Ford’s Newest NASCAR Team Announces Its First Driver

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Ford’s Newest NASCAR Team Announces Its First Driver

Kauy Ostlien

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What’s Happening?

Hettinger Racing, Ford’s newest NASCAR team, will field Luke Fenhaus in the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener at Daytona, marking the team’s first race in NASCAR’s second-highest division.

We’re Daytona bound with @Luke_Fenhaus! The 21-year-old Midwestern short-track star will make his @NASCAROReillyAP debut Feb. 14 in the #UnitedRentals300 at @Daytona driving our No. 5 Ford Mustang! pic.twitter.com/jSTBpMyEWe
— HettingerRacing (@HettingerRacing) January 27, 2026

Fenhaus, a former CARS Pro Late Model Tour Champion, will pilot the team’s No. 5 in his NASCAR OAP Series debut. Though the 21-year-old would be a prime candidate to drive the car full-time, as of press time, it seems that he could be one of many drivers to pilot the car this season.
Hettinger, known for its exploits in lower racing divisions, announced plans to field a solo Ford in the NASCAR OAP Series in December. While the team did not announce any driver plans at the time, it confirmed that it would maintain a close technical relationship with Ford Racing.
Fenhaus is a solid bet for their first race, as the short-track veteran gained quite a bit of experience in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series last season with ThorSport Racing. In 12 races, the Wisconsin native scored just one top-ten, a career high third place finish after starting on the pole at Michigan.
Despite their lack of experience at this level, Hettinger is a bright spot for Ford following an offseason in which they lost two NASCAR OAP Series teams in the Haas Factory Team and RSS Racing to Chevrolet. In the 2026 NASCAR OAP Series season, Hettinger and SPS Racing (who purchased AM Racing) will each field one full-time Ford team.

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