STATESVILLE, N.C. — NASCAR veteran Todd Gordon will be the crew chief for seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson’s limited racing schedule in the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet.
Additionally, the team announced a contract extension with Dave Elenz to remain as crew chief for Erik Jones and the No. 43 Chevrolet through 2025.
Elenz and Gordon will work alongside NASCAR Rookie of the Year candidate Noah Gragson, crew chief Luke Lambert and the No. 42 team.
As with many professionals in the motorsports industry, Gordon, 53, started out as a driver, racing limited supermodifieds at Oswego Speedway near his hometown of Camden, N.Y. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and after hanging up the helmet, pursued a career in NASCAR.
At the start of the 2013 season, Gordon was matched with driver Joey Logano, leading the team to 21 wins, a NASCAR All-Star race win in 2017 and the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series championship. In the final two seasons of his career as a crew chief, Gordon was paired with Ryan Blaney, winning four races, before announcing his retirement at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
“I’m really looking forward to working with another champion that still has the desire to compete and win at the highest level,” said Gordon. “In my conversations with Jimmie, I found we both miss the competition – but don’t want the grind of a full-time schedule – so this is a great opportunity for us to still race and help Legacy Motor Club build on the success they saw in 2022.”
“Having the pressure of ‘making the race’ through qualifying and the Duel races is going to be a little stressful with a car that Jimmie and I haven’t worked with yet,” Gordon continued. “But the team had really good cars on superspeedways last season, so we have great resources, great teammates and a good starting point.”
Johnson echoes Gordon’s excitement and anticipation of the season ahead.
“I’m thrilled to have Todd come on board as my crew chief,” said Johnson. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him over the last few weeks. I have known and respected him as a competitor for many years and have always appreciated his professionalism, work ethic and results. His wisdom and experience will be beneficial to Legacy M.C. as a whole. I believe he will work very well with Dave, Luke and the entire team.”
The 2023 season marks the sophomore year for the pairing of Erik Jones and Dave Elenz under the banner of the No. 43 made famous by Richard Petty. In their first season together, the duo racked up one win at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in the Southern 500, three top-five and 13 top-10 finishes.
“I’m excited to continue my career for 2023 and beyond at Legacy M.C.,” said Elenz. “We had a great season last year thanks to Erik and everyone at the team. There is a lot of excitement and opportunity right now at LEGACY M.C. and I’m really looking forward to getting back to the track.”
“The amount of talent and pedigree of people we have at Legacy M.C. is really impressive,” remarked Team President Mike Beam. “I really can’t wait to get to the track and see what we can accomplish together. Maury (Gallagher), Jimmie, Joey Cohen and I have been working really hard over the off-season to put the right people in place. The experience that comes with these championship-winning crew chiefs and drivers will help us continue the legacy that Maury and I built with GMS Racing and Richard (Petty) and Dale (Inman) built with Richard Petty Motorsports and will move Legacy M.C. forward.”