John Hunter Nemechek will look a little different when the NASCAR Cup Series takes the green flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday.
For one weekend only, the familiar No. 42 on Nemechek’s Legacy Motor Club Toyota will disappear.
Nemechek will instead race the No. 40 Toyota in Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 as part of a special celebration of Dollar Tree’s 40th anniversary.
But despite what fans see on the car, Nemechek hasn’t actually changed entries.
The No. 40 remains Legacy Motor Club’s No. 42 entry for NASCAR purposes, meaning all points earned during the New Hampshire weekend will continue to count toward the No. 42 in the Cup Series owner standings.
It is simply a one-race transformation with a fitting reason behind it.
Why John Hunter Nemechek Is Driving the No. 40 at New HampshireLegacy Motor Club unveiled Nemechek’s special New Hampshire scheme Thursday, Aug. 20.
“Not a typo,” the team wrote in its announcement. “@JHNemechek will run the no. 40 this weekend in New Hampshire in honor of @DollarTree’s 40th anniversary!”
The change gives Dollar Tree a particularly prominent way to celebrate its milestone during a weekend in which the company also holds entitlement sponsorship of Sunday’s Cup race.
Nemechek’s Toyota carries a green-and-gold Dollar Tree scheme built around the anniversary, with a large No. 40 replacing the No. 42 normally found on his car.
The switch is notable because Nemechek has raced the No. 42 throughout his tenure with Legacy Motor Club. He joined the organization for the 2024 Cup Series season and has remained behind the wheel of the entry since.
Sunday will provide a rare exception.
The No. 40 Has Its Own NASCAR Cup Series HistoryAlthough the number change is temporary, the No. 40 is hardly new to NASCAR.
The number has made 951 previous Cup Series starts and has nine victories, according to Motorsport.com. Its most recent Cup victory came more than two decades ago, when Jamie McMurray drove Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 40 to Victory Lane in 2002.
The number has already appeared once during the 2026 Cup season as well.
AJ Allmendinger drove the No. 40 for Kaulig Racing in the Daytona 500 earlier this year. That was a separate entry and unrelated to Nemechek’s temporary number change at New Hampshire.
NASCAR teams changing numbers in the middle of a season is relatively uncommon, which should make Nemechek’s Toyota one of the more recognizable cars on the track Sunday.
The number on the doors may say 40, but everything that matters from a championship perspective remains attached to the No. 42.
Once the New Hampshire weekend is over, Nemechek’s familiar number will return.
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