Jimmie Johnson, now the controlling owner of Legacy Motor Club in NASCAR, has transitioned from a celebrated driving career into a new leadership role that shapes the future of his team. Sharing this change alongside Tony Kanaan, who also became a team principal with Arrow McLaren in INDYCAR, Johnson reflects on the growth, challenges, and responsibilities inherent to steering an organization that offers livelihood and direction to over a hundred professionals. The journey of Johnson, intertwined with Legacy Motor Club and the broader racing industry, showcases the evolving landscape former athletes face when they step into management roles.
Moving from the Driver’s Seat to Organizational Leadership
After legendary careers as competitors—Johnson with seven NASCAR Cup Series titles and Kanaan as a champion and Indy 500 winner—both men reentered the sport in powerful new capacities. Their days of focusing solely on their own results are now replaced with overseeing vast teams at Legacy Motor Club and Arrow McLaren. Johnson, only a year into his official leadership at Legacy, acknowledges he is still adapting, relying on the expertise of figures such as team CEO Cal Wells.
“I’ve always been afraid of exiting the race car and thinking I could be a businessman — and then just crashing and burning. So that’s just been a fear I’ve had all along, and I just want to make sure I get it right.”
Kanaan expanded on this transition, noting how the scale of responsibility shifts from personal achievement to collective well-being. Formerly, a mistake on track might simply mean a new race tomorrow; now, a miscalculation can impact entire teams and their families.
“I was responsible for myself, and I don’t know 10 guys, but really myself — keeping my job, doing what my goals were. Now I have a whole company with people with families and you making a decision. You crash the car, they will fix it, you go to the next race. Here, you make a bad decision, you take the team down, you know what I mean? That’s a huge responsibility.”
Shifting Pressures and Evolving Responsibilities
Both Johnson and Kanaan discussed how the stress of competition changes dramatically from driver to executive. As a driver, Johnson’s focus was singular and internalized, but as owner, he manages many layers and departments, seeking to harmonize resources to support the small, high-performance group on race day. Kanaan described the manager’s role, saying,
“When I get to the racetrack, my action, my job, is done. The 12-13 hours a day that we put in the race shop, getting the people — that’s where it counts.”
The process now requires continuous decision-making that affects a much larger web of individuals. Mistakes as a leader have wide repercussions, far beyond the immediate damage of crashing a car. Reflecting on how pressure manifests, Kanaan conveyed the difficulty of translation for those outside the sport:
“The pressure of driving was intense. It depends a lot on my mental, physical condition, and then you had to go out and perform no matter what. The performance, you’re being judged every weekend for that Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
Johnson echoed the relentless self-analysis inherent to racing, but noted that the management role amplifies responsibility across the entire organization.
“We’re ready, but I don’t know.”
— Tony Kanaan, Team Principal Arrow McLaren
From Competitors to Mentors and Executives
Neither Johnson nor Kanaan foresaw a future running race teams during their partnership as competitors at Chip Ganassi Racing. They spent more time strategizing how to extend their driving careers than imagining boardrooms or staff meetings. Johnson admitted,
“We were conspiring how we can keep holding a steering wheel. We weren’t conspiring how we were going [to run things].”
Kanaan shared the humorous anxiety of aging out of the driver’s seat:
“We did speak about it: What the [expletive] are we going to do after this? Are we going to ruin everything that we built? I don’t think any of us expected this, to answer your question. And if you had told us that, we probably would had laughed in your face.”
Despite the surprise at landing in leadership roles, both men discovered their intense competitive drive and attention to detail translated well into organization-building. They agreed that their obsession with improvement and people skills helped forge effective teams around them. Johnson emphasized that managing personalities and fostering relationships played a significant part in team success, a trait he and Kanaan both exemplified during their active driving years.
Leadership Styles and Team Culture
The change from racing to management revealed diverse leadership philosophies. Johnson credits his growth to being present and involved at Legacy Motor Club, a shift from when he shared control with former partner Maury Gallagher. The culture fostered by NASCAR icon Rick Hendrick, whom Johnson worked with, featured a familial approach. Kanaan contrasted this with the more direct and sometimes less nurturing style of Chip Ganassi, his former INDYCAR boss, noting that both approaches had their own merits and retention advantages.
“Do I think Chip has the best psychology approach? No. At all. But it works with the people that they’re there. So that is the environment that they’re in. And you can tell that he has probably 10, almost 20 people that have been there for [decades].”
Kanaan stressed open communication and transparency in his leadership, outlining the need to separate professional critique from personal relationships in the high-intensity world of motorsports.
“I tell my people I need to know where you are, and you’re going to know where I’m at at all times. If I’m not happy, you’re going to know. So you’re not going to wonder. And likewise.”
This open-door approach aimed at building trust, even as it forced difficult conversations when staff had to be let go.
“I’m on it. I’ve been up since 3 in the morning. I’ll take care of it.”
— Eric Cowdin, Engineer
“Well, I bet you will, that’s why I put you here.”
— Tony Kanaan, Team Principal Arrow McLaren
Growth, Community, and the Daily Commitment
For Johnson, leading Legacy Motor Club isn’t just about decision-making—it involves absorbing the daily energy and unspoken challenges beneath the surface.
“There’s a big part of living it, and that’s been part of my journey. Being back full-time and having control of our company now… it’s been a big part of my journey is to get in, be there, live it, so that you can really feel the energy in those unspoken words.”
This immersion helps identify potential issues and fosters genuine relationships that anchor the organization’s continued development.
Kanaan, too, had to make tough choices—sometimes sending away talented staff to reinforce a constructive team environment. The pair agreed that surrounding themselves with motivated people, even if not always the most talented, often made the difference in sustaining high-performance teams. As Kanaan summed up,
“I think if you look at a successful team, Jimmie’s been in an organization before that, no matter what was very well controlled [at Hendrick]. We all have problems, issues. A lot of you guys will never know. But having people wanting to work for you, especially, I can only talk about this sport because that’s what I’ve done, it’s 80 percent — I’ll take a guy that wants to work for me that has less talent than the best guy out there.”
Lessons in Leadership and the Path Forward for Legacy Motor Club
The evolution from driver to executive presented daily tests for both men, pushing them to continually develop their leadership and management skills. The realities of managing Legacy Motor Club require Johnson to be present, accessible, and ready to make difficult calls, fostering a harmonious environment for the entire organization. With guidance from key partners and reliance on experienced staff like Cal Wells, Johnson focuses on blending his competitive instincts with a commitment to team-wide growth.
“Hold on a sec. Jimmy come here, you know what he just said? … We’re going to sort it out today.”
— Tony Kanaan, Team Principal Arrow McLaren
As both Johnson and Kanaan move forward in their current roles, they remain committed to creating high-performing teams built on trust, transparency, and a shared passion for racing. Their leadership at Legacy Motor Club and Arrow McLaren not only shapes the future of their respective organizations but also reflects an emerging trend of accomplished athletes moving seamlessly into top managerial positions. The continuing success of their teams will depend on their ability to nurture talent, adapt to changing pressures, and stay connected to the community that inspired their own racing dreams in the first place.
