Legacy Motor Club promotes Eliason, replaces Mack atop No. 42
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 17, 2026
Eliason promotion starts
Legacy Motor Club has promoted Eliason to crew chief of its No. 42 NASCAR Cup Series team, moving one of its longtime internal engineers into a key race-day role as the season enters its final stretch. The change puts Eliason in charge of the No. 42 group with John Hunter Nemechek for the final eight races of the 2026 season, and Legacy said he is set to remain in the role when Josh Berry joins the team in 2027. The promotion takes effect with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, putting Eliason in the role after serving behind the scenes as strategy manager and senior performance engineer. His rise gives Legacy a crew chief who already knows the organization from the inside.
Eliason arrives at the job with a background that stretches beyond strategy. Legacy said he has more than a decade of engineering experience, with work in race engineering and shock development that helped shape his technical profile before this move. His résumé also includes time with Trackhouse Racing and a role on Hendrick Motorsports’ 2016 championship team with Jimmie Johnson, along with work connected to Kyle Larson’s 2021 title run. That mix of experience gives Legacy a crew chief with broad technical roots and direct exposure to championship-level programs. The team’s decision places that background in a leadership seat at a time when it wants continuity in the No. 42 car and a smooth transition from one driver pairing to the next.
Mack departure opens change
Mack is leaving as crew chief of the No. 42 team, ending a stint that included more than 200 Cup races in the top job. The change resets the crew chief chair for the final eight races of 2026 and the next season. Mack’s departure closes a chapter that also included one of the biggest moments of his Cup-crew-chief career, Daniel Suarez’s first Cup win at Sonoma in 2022. That victory remains a key part of his résumé and a clear marker of the results he helped deliver at the Cup level.
The move gives Legacy a clean handoff from one experienced crew chief to another. Mack exits after a long run in the role, while Eliason steps in after working in the team’s strategy and engineering departments. That continuity matters for a group managing a changing driver lineup through the final eight races of 2026. The switch also places the emphasis on internal development. Legacy has chosen a staff member who has already worked in the organization’s strategy and engineering departments rather than reaching outside for a new voice. That approach keeps the No. 42 operation under familiar leadership.
Johnson explanation and team plan
Legacy Motor Club co-owner Jimmie Johnson said the move reflects the organization’s approach of promoting from within, a message that fits the way Eliason’s career has progressed inside the team. Johnson said Eliason is ready to lead the team through the final eight races of 2026 and into 2027, which puts an internal endorsement behind the promotion and points to confidence in Eliason’s technical base. The support from Johnson connects the move to Legacy’s larger identity as a team that wants to build from its own staff. Eliason’s rise from strategy manager and senior performance engineer to crew chief fits that model and shows the path the organization wants to reward.
The team also has other lineup details still to settle. Legacy said it will announce the full 2027 lineup for the No. 84 team in the coming weeks, which keeps part of its future roster plan open for now. Even so, the No. 42 change gives the organization a clear early move for the next phase. Eliason will guide the car through the end of 2026 with Nemechek, then remain in place when Berry arrives in 2027. The structure gives Legacy an experienced technical leader for the next phase. It also underlines how the organization intends to manage its personnel decisions, with internal promotion serving as the bridge between the present lineup and what comes next.
