After Brennan Poole decided to depart Alpha Prime Racing at the conclusion of the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, the organization officially made a move on Thursday. Ryan Ellis, who drove for the team from 2022 to 2024 before moving to DGM Racing in 2025 and Young’s Motorsports in 2026, will return to the team next season.
Tablo TV, which has served as an anchor partner for Ellis over the last couple of seasons, will return for at least 10 races of primary sponsorship with Ellis and Alpha Prime Racing next season.
Ellis, 36, is excited to return to the team that allowed him to finally check off the goal of being a full-time NASCAR National Series driver in 2024.
“I’m incredibly excited to be back at Alpha Prime Racing,” Ellis said in a team release.”This team has been a massive part of my NASCAR career. The last time we were together, my NASCAR career grew from a few races each season to competing full-time in NASCAR, something I thought I’d never get the chance to do. My first handful of races with Alpha Prime Racing were ones that I will never forget. I felt like I was given a massive opportunity back then, and I feel the same way about this opportunity five years later.”
Likewise, Alpha Prime Racing couldn’t be happier to reunite with Ellis in 2027.
“Ryan has a strong history with Alpha Prime Racing, and we’re excited to welcome him back as we continue building for the future,” said Jusan Hamilton, President of Alpha Prime Racing. “He understands what it takes to compete at this level, but just as importantly, he understands the value of building lasting relationships with partners.”
With Alpha Prime Racing moving to Ford Racing in 2027, after several years with Chevrolet, the team felt Ellis was an important building block, as he comes with experience behind the wheel and is one of the better drivers in the series at gaining and retaining primary sponsorship.
As we prepare for our transition to Ford in 2027, having Ryan return on a multi-year agreement brings valuable experience, continuity, and a strong commercial foundation to our program. We look forward to building on that together.”
Additionally, having Ellis back in the fold with the team feels like Alpha Prime Racing has reunited with a long-lost loved one.
“We’re signing a friend,” said Tommy Joe Martins, founder of Alpha Prime Racing. “When we started APR in 2022, he was the first person that believed in our program, and in a lot of ways he helped lay the foundation of our team and helped me understand how to shape our organization. He’s part of the family here. There’s a lot of trust on both sides.”
In 193 career starts in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Ellis has recorded two top-10 finishes, each of which came over the past two seasons. The native of Ashburn, VA, will look to add to that stat in 2027.
