Patrick Emerling has had a pretty incredible 2026 season as far as his racing endeavors are concerned. The driver won the championship for the first time in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, and he has made five starts combined in the NASCAR National Series.
This weekend, Emerling was set to add another NASCAR National Series start to his resume, as he was slated to compete behind the wheel of the No. 38 RSS Racing entry in Saturday’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but on Friday, Emerling revealed on social media that he will not travel to Homestead this weekend.
Just wanted to provide an update about this weekends O’Reilly event at Homestead. ?
My family & I are expecting a new addition, likely this weekend. With that, I have decided to step out of the car & stay home with them.
I love racing, but family comes first! pic.twitter.com/2VprYNG1J7
— Patrick Emerling (@PatrickEmerling) November 6, 2026
“Just wanted to provide an update about this weekend’s O’Reilly event at Homestead,” Emerling said in his post on X. “My family and I are expecting a new addition, likely this weekend. With that, I have decided to step out of the car & stay home with them. I love racing, but family comes first!”
Even though he won’t be behind the wheel this weekend, Emerling will still be a winner, as he is set to become a three-time dad.
In 64 career starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Emerling has a career-best finish of 10th, which he achieved in the 2025 season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway.
RSS Racing has yet to announce who, if anyone, will step in for Emerling behind the wheel of the No. 38 Ford this weekend.
The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Championship Race is set for Saturday, November 7, and will be televised on The CW with coverage set to begin at 5 PM ET.
