Nick Sanchez, who has been in limbo since his surprising exile from Big Machine Racing in December, has found himself a home for the 2026 NASCAR season. In a statement shared to social media on Monday, AM Racing introduced Sanchez as the new full-time driver of its No. 25 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for the upcoming NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
New Year ?? New Driver! Welcome @Nicksanchez080 pic.twitter.com/Ty5mdYQyUO
— AM Racing (@AMRacingNASCAR) February 9, 2026
“AM Racing is excited to announce the signing of rising phenom Nick Sanchez as the driver of the team’s No. 25 Ford Mustang Dark Horse in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series,” said the team in the statement.
The announcement joins a pair of 2025 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series playoff contenders, as Sanchez made the Playoffs last season as a driver, and the No. 25 team had its former driver, Harrison Burton, make it into the playoff field last season as well.
And the announcement comes just weeks after it seemed like both Sanchez and AM Racing would not be racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series ranks in 2026.
In November, AM Racing had announced that Sigma Performance Systems, a team in the ARCA Menards Series ranks, had acquired its NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series program heading into the 2026 season. However, in January, AM Racing revealed that Sigma Performance Systems never finalized the acquisition agreement, and as a result, AM Racing would return for the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
A couple of weeks later, AM Racing announced that it had acquired the driving services of Sanchez, a budding Chevrolet racing prospect, who was left out of the shuffle when Big Machine Racing cut him in favor of Patrick Staropoli, who will drive the No. 48 Chevrolet full-time in 2026.
Can Sanchez and AM Racing find a way to work themselves back into the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Playoffs, which converts to the Chase format in 2026? If so, it would be an incredible story after the tumultuous offseason that each of the parties suffered heading into the season.
In addition to Sanchez driving the team’s No. 25 entry full-time in 2026, Daniel Dye, the full-time driver of Kaulig Racing’s No. 10 Ram Truck, will pilot the No. 52 AM Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse part-time this season, beginning with the season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway.
Why stop with one announcement? Welcome @danieldye43!@NASCAR | @NASCAROReillyAP | @TheCW_Sports pic.twitter.com/QbTslZfNJu
— AM Racing (@AMRacingNASCAR) February 9, 2026
