Unlike in her much-maligned appearance in Daytona International Speedway's 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener, Natalie Decker saw the checkered flag in this past weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway.
It was the second of four scheduled starts for Decker, who has competed in the series off and on since 2021, one year after becoming the highest finishing woman in a Craftsman Truck Series race (fifth at Daytona) ever.
But she will not be back behind the wheel of the No. 35 Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen Chevrolet this weekend.
Natalie Decker replacement confirmed for Texas
Dawson Cram, whose only appearances in the series since the start of the 2025 season have come with Mike Harmon Racing in the No. 74 Chevrolet, is set to drive the No. 35 car at Texas Motor Speedway, where he failed to qualify a year ago. He has not competed at Texas since his 37th place finish with JD Motorsports in 2024.
The No. 35 entry is set to be fielded in collaboration with Mike Harmon Racing this weekend. The No. 74 entry was withdrawn from the Texas entry list, one week after Cram's 34th place finish at Talladega. Its plans for the rest of the 2026 season have not yet been confirmed.
As for Decker, her return is slated to come at Pocono Raceway in June, and she is also set to compete at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway) in July. She is not lined up to compete in the regular season finale at Daytona.
She has never competed at Pocono in the O'Reilly Series, although she placed 16th there during the 2019 Truck Series season. She finished 27th at Atlanta in 2022.
The next race for which the No. 35 car does not yet have a confirmed driver is the race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, three weeks after the Texas race. Austin J. Hill is set to drive it at Watkins Glen International, and Blake Lothian is set to do so at Dover Motor Speedway.
Texas Motor Speedway's Andy's Frozen Custard 340 is set to be shown live on the CW Network starting at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 2. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!
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