCAR’s throwback weekend. In its time in NASCAR, the track became known for its egg shape, high banks, and straightaway sweep.
Daytona is NASCAR’s premier facility. Every race the track hosts has a memorable moment, factor, or story. The track hosts two races a year, the Daytona 500 and the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
Both fans and drivers love Homestead-Miami Speedway. The track’s aging surface and high line make for memorable moments and great racing. The track currently hosts one playoff race a season but will move to a spring date in 2025.
Iowa Speedway made its NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2024. The track replaced another NASCAR-owned facility, Auto Club Speedway, following Auto Club’s closure and potential downsizing. The track’s first race was a roaring success for NASCAR and Iowa, resulting in the track gaining a 2025 race date.
Kansas Speedway was built by NASCAR in the early 2000s and moved from one race date a year to two after years of great racing. The track gained a cult following amongst NASCAR fans following the introduction of the Next Gen car and its great Intermediate style racing in
Martinsville is one of NASCAR’s most memorable venues. The paperclip-shaped oval is known for its close-quarter racing and flaring tempers. The track’s two races a year are staples on the NASCAR schedule, with its fall date being the cutoff race for the NASCAR championship.
Michigan International Speedway is one of NASCAR’s few tracks that is over two miles long. The track used to host two races a year, but following its switch to one race a year, the track has become a favorite of fans.
Phoenix Raceway is NASCAR’s most westward short track. Phoenix is known for its odd grandstand configuration and packed houses. The track has traditionally hosted two races a year. However, its fall date has moved to the Championship race in 2020.
Richmond Raceway is a track that many fans and drivers have fond memories of. It is known for making tempers flare and fenders bend. Unfortunately, the track is losing one of two race dates in 2025 to make way for NASCAR’s race in Mexico City.
Talladega Superspeedway, while not as prestigious as Daytona, might be NASCAR’s most well-known track. Its two races a year earn a mark on most fans’ calendars as a must-watch or must-attend race weekend.
Watkins Glen is one of NASCAR’s few remaining Road Courses from the 20th century. The winding course is famous for its long backstretch and bus-stop turn combo.
Atlanta Motor Speedway recently underwent dramatic changes when the typically 1.5-mile Intermediate track switched to a hybrid Intermediate/Superspeedway type of track. Its two races a year are must-see action with a style of racing that has only seen one place in NASCAR.
Bristol Motor Speedway is NASCAR’s premier Short Track. The fan-favorite track hosts two races a year. The once former Spring dirt race returned to the concrete this year, and the Bristol Night Race is still one of NASCAR’s most memorable nights.
Charlotte Motor Speedway is the only track in NASCAR to host a race on two different layouts. The Spring Coke 600 is NASCAR’s longest race, while the Fall Roval race is one of NASCAR’s most chaotic.
Dover Motor Speedway is one of SMI’s most recent additions to its lineup. The track used to host two races a year before giving one of its Dates to Nashville Superspeedway. However, this classic NASCAR venue still pulls in a great crowd.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is NASCAR’s most westward oval. The track hosts two races a year, including a Playoff race.
Nashville Superspeedway is the second track acquired when SMI purchased Dover Motorsports in 2019. Despite its name, it is a 1.5-mile track that draws a large crowd.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is NASCAR’s most northward track. The Magic Mile has a history of upset wins and is reacquiring a Playoff spot in 2025 when its race date moves to the Fall.
North Wilkesboro Speedway was once thought dead to NASCAR fans. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, SMI revived the track via a grassroots campaign. After its reopening, NASCAR moved its All-Star Race to the track.
Sonoma Raceway is NASCAR’s only track in California. The course has multiple layouts, of which NASCAR has used two in its history. The track has gone through many names in its history, including Sears Point International Raceway and Infineon Raceway.
Texas Motor Speedway brought NASCAR back to Texas in the late 1990s. It was one of five tracks to host the NASCAR All-Star race but now hosts only one race weekend a year in the Spring.
Circuit of the Americas is a recent addition to the NASCAR schedule. The first race at COTA was in 2021, and ever since, the track has become a favorite of fans. SMI currently hosts the race at COTA in conjunction with Circuit of the Americas, LLC.
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is NASCAR’s newest track. In 2025, the circuit will host the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Mexico Series. This race will be the NASCAR Cup Series’ first international race in the 21st century.
Bowman Gray Stadium is returning to the NASCAR schedule in 2025 in an unexpected way. The classic racetrack/football field will host the 2025 NASCAR Clash, replacing the LA Coliseum.
World Wide Technology Raceway sits almost perfectly between Illinois and Missouri. The track, better known as Gateway, was a long-awaited bucket list item for NASCAR Cup Series fans before gaining its first race date in 2022.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway is perhaps the most iconic racetrack in the United States. When NASCAR debuted at IMS in the 1990s, it made headlines for what many thought to be an unlikely combination of track and car. NASCAR raced on the track’s road course from 2021 to 2023 before returning to the oval in 2024.
Pocono Raceway and NASCAR have a long history. The Tricky Triangle is NASCAR’s oddest “traditional” track. The venue’s history, alongside its scenery, makes it one of NASCAR’s most anticipated race weekends.
The Chicago Street Circuit debuted in 2023, making it NASCAR’s first street circuit. The city of Chicago owns the streets that make up the track while NASCAR prepares it for its race weekend.
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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.
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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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A few years ago, I looked at the racetracks preserved on iRacing that no longer exist in real life. After digging deeper, I expected to find one common reason they all shut down. Instead, each one tells a completely different story — from booming cities and land value spikes to ownership changes, broken promises, and even mysteries that still don’t have clear answers.
Some tracks were pushed out by urban development. Some lost the one person fighting to keep them alive. Others faded due to declining support — or were never meant to last forever in the first place. No two closures are the same, and that’s what makes this deep dive so fascinating.
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