Hootie’s going racing.
Darius Rucker announced this morning that he’s now a NASCAR Cup Series team owner, joining the ownership group of Legacy Motor Club alongside the team’s current owners, NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson and investment group Knighthead Capital.
The country singer and Hootie & the Blowfish frontman made the announcement during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, while sporting a hat from his new team:
“We can announce now that I’m one of the investors and one of the owners of Legacy Motor Club. So, you know, I own NASCAR teams now Dan. Look at me.”
Of course the South Carolina native has plenty of history with NASCAR, having performed pre-race concerts at many races over the years and performing the national anthem for the race at Darlington Raceway in his home state back in 2020, when NASCAR became the first sport to return from the COVID pandemic shutdown.
Speaking on his new role as team owner, Rucker pointed to his love for the sport as a reason he wanted to get involved:
“It’s cool. You know how much I love motorsports. You know how much I’ve loved NASCAR for years, so this is pretty cool for me.”
Legacy Motor Club is, of course, the team formerly owned by NASCAR legend Richard Petty and previously known as Richard Petty Motorsports.
In 2022, it was announced that seven time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson had purchased an ownership stake in the team, and in 2025 Johnson became a majority owner alongside Knighthead Capital as previous owners Petty and Maury Gallagher moved into ambassador roles for the team.
The team currently fields the iconic #43 car, which is driven by Erik Jones, as well as the #42 car of John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also drives select races for the team in a third entry, most recently getting behind the wheel of the #84 car at the 2026 Daytona 500.
Legacy switched from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2024, and has been working hard at improving their performance on the track over the past few years with the help of a legendary owner like Johnson. Just recently, the team owner confirmed that Legacy plans to run three full-time cars in 2027, hinting that the team was looking at bringing in new partners:
“Without question, we will have a third car on the grid next year. Very excited about that. Our commitment to growth will be able to attract and recruit the right individuals to help come in and really grow the workforce for this third car. All the benefits that come with running an additional car will help speed up our process.”
While the team has struggled in recent years, dating back to well before Johnson came in and they became Legacy Motor Club, they’ve made noticeable gains on the track recently to catch up to the top teams of the sport. And there’s no doubt bringing in a legendary figure like Darius Rucker will only help the team attract more talent and partners (i.e. money and sponsors) to speed up the process of becoming a top-tier Cup Series team.
Rucker joins a long list of celebrity owners in NASCAR, most notably NBA legend and 23XI Racing team owner Michael Jordan, as well as rapper Pitbull, who was a co-owner of Trackhouse Racing until last year.
As a country music fan and a longtime NASCAR fan, it’s great to see the crossover in the sport with an artist like Darius who’s passionate about NASCAR. It can only help to boost Legacy Motor Club’s profile in NASCAR, which no doubt will translate to better finishes on the track.
Maybe we can get a Darius Rucker pre-race concert for the race in Nashville this year too…just throwing it out there.
