AM Racing entered the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series full-time in 2023, and they returned in 2024 and 2025.
They returned again in 2026, and with Nick Sanchez as a full-time driver of the No. 25 Ford after he unexpectedly lost his ride with Big Machine Racing following the 2025 season.
They were one of just two Ford teams that started the 2026 season, after both Haas Factory Team and RSS Racing, which have a technical alliance, switched back to Chevrolet.
In three of the first seven races, they also ran a second car, the No. 52 Ford, for Daniel Dye, who had been competing full-time for Kaulig Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series before he stepped away following his suspension.
Sanchez owned the team's best finish, a third place effort at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway), of the year. That finish matched the team's all-time best finish of third, which was posted by former full-time driver Harrison Burton at Rockingham Speedway in 2025.
But after the No. 25 Ford was on the entry list for the early April race at Rockingham, as it had been every week of the season up until that point, the team unexpectedly withdrew, and with no visible timetable established for a return.
Now it has been confirmed that the team will not be back at all, as they have opted to close their doors.
When the team first withdrew from the Rockingham event, that left just one Ford team in the series, that being Hettinger Racing.
Entering the 2026 season, Hettinger Racing had never run a single race at NASCAR's second highest level. Their only national series experience had come in the Craftsman Truck Series, including just two starts in 2024 and one in 2025.
After the first 11 races of the 2026 season, they stopped competing as well, and there is no timetable for their return.
J.J. Yeley led all drivers with four starts for the organization this year, including a season-best 11th place finish in the season's 11th race at Talladega Superspeedway. Luke Fenhaus, Chandler Smith, and Luke Baldwin each made two starts, while Tyler Gonzalez attempted but failed to qualify for the road course race at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
When the team ruled out competing in the early May race at Texas Motor Speedway, it ended a 1,116-race streak of O'Reilly Series races in which Ford had at least one entry. The Texas race was the first since the October 1991 season finale at Martinsville Speedway without the Blue Oval.
The following weekend's race at Watkins Glen International also did not feature any Fords, but Ford did make a surprise return at Dover Motor Speedway, as RSS Racing decided to run the No. 38 car as a Ford entry for Logan Bearden.
The part-time entry's previous two appearance in 2026 came at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway as a Chevrolet entry, with Patrick Emerling behind the wheel.
The No. 38 car is once again on the entry list at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but it is a Chevrolet this week, with Yeley set to drive it. As a result, Ford is once again completely omitted from the O'Reilly Series entry list.
RSS Racing also run the No. 28 Chevrolet and the No. 39 Chevrolet full-time for Kyle and Ryan Sieg, respectively.
The Charbroil 300 is set to be shown live on the CW Network from Charlotte Motor Speedway starting at 5:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, May 23. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!
Add us as a preferred source on Google